DAVE CHISNALL won his maiden Players Championship title with a 6-4 defeat of Justin Pipe at Crawley's K2 Centre on Sunday night.
The St Helens ace, in his debut year within the PDC, won through to his fourth final on the PDC ProTour before finally breaking his duck to take the £6,000 first prize.
The 31-year-old played superbly throughout Sunday's tournament, twice missing double 12 for a nine-dart finish - during a third round win over Mark Hylton and in his semi-final defeat of Co Stompe - before hitting six 180s in the final.
Pipe hit five in return, including two in the sixth leg - which he won in 11 darts - before breaking in the seventh to lead 4-3.
Chisnall, though, landed a 180 in the eighth as he broke back on double ten, and he hit a 180 and double 18 to lead 5-4 before posting two maximums in a 12-darter to seal victory with an 82 finish.
"It feels great," said Chisnall, who also defeated World Champion Adrian Lewis on Sunday. "After being in three finals before I was determined to get the win.
"Justin played well but luckily I got the win. He missed a few doubles but I hit mine. I played well all day and that's fourth time lucky for me!
"My goal at the start of the year was to make sure I qualified for the World Championship and I've done that through the Players Championship Order of Merit. I've worked my way up and I'm really happy.
"It's great for my confidence going into the Grand Slam. I've had some problems with doubles on TV but I've got to get over that and I'm looking forward to it."
Pipe had reached his fifth final in the last eight Players Championships - and was bidding to join the exclusive band of players to have won back-to-back events in one weekend, following his victory on Saturday.
He saw off Chris Aubrey, Steve Farmer and Denis Ovens before coming from 4-2 down to win 6-4 against Belgium's Kim Huybrechts in the quarter-finals.
The Taunton ace then whitewashed Brendan Dolan in the semis, but had to settle for the £3,000 runner-up prize after seeing Chisnall prevail.
Co Stompe enjoyed his best weekend of 2011 by reaching a second successive semi-final before losing out to Chisnall, who led 4-1 before being pegged back as the Dutch ace forced a decider.
Stompe's run also included a 6-2 win over Ronnie Baxter, who joined Chisnall in missing double 12 for a nine-dart finish during his defeat.
Northern Ireland's Dolan - October's PartyPoker.com World Grand Prix runner-up - also reached the last four of a PDC ProTour event for the first time in 18 months with a run which saw him defeat former World Champions Mark Webster and John Part as well as Dutch pair Michael van Gerwen and Roland Scholten.
PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Champion Arron Monk reached his first-ever PDC ProTour quarter-final in a run which saw him defeat Colin Osborne, Mark Frost and Vincent van der Voort.
Belgium's Huybrechts joined Steve Beaton, Part and Monk in reaching the last eight, while Manchester-based teenager Shaun Griffiths reached the last 16 to continue his bid to qualify for the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship.
Only two Players Championships remain before the field for the World Championship is confirmed, with those events in Wigan on November 27 & 28 to be followed by the PDPA Qualifier for the tournament.
Players Championship 29
K2 Centre, Crawley, Sunday November 6
First Round
Justin Pipe (1) Bye
Chris Aubrey 6-4 Matt Padett
Steve Farmer (32) 6-4 Mark Jones
Peter Manley 6-3 Magnus Caris
Andy Smith (16) 6-2 Brian Woods
Michael Smith 6-3 Mareno Michels
Denis Ovens (17) 6-1 Mark Dudbridge
Prakash Jiwa 6-4 Mick Todd
Mervyn King (8) Bye
Gary Eastwood 6-4 Tony Eccles
Richie Burnett (25) 6-3 Kevin Dowling
Kim Huyrechts 6-0 Darren Whittingham
Jamie Caven (9) Bye
Joe Cullen 6-4 Wayne Atwood
Robert Thornton 6-3 Steve Brown (24)
Reece Robinson 6-5 Darren Johnson
Mark Walsh (5) Bye
Roland Scholten 6-2 Simon Burt
Michael van Gerwen (28) 6-4 Michael Mansell
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Paul Rowley
Mark Webster (12) Bye
Steve Maish 6-4 Steven Pearson
Scott Rand (21) 6-0 Michael Barnard
Jelle Klaasen 6-5 Steve Hine
John Part (4) Bye
Terry Temple 6-2 Ian Jopling
Steve Evans 6-2 Andy Hamilton (29)
Barrie Bates 6-5 Ian White
Peter Wright (13) Bye
Nigel Birch 6-3 Jon Archer
Colin Lloyd (20) 6-3 Dave Smith
Andy Relf 6-1 Adam Smith-Neale
Wes Newton (2) Bye
Ken MacNeil 6-4 Dennis Priestley
Adrian Lewis (31) 6-2 Kevin McDine
Stephen Hardy 6-5 Steve Grubb
Dave Chisnall (15) 6-0 Mark Lawrence
Shane O'Connor 6-3 Devon Petersen
Mark Hylton (18) 6-2 Alex Roy
Andy Brown 6-1 Ryan Harrington
Vincent van der Voort (7) Bye
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Martyn Turner
Wayne Jones (26) 6-0 Darrell Claydon
Peter Hudson 6-2 Darin Young
Colin Osborne (10) Bye
Arron Monk 6-1 Jimmy O'Regan
Terry Jenkins (23) 6-1 Ashley Holgate
Mark Frost 6-5 Tony Ayres
Ronnie Baxter (6) Bye
Kirk Shepherd 6-0 Geoff Whitworth
Co Stompe (27) 6-3 Adam Hunt
Dennis Smith 6-3 Aodhagan O'Neill
James Wade (11) Bye
Dyson Parody 6-4 William O'Connor
Alan Tabern (22) 6-3 Matthew Edgar
Shaun Griffiths 6-2 Dave Ladley
Paul Nicholson (3) Bye
Colin Monk 6-3 Adrian Bolitho
Louis Blundell 6-1 Nigel Heydon (30)
Matt Clark 6-1 Andy Pearce
Kevin Painter (14) 6-5 Jimmy Mann
Adrian Gray 6-5 Dylan Duo
Steve Beaton (19) 6-3 Nick Fullwell
James Richardson 6-0 John Walton
Second Round
Justin Pipe 6-1 Chris Aubrey
Steve Farmer 6-1 Peter Manley
Michael Smith 6-5 Andy Smith
Denis Ovens 6-5 Prakash Jiwa
Mervyn King 6-0 Gary Eastwood
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Richie Burnett
Jamie Caven 6-1 Joe Cullen
Robert Thornton 6-2 Reece Robinson
Roland Scholten 6-5 Mark Walsh
Brendan Dolan 6-1 Michael van Gerwen
Mark Webster 6-3 Steve Maish
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Scott Rand
John Part 6-1 Terry Temple
Steve Evans 6-5 Barrie Bates
Peter Wright 6-4 Nigel Birch
Colin Lloyd 6-1 Andy Relf
Wes Newton 6-5 Ken MacNeil
Adrian Lewis 6-2 Stephen Hardy
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Shane O'Connor
Mark Hylton 6-4 Andy Brown
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Andy Jenkins
Peter Hudson 6-4 Wayne Jones
Arron Monk 6-2 Colin Osborne
Mark Frost 6-5 Terry Jenkins
Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Kirk Shepherd
Co Stompe 6-5 Dennis Smith
James Wade 6-1 Dyson Parody
Shaun Griffiths 6-4 Alan Tabern
Paul Nicholson 6-0 Colin Monk
Louis Blundell 6-5 Matt Clark
Kevin Painter 6-3 Adrian Gray
Steve Beaton 6-2 James Richardson
Losers £200
Third Round
Justin Pipe 6-3 Steve Farmer
Denis Ovens 6-4 Michael Smith
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Mervyn King
Robert Thornton 6-0 Jamie Caven
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Roland Scholten
Mark Webster 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
John Part 6-3 Steve Evans
Colin Lloyd 6-4 Peter Wright
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Wes Newton
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Mark Hylton
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Peter Hudson
Arron Monk 6-2 Mark Frost
Co Stompe 6-2 Ronnie Baxter
Shaun Griffiths 6-4 James Wade
Paul Nicholson 6-3 Louis Blundell
Steve Beaton 6-5 Kevin Painter
Losers £400
Fourth Round
Justin Pipe 6-4 Denis Ovens
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Robert Thornton
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Mark Webster
John Part 6-0 Colin Lloyd
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Adrian Lewis
Arron Monk 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Co Stompe 6-2 Shaun Griffiths
Steve Beaton 6-3 Paul Nicholson
Losers £600
Quarter-Finals
Justin Pipe 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Brendan Dolan 6-4 John Part
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Arron Monk
Co Stompe 6-3 Steve Beaton
Losers £1,000
Semi-Finals
Justin Pipe 6-0 Brendan Dolan
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Co Stompe
Losers £2,000
Final
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Justin Pipe
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000
Final - leg-by-leg
Justin Pipe v Dave Chisnall
0-0 - Dave Chisnall wins the bull and throws first
0-1 - Three ton-plus scores put Chisnall first to a finish, despite a 180 from Pipe, and he finishes double top for a 14-dart leg.
1-1 - Chisnall opens the second with scores of 140 and 180 against the throw, but Pipe hits two 140s and finishes double eight to level in 15 darts.
1-2 - Pipe hits scores of 125, 137 and 137 but fails to finish 102 and Chisnall follows a second 140 with double ten for a 15-dart finish.
2-2 - Chisnall opens with a 180, but Pipe replies with a maximum of his own, only to see the St Helens man hit 100 and 121 to leave 100 - but when he fails to check out Pipe finishes 80 in two darts for a 14-darter.
2-3 - Chisnall makes three visits without hitting a treble, but then scores 121 and 140 to be first to a finish. However, he is given a reprieve for failing to finish 94 when Pipe misses two darts at double 16, and he returns to hit the same bed.
3-3 - The pair trade 180s, and Pipe adds a second maximum of the leg to leave 41 after nine darts and finishes double 16 for an 11-dart leg, with Chisnall waiting on 62.
4-3 - Pipe secures the first break, hitting two 140s and double eight, with Chisnall waiting on 40.
4-4 - Chisnall kicks off with scores of 180, 134 and 134 but misses double top and ten to break back - only for Pipe to follow up a 180 by wiring double 12 for a 101 finish to allow him back in to level.
4-5 - Chisnall lands another 180 and hits double 18 to move a leg away from victory.
4-6 - Chisnall opens with his fifth maximum of the final and follows a 59 with another maximum to leave 82, and when Pipe misses double 13 for a 106 he returns to hit tops for a 12-dart winning leg.