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.
The Dutch superstar enjoyed an amazing 2015, with his tally of 18 tournament wins including his first victories in the Coral UK Open, BetVictor World Matchplay and SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts as he completed a clean sweep of the PDC's major ranking titles.
Van Gerwen also completed a treble of Dubai Darts Masters victories and won The Unibet Masters, European Championship, World Series of Darts Finals and Cash Converters Players Championship Finals titles.
Away from the TV stage, he also won five of the nine PDC European Tour events, three out of six UK Open Qualifiers and two Players Championships.
In the 12 months from January 2015 to the end of the 2015/2016 William Hill World Championship, van Gerwen claimed £967,000 in prize money - a figure which would have topped £1 million had he progressed to the World Championship final!
That total was over £400,000 higher than the 12 month earnings won by Gary Anderson in the same period in 2014/2015, when the Scot picked up £561,750 to top the annual standings ahead of van Gerwen (£552,750) and Phil Taylor (£532,000).
Anderson's win in the 2015/2016 World Championship helped to boost his prize money for the last year to £740,000, with Adrian Lewis picking up £506,750 and Taylor scooping £452,125 in the year.
The increased prize money across the PDC circuit is reflected throughout the annual totals, as follows:
Eighth place: 2014 - Dave Chisnall, £207,250; 2015 - Dave Chisnall, £240,250
16th place: 2014 - Brendan Dolan, £120,750; 2015 - Simon Whitlock, £120,000
24th place: 2014 - Kevin Painter, £65,750; 2015 - Jamie Lewis, £79,550
32nd place: 2014 - Paul Nicholson, £46,250; 2015 - Steve Beaton, £62,000
40th place: 2014 - Mensur Suljovic, £30,500; 2015 - Ronny Huybrechts, £38,500
PDC Chairman Barry Hearn said: "Our pledge to increase prize money across the PDC circuit has been supported by our players with the thrilling darts which they've produced worldwide in recent years.
"Our analysis of last year's prize money totals shows how Michael van Gerwen has raised the bar not only on the oche but also off the oche with the brilliant performances which he produced that almost made him a £1 million man!
"When coupled with the continuing increases in prize money on the PDC circuit, both in our major televised events and on the ProTour, I'm confident that we'll see a player break that magical £1 million barrier for prize money won in a year in the near future.
"Our investment in professional darts has been great news for players across the PDC circuit as we prepare to pay a record £10 million in prize money during 2016."
PDC Prize Money Totals - Top 40 for past two years
| 2014-2015 | Total | 2015-2016 | Total | |
| 1 | Gary Anderson | £561,750 | Michael van Gerwen | £967,000 |
| 2 | Michael van Gerwen | £552,750 | Gary Anderson | £740,000 |
| 3 | Phil Taylor | £532,000 | Adrian Lewis | £506,750 |
| 4 | Raymond van Barneveld | £308,750 | Phil Taylor | £452,125 |
| 5 | Adrian Lewis | £249,500 | Peter Wright | £375,875 |
| 6 | James Wade | £223,000 | James Wade | £337,000 |
| 7 | Peter Wright | £215,000 | Raymond van Barneveld | £328,250 |
| 8 | Dave Chisnall | £207,250 | Dave Chisnall | £240,250 |
| 9 | Mervyn King | £171,500 | Robert Thornton | £220,750 |
| 10 | Robert Thornton | £170,750 | Stephen Bunting | £198,500 |
| 11 | Stephen Bunting | £156,750 | Michael Smith | £192,750 |
| 12 | Simon Whitlock | £143,000 | Jelle Klaasen | £177,750 |
| 13 | Terry Jenkins | £139,750 | Kim Huybrechts | £170,250 |
| 14 | Michael Smith | £126,500 | Ian White | £142,750 |
| 15 | Vincent van der Voort | £125,250 | Mensur Suljovic | £142,000 |
| 16 | Brendan Dolan | £120,750 | Simon Whitlock | £120,000 |
| 17 | Kim Huybrechts | £120,000 | Terry Jenkins | £119,500 |
| 18 | Wes Newton | £107,250 | Benito van de Pas | £105,800 |
| 19 | Ian White | £98,250 | Vincent van der Voort | £102,250 |
| 20 | Dean Winstanley | £89,000 | Mark Webster | £95,750 |
| 21 | Justin Pipe | £88,500 | Mervyn King | £93,250 |
| 22 | Andy Hamilton | £88,500 | Brendan Dolan | £90,250 |
| 23 | Jamie Caven | £76,250 | Justin Pipe | £80,250 |
| 24 | Kevin Painter | £65,750 | Jamie Lewis | £79,550 |
| 25 | Steve Beaton | £65,250 | Alan Norris | £76,250 |
| 26 | Andrew Gilding | £54,500 | Gerwyn Price | £72,000 |
| 27 | Ronnie Baxter | £53,250 | Andrew Gilding | £68,000 |
| 28 | Darren Webster | £51,250 | John Henderson | £65,250 |
| 29 | Jelle Klaasen | £50,250 | Keegan Brown | £64,650 |
| 30 | Keegan Brown | £49,250 | Daryl Gurney | £63,500 |
| 31 | Richie Burnett | £46,500 | Jamie Caven | £62,750 |
| 32 | Paul Nicholson | £46,250 | Steve Beaton | £62,000 |
| 33 | Andy Smith | £46,250 | Joe Murnan | £55,750 |
| 34 | Benito van de Pas | £45,500 | Max Hopp | £55,550 |
| 35 | Christian Kist | £45,250 | Rowby-John Rodriguez | £52,450 |
| 36 | Ronny Huybrechts | £41,500 | Kyle Anderson | £46,500 |
| 37 | Mark Webster | £35,750 | Andy Hamilton | £40,750 |
| 38 | Michael Mansell | £34,750 | Christian Kist | £38,500 |
| 39 | Rowby-John Rodriguez | £31,000 | Cristo Reyes | £38,500 |
| 40 | Mensur Suljovic | £30,500 | Ronny Huybrechts | £38,500 |