MICHAEL VAN GERWEN enjoyed a record year in 2015 after earning almost £1 million in prize money during an extraordinary 12 months for the Dutchman.

A FAMILIAR face will not be present on the PDC circuit in 2016, with former world number one Colin Lloyd stepping away from competitive events after dropping out of the world's top 64.

THE 2016 PDC Qualifying School will see 400 hopefuls bidding to win PDC Tour Cards from January 13-16 at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan.

FANS can now vote for their 2015 PDC Player of the Year for a special award to be presented at the PDC Annual Awards Dinner on Thursday January 21.

GARY ANDERSON has received further recognition of his William Hill World Darts Championship triumph after being congratulated by Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

GARY ANDERSON will begin his defence of the Betway Premier League title with a rematch against Adrian Lewis when the new season kicks off in Leeds on Thursday February 4 - Week One-Nine Fixtures Here!

THE Junior Darts Corporation will continue to grow in 2016 with the addition of a Junior European Championship alongside five Tour Events and the JDC seasons which will be held within Academies around the UK.

BELOW is the 2016 PDC Tournament Calendar.

Please see the foot of this page for any relevant notes.

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN will begin his defence of The Unibet Masters title against Stephen Bunting on Saturday January 30 at ArenaMK, with World Champion Gary Anderson up against Vincent van der Voort in Milton Keynes.

THE conclusion of the William Hill World Darts Championship marked the end of an era for the PDC with the retirement of Tournament Director Tommy Cox.