[2] Phil Taylor became the last remaining player to have played in every PDC World Championship, after Dennis Priestley failed to qualify.

The top 32 players in the PDC Order of Merit on 28 November 2011 are seeded for the tournament.

Some of the international players, such as the 4 from the European Order of Merit, and the top American and Australian players are entered straight into the first round, while others, having won qualifying events in their countries, are entered into the preliminary round.

The prize money is allocated as follows:[10] The draw was made on 29 November 2011, live on Sky Sports News by Rod Harrington & Keith Deller.

[12] Last updated: 2 January 2012Source: Match reports from the main draw This table shows the number of players by country in the World Championship, the total number including the preliminary round.