Sixteen time world champion Phil Taylor was a notable absence at the tournament after failing to qualify, having played only three out of the 20 tournaments during the year.
Michael van Gerwen was the defending champion by beating Adrian Lewis 11–6 in the previous year's final,[1] and van Gerwen would retain his Players Championship title, beating Dave Chisnall 11–3 in the final.
The 2016 Players Championship Finals will have a total prize fund of £400,000, a £100,000 increase since the previous staging of the tournament.[2] The following is the breakdown of the fund:
The 2016 tournament will see a change in terms of qualification. The top 64 players from the Players Championships Order of Merit, which is solely based on prize money won in the twenty Players Championships events during the season, will qualify for the tournament.
These are the qualifiers after the 20 events:[3] On 21 November, it was announced that the #23 seed Kyle Anderson was forced to withdraw, owing to problems with his visa, so all the players below him moved up one ranking place, with Andy Hamilton moving into the #64 slot.