ROBERT THORNTON edged out Gary Anderson in an all-Scottish final to claim Players Championship glory at Dublin's Citywest Hotel on Sunday night.
Thornton completed a superb weekend in preparation for the PartyPoker.com World Grand Prix, which begins when he faces Mark Walsh on Monday night, by following up Saturday's run to the final by claiming the £6,000 PDC ProTour title 24 hours later.
The Speedy Services UK Open champion erased the memory of Saturday's narrow loss to Michael van Gerwen with early wins over Darren Johnson, Vincent van der voort and Scott Rand.
He then took a fourth successive 6-3 win by seeing off Mervyn King in the quarter-finals, and hit six 180s in his semi-final win over Wes Newton, averaging 106 in taking victory by the same scoreline.
The final proved a see-saw affair between the two Scots, with Thornton opening with legs of 14 and 11 darts to lead 2-0 only for Anderson to storm back with three in a row, breaking throw in 13 and 12 darts and landing double 16 in the other leg as he edged ahead.
Thornton punished a miss at tops from his rival to win the sixth and then followed a 180 with tops for another 14-darter as he moved 4-3 up.
Anderson then landed tops to level and took out 110 to move 5-4 up, but would never get the chance to have a double for victory as Thornton checked out 84 to force a decider and 89 to claim the win.
"It's brilliant to win this - I'm over the moon," said Thornton. "I've had a couple of quarter-finals and semi-finals recently and got to the final yesterday, so I thought I was due a win and hopefully there's many more to come.
"Michael van Gerwen is probably the player mostly on form at the minute and he's starting to enjoy his game and he's outstanding when he starts scoring. I thought I threw it away against him yesterday but he hit his finishes and hats off to him.
"The final today swung both ways - I lost my throw and then got it back, and going for the 89 I just wanted to hit the treble 19 and when I hit that and went for the double 16 I was saying 'Don't miss!'
"I'm chuffed to bits and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I'll rest up tonight, have a couple of hours' practice tomorrow and then just enjoy the game tomorrow night."
Anderson's run to the final was a welcome confidence boost for the former Premier League Darts champion, as he showed some superb form.
He dropped only three legs in his wins over Adam Smith-Neale, Nigel Heydon and Terry Temple before overcoming PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion James Hubbard 6-3 in the last 16.
Anderson then came from 3-0 down to win his quarter-final with Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 and saw off Dave Chisnall 6-3 in the semis to reach his first ProTour final for almost 12 months.
Chisnall's run to the last four included wins over former World Champions Dennis Priestley and Mark Webster and a 6-4 quarter-final defeat of Kim Huybrechts, who missed double 12 for a nine-darter in the contest.
World number six Newton continued the form which took him to the PartyPoker.net European Championship semi-finals recently by progressing to the last four, seeing off tops 16 Andy Hamilton and Ronnie Baxter along the way.
Baxter, Huybrechts and van Barneveld were joined in the last eight by King, while World Champion Adrian Lewis was amongst the Last 16's losers as he went down to Huybrechts.
Players Championship 14
Citywest Hotel, Dublin, Sunday October 7 2012
First Round
Justin Pipe (1) Bye
Magnus Caris 6-2 John Part
Scott Rand (32) 6-1 Paul Barham
Mark Hylton 6-2 Richie Howson
Vincent van der Voort (16) Bye
Michael Mansell 6-2 Bernd Roith
Robert Thornton (17) Bye
Darren Johnson 6-5 John MaGowan
Ian White (8) Bye
Tony West 6-4 Jim Walker
Michael Smith (25) 6-2 Gino Vos
Peter Hudson 6-5 Steve Maish
Mervyn King (9) Bye
Steve Brown 6-5 Keith Stephen
Andy Smith (24) 6-4 Alan Tabern
Scott Coleman 6-4 Brandon Walsh
Simon Whitlock (5) Bye
Mark Dudbridge 6-1 Adrian Gray
Kevin Painter (28) 6-5 Johnny Haines
Denis Ovens 6-1 Barrie Bates
Ronnie Baxter (12) Bye
Paddy Meaney 6-3 Dennis Smith
Paul Nicholson (21) 6-2 Mick Todd
Sam Hill 6-1 Mark Forman
Wes Newton (4) Bye
John Bowles 6-4 Arron Monk
Wayne Jones 6-3 Jamie Caven (29)
Steve Grubb 6-4 Mareno Michels
Andy Hamilton (13) Bye
Connie Finnan 6-5 Tony Littleton
Brian Woods 6-2 Richie Burnett (20)
Glenn Spearing 6-2 Ryan Maher
Dave Chisnall (2) Bye
Dennis Priestley 6-4 Shaun Griffiths
Stuart Kellett 6-4 James Richardson (31)
Roland Scholten 6-1 John Scott
Colin Osborne (15) Bye
Steve Hine 6-4 William O'Connor
Mark Webster (18) Bye
Darren Webster 6-0 Dave Kelly
Adrian Lewis (7) Bye
Kevin McDine 6-3 Paul Rowley
Peter Wright (26) 6-1 Alex Roy
Prakash Jiwa 6-5 John Henderson
Kim Huybrechts (10) Bye
Joe Murnan 6-3 Ted Hankey
Mark Walsh (23) 6-2 Ross Smith
Kevin Dowling 6-2 Mick McGowan
Michael van Gerwen (6) Bye
Terry Temple 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Gary Anderson (27) 6-1 Adam Smith-Neale
Nigel Heydon 6-1 Mark Jones
Terry Jenkins (11) Bye
James Hubbard 6-2 Jamie Lewis
Steve Beaton (22) 6-2 Reece Robinson
Chris Aubrey 6-4 Dave Ladley
Raymond van Barneveld (3) Bye
Dean Winstanley 6-2 Stephen Hardy
Joe Cullen (30) 6-4 Matthew Edgar
Michael Barnard 6-5 Darren Whittingham
Colin Lloyd (14) Bye
Gareth Pass 6-2 Andy Jenkins
Brendan Dolan (19) 6-0 Gaz Cousins
Mike Veitch 6-1 Glen Fitzpatrick
Second Round
Magnus Caris 6-4 Justin Pipe
Scott Rand 6-1 Mark Hylton
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Michael Mansell
Robert Thornton 6-3 Darren Johnson
Ian White 6-2 Tony West
Peter Hudson 6-1 Michael Smith
Mervyn King 6-3 Steve Brown
Andy Smith 6-1 Scott Coleman
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Mark Dudbridge
Kevin Painter 6-3 Denis Ovens
Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Paddy Meaney
Paul Nicholson 6-0 Sam Hill
Wes Newton 6-3 John Bowles
Wayne Jones 6-2 Steve Grubb
Andy Hamilton 6-1 Connie Finnan
Glenn Spearing 6-4 Brian Woods
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Dennis Priestley
Stuart Kellet 6-5 Roland Scholten
Colin Osborne 6-4 Steve Hine
Mark Webster 6-3 Darren Webster
Adrian Lewis 6-1 Kevin McDine
Prakash Jiwa 6-4 Peter Wright
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Joe Murnan
Mark Walsh 6-5 Kevin Dowling
Terry Temple 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Gary Anderson 6-2 Nigel Heydon
James Hubbard 6-5 Terry Jenkins
Chris Aubrey 6-4 Steve Beaton
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Dean Winstanley
Michael Barnard 6-5 Joe Cullen
Gareth Pass 6-2 Colin Lloyd
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Mike Veitch
Losers £200
Third Round
Scott Rand 6-5 Magnus Caris
Robert Thornton 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Peter Hudson 6-4 Ian White
Mervyn King 6-1 Andy smith
Kevin Painter 6-1 Simon Whitlock
Ronnie Baxter 6-3 Paul Nicholson
Wes Newton 6-0 Wayne Jones
Andy Hamilton 6-1 Glenn Spearing
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Stuart Kellett
Mark Webster 6-2 Colin Osborne
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Prakash Jiwa
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Mark Walsh
Gary Anderson 6-0 Terry Temple
James Hubbard 6-4 Chris Aubrey
Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Michael Barnard
Gareth Pass 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Losers £400
Fourth Round
Robert Thornton 6-3 Scott Rand
Mervyn King 6-4 Peter Hudson
Ronnie Baxter 6-3 Kevin Painter
Wes Newton 6-3 Andy Hamilton
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Mark Webster
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Adrian Lewis
Gary Anderson 6-3 James Hubbard
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Gareth Pass
Losers £600
Quarter-Finals
Robert Thornton 6-3 Mervyn King
Wes Newton 6-3 Ronnie Baxter
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Gary Anderson 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld
Losers £1,000
Semi-Finals
Robert Thornton 6-3 Wes Newton
Gary Anderson 6-3 Dave Chisnall
Losers £2,000
Final
Robert Thornton 6-5 Gary Anderson
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000
Final - Leg-By-Leg
0-0 - Robert Thornton wins the bull and throws first.
1-0 - Anderson lands a 180, but Thornton finishes tops for a 14-darter to win the opener.
2-0 - Thornton breaks with a brilliant 11-darter, scoring 140, 140, 131 and taking out 90 with a bullseye, double top combination.
2-1 - Anderson breaks back by landing tops for a 13-darter, with Thornton missing the bull for a 167 finish to hold throw.
2-2 - Anderson levels in a dramatic leg, with his 180 leaving 82 before Thornton scores 174 to level. Anderson misses the bull, but Thornton is off-target twice on tops to allow his rival in to finish double 16.
2-3 - Anderson breaks to lead with a fine 12-darter, scoring 180, 140, 121 and taking out double ten with Thornton waiting on 60.
3-3 - Thornton misses tops to break, but when Anderson is off-target at the same bed he returns to level on double ten.
4-3 - Thornton opens with a 180 and takes out tops to edge back ahead.
4-4 - The players trade 180s, with Thornton missing the bull and two darts at double four to allow Anderson in to hit tops and level.
4-5 - Thornton misses tops to finish 68 and Anderson checks out 110 to break and move a leg away from the win.
5-5 - Anderson is unable to take out 121 and Thornton finishes 84 in two darts to force a decider.
6-5 - In keeping with the rest of the game the pair are neck and neck, with Anderson only able to watch on as Thornton steps up to take out 89 in two darts for the win.