THE 2015/2016 William Hill World Darts Championship will feature a record £1,500,000 prize fund, with two additional sessions also added to this year’s schedule at an expanded Alexandra Palace.

The sport’s biggest event sees its prize fund boosted from £1,250,000, with the top prize increased to £300,000 – going up from the £250,000 paid to 2015 winner Gary Anderson.

The runner-up will take home £150,000, with the semi-finalists earning £70,000 and the quarter-finalists taking home £35,000. The third round losers will win £22,000, with second round losers earning £15,000, first round losers picking up £10,000 and preliminary round losers winning £4,250.

This year’s tournament will kick off on Thursday December 17 before concluding on Sunday January 3, with two additional sessions also added to the schedule – including an evening session on Boxing Day in a return to one of the features of the tournament from previous years.

The Preliminary Round stage of the event will also be altered as the format is enhanced from the best of seven legs to the best of three sets.

PDC Chairman Barry Hearn said: “The players are doing a brilliant job and we have therefore decided to increase the prize fund from £1.25 million to £1.5 million for this year’s event.

“We are also increasing the capacity of Alexandra Palace this year. We want to repay our fans for what they’ve contributed to the explosive growth in darts and so we have changed the layout of the venue and added several thousand more tickets for this year.

“There will also be a session on Boxing Day again so the tungsten action from the best tournament on the planet can continue right across the festive period.

“The preliminary round is also going to be changed to a best of three set format, there is such quality coming from overseas players that we thought it was actually disrespectful for them to be given such a short run in the tournament.

“The William Hill World Darts Championship is the hottest ticket in town for sports fans over the festive period and we believe these changes will only improve the greatest tournament on earth!”

Tickets for the 2015/2016 William Hill World Darts Championship will go on Priority Sale on Monday July 13 (10am) and on General Sale on Monday July 20 (10am).

Tickets can be purchased through SeeTickets, either online at pdc.seetickets.com or via 0844 871 8807.

VIP tickets can only be purchased via the PDC Head Office. Please contact: hospitality@pdc.tv