THE first half of 2011 has seen many memorable and historic moments for the PDC, and here we look back at some of the finest displays and best achievements so far this year.
The year began in spectacular fashion on New Year's Day, when reigning Ladbrokes.com World Darts Champion Phil Taylor was defeated by Mark Webster.
However, there was even greater drama to follow two nights later, as a sold-out Alexandra Palace saw Adrian Lewis hit the first-ever nine-dart finish in a World Championship final, before going on to record his first major title by defeating Gary Anderson 7-5.
Click here to watch Adrian Lewis's nine-darter in the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship in LIVEPDC.TV
There have since been ten further nine-darters hit on the PDC circuit this year, including two more in televised events.
John Part followed that with his achievement on the opening night of the Sky Bet Mobile World Matchplay, which was followed in the semi-finals of the PartyPoker.net European Championship by another nine-darter for Adrian Lewis.
Click here to see John Part's Sky Bet Mobile World Matchplay nine-darter in LIVEPDC.TV
Click here to see Adrian Lewis' PartyPoker.net European Championship nine-darter in LIVEPDC.TV
A record has also been set with nine-dart finishes in FIVE successive events, beginning with back-to-back perfect legs from Simon Whitlock before Justin Pipe also hit a Players Championship nine-darter.
Dave Chisnall has hit two on the PDC ProTour, Dennis Priestley and Wayne Atwood landed perfect legs in the same event and Michael Smith was the first PDC Unicorn Youth Tour player to hit a nine-darter.
The 888.com Premier League Darts saw three months of drama and excitement in arena across the UK before Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis came together to battle for the title at the Wembley Arena.
Taylor had hit two nine-darters in winning the 2010 Premier League Darts, but Lewis ended his hopes of another title with an 8-3 victory in their semi-final - click here to see highlights in LIVEPDC.TV.
Anderson went on to claim the £125,000 first prize, gaining revenge for his World Championship loss by defeating Lewis 10-4 - click here to see highlights in LIVEPDC.TV
Arguably the finest individual performance of the Premier League Darts season came in week four in Exeter, when Mark Webster defeated Adrian Lewis 8-2 with a sensational 110 average.
Click here to watch highlights of Mark Webster's win over Adrian Lewis in LIVEPDC.TV
After the Premier League Darts season came to an end, the focus switched to the summer's majors, with James Wade winning his second Speedy Hire UK Open title in June, defeating Wes Newton in the final.
Click here to see highlights from the Speedy Hire UK Open Final
The tournament also saw Newton reach his first major final, as he continued his progression up the world rankings - click here for highlights of his semi-final win over Denis Ovens in LIVEPDC.TV
July's World Matchplay was one of the most exciting in the event's history, beginning with Part's nine-dart finish and also seeing one of darts' greatest ever comebacks, as Andy Hamilton hit back from 15-8 down against Simon Whitlock in the quarter-finals.
He won nine successive legs to come back and take an amazing 17-15 victory - click here to see highlights in LIVEPDC.TV
Phil Taylor went on to take the title, claiming glory in Blackpool for a fourth successive year and a 12th time since the event began in 1994 by defeating James Wade 18-8 - click here to see highlights in LIVEPDC.TV
The summer's final major, the PartyPoker.net European Championship, also featured a nine-darter - from Lewis during his semi-final with van Barneveld, which he won with a 121 finish on the bull - click here for highlights.
Belgium's Kim Huybrechts reached the last eight on his TV debut before losing out narrowly to Lewis - click here for highlights.
Taylor defeated Paul Nicholson in an eagerly-awaited quarter-final - click here for highlights - and went on to defeat Lewis in the final with a brilliant finale.
Click here for highlights from the PartyPoker.net European Championship Final in LIVEPDC.TV
MOVERS & SHAKERS
There have been some significant changes in the PDC Order of Merit during the first half of 2011, with two new faces joining the world's top eight.
Newton's successes have seen him move from 12th to seventh, with Webster keeping pace by moving from 13th to eighth in the world rankings.
Andy Hamilton's run to the semi-finals of the World Matchplay saw him jump from 16th up to 11th, but recent months have seen Ronnie Baxter, Mervyn King and Colin Lloyd drop out of the world's top ten.
Justin Pipe and Mark Hylton have continued their progressions in the last six months by moving up to 37th and 39th respectively - having started the year ranked 48th and 54th.
Antonio Alcinas (55th) and Ian White (71st) have both moved up the standings after reaching their maiden PDC ProTour finals, while Dave Chisnall and John Henderson have moved up to 46th and 65th respectively after coming through Qualifying School to win Tour Cards in January.
Click here to see the latest PDC Order of Merit
Enjoyed 2011 So Far?
There's plenty more PDC darts to come in the remainder of the year, with the Championship League Darts kicking off in September, the World Grand Prix being played from October 3-9, the Grand Slam of Darts being held from November 12-20, the Players Championship Finals taking place in December and the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship beginning on December 15.
Click here for ticket information for all major PDC events