Phil Taylor was the defending champion, but he was defeated in the second round by Mervyn King. Kevin Painter came through the field with increasingly impressive performances to secure his first televised major title, defeating Mark Webster 13–9 in the final.
Prize money
Position (no. of players)
Prize money (Total: £250,000)
Winner
(1)
£60,000
Runner-Up
(1)
£24,000
Semi-finalists
(2)
£15,000
Quarter-finalists
(4)
£10,000
Last 16 (second round)
(8)
£6,000
Last 32 (first round)
(16)
£3,000
Qualification
The top 32 players from the PDC Players Championship Order of Merit after the last Players Championship events, which was held in Wigan on 27 November, qualified for the event.
The tournament was broadcast in the UK on ITV4 who return to televising the tournament after the last edition was streamed through the PDC website.[12] The tournament was also broadcast in Australia for the first time with Fox Sports showing it.[13] In the Netherlands, the tournament was broadcast on TV (highlights) and internet (livestream) by RTL7.