WELCOME to the Professional Darts Corporation's 2016 Rules.
Section 2 below refers to the Order of Merit.
2.1 The PDC operates various Orders of Merit, based on prize money won in its events. The breakdown of this prize money is as follows.
Premier Events
2016/17 World Championship
| Winner | £350,000 |
| Runner-Up | £160,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £80,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £38,000 |
| Last 16 | £25,000 |
| Last 32 | £17,000 |
| Last 64 | £10,000 |
| Preliminary Round | £4,500 |
| Total | £1,650,000 |
2016 World Matchplay
| Winner | £100,000 |
| Runner-Up | £50,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £27,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £17,500 |
| Last 16 | £10,000 |
| Last 32 | £6,000 |
| Total | £450,000 |
2016 World Grand Prix
| Winner | £100,000 |
| Runner-Up | £45,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £23,500 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £15,000 |
| Last 16 | £8,500 |
| Last 32 | £5,000 |
| Total | £400,000 |
2016 Grand Slam of Darts
| Winner | £100,000 |
| Runner-Up | £50,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £25,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £15,000 |
| Last 16 | £7,500 |
| Group Winner Bonus | £2,500 |
| Third In Group | £5,000 |
| Fourth In Group | £2,500 |
| Total | £400,000 |
2016 UK Open Finals
| Winner | £60,000 |
| Runner-Up | £30,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £17,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £10,000 |
| Last 16 | £5,000 |
| Last 32 | £3,000 |
| Last 64 | £1,500 |
| Total | £300,000 |
2016 European Championship
| Winner | £100,000 |
| Runner-Up | £40,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £20,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £15,000 |
| Last 16 | £10,000 |
| Last 32 | £5,000 |
| Total | £400,000 |
2016 Players Championship Finals
| Winner | £75,000 |
| Runner-Up | £35,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £20,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £11,500 |
| Last 16 | £7,500 |
| Last 32 | £5,000 |
| Last 64 | £2,000 |
| Total | £400,000 |
2016 The Masters
| Winner | £60,000 |
| Runner-Up | £25,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £17,500 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £10,000 |
| Last 16 | £5,000 |
| Total | £200,000 |
Pro Tour Events
UK Open Qualifiers
| Winner | £10,000 |
| Runner-Up | £5,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £2,500 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £2,000 |
| Last 16 | £1,500 |
| Last 32 | £750 |
| Last 64 | £250 |
| Total (no nine-dart prize) | £60,000 |
Players Championship Events
| Winner | £10,000 |
| Runner-Up | £6,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £3,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £2,250 |
| Last 16 | £1,500 |
| Last 32 | £1,000 |
| Last 64 | £500 |
| Total (no nine-dart prize) | £75,000 |
European Tour
| Winner | £25,000 |
| Runner-Up | £10,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £5,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £3,500 |
| Last 16 | £2,000 |
| Last 32 | £1,500 |
| Last 48 | £1,000 |
| Total | £115,000 |
Secondary Tour Events
Challenge Tour & Development Tour Events
| Winner | £2,000 |
| Runner-Up | £1,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £500 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £300 |
| Last 16 | £200 |
| Last 32 | £100 |
| Last 64 | £50 |
| Total | £10,000 |
2.2 For every Premier Event there will be a £5,000 prize fund for any player achieving a nine-dart leg.
Should this not be won in a particular tournament, this prize fund would be carried over and have the same amount again added to it until it is won (i.e. £5,000 in event one, £10,000 in event two, £15,000 in event three, £20,000 in event four etc). Once the prize fund has been won, it will revert to £5,000 for the next Premier event.
To clarify: nine-dart finishes hit during qualifying tournaments of Premier events do not count towards this bonus.
2.3 In the event of more than one player completing a nine-dart finish at any point during any event the prize fund will be divided pro rata based on the number of occasions on which the feat has been achieved.
To clarify: if one player achieves the feat twice and another once, the player who has achieved it twice will be entitled to a two-third share of the prize fund, regardless of the stages of the tournament when he achieved the feat. This prize fund does not count towards any Order of Merit.
2.4 All events will be scheduled and categorised at the discretion of the PDC Board of Directors, following consultation with the PDPA, but with the final decision resting with the PDC Board of Directors.
2.5 Prize money won in all ranking tournaments determine a player’s standing in the relevant Orders of Merit. Prize money will be displayed in UK£ as per the details in 2.1.
2.6 All prize money paid to Full and Associate PDPA Members in all tournaments will be paid in UK£ directly by the PDC or its local agents in the standard amounts detailed above, unless otherwise advertised.
2.7 The Order of Merit is calculated on prize money won by players over a two-year period and is added to each player’s total at the conclusion of each tournament.
All ProTour prize money shall count for two years and be removed from the main Order of Merit on the second anniversary of it being won, regardless of the corresponding position in the calendar of any events.
Prize money won in Premier Events will count for a period of two corresponding tournaments so as to ensure no Premier Event counts three times at any point on a player’s total. If an event lapses from the PDC calendar or changes position in the PDC calendar, prize money won will last for two calendar years.
In the event of a clash of dates with tournaments (for example: March 23 2014, March 23 2016), money will be removed before the commencement of the tournament which clashes with one from two years previously.
For the avoidance of doubt, money will count from 0900 the day after it is won. For example, if the final of an event is also the cut-off date for another tournament, no money won in that event will count until 0900 the following day. All tournament prize money is added at the same time, regardless of the time/date any player was eliminated.
2.9 The calendar of tournaments and Orders of Merit will be published on pdc.tv, the PDC’s official website and it will be the responsibility of the individual players to ensure they are fully aware of all details.
2.10 Invitations to and seedings for ranked events will be based on the relevant Orders of Merit at the closing date for entries for the tournament in question.
2.11 Players will need to have participated in a minimum of ten events over a rolling two-year period to be eligible to qualify for Premier Events through the Order of Merit and a minimum of five events over a rolling one-year period to retain their Tour Card. However, players only need to have competed in one event to be eligible to win a Tour Card.
Players who fall beneath these thresholds will remain on the Order of Merit but will not be eligible for qualification for Premier Events until they have reached the level again with all eligible prize money counted.
However, players need only participate in one ProTour event in order to qualify for the Players Championship Finals through the ProTour Order of Merit.
Players must participate in a minimum of one of the six qualifying tournaments to qualify for the UK Open Finals.
2.12 Only prize money won as a PDPA member is eligible to appear on the Orders of Merit. Lapsed members, or players who have lost their Tour Card and do not regain it for the following year will be removed from the Orders of Merit after Q School, and if they compete again as Day Members or Associate Members their prize money tallies will revert to £0 from the day their membership ceased or their Tour Card was lost.
Associate members who qualify for a one-year Tour Card by virtue of their ranking at the end of the previous year will retain their prize money won over the previous year on the Order of Merit.
Prize money won by Amateur Qualifiers in the UK Open or BDO Qualifiers in the Grand Slam will not count towards any Order of Merit.
2.13 Players who allow their PDPA membership to lapse during or following Q School or participation in the PDC World Championship are not permitted to enter UK Open Amateur Qualifiers for the remainder of that calendar year.
2.14 All prize money won in ProTour, Challenge Tour, Development Tour, Premier or World Series Events will be subject to a 3% levy, to be paid directly to the PDPA in the form of deductions from prize money.