GARY Anderson was at his brilliant best as he beat James Wade to win the first Players Championship event of the year in Barnsley on Saturday.
The day also saw yet another spectacular nine-dart finish as Nathan Derry landed a perfect leg on his Players Championship debut against Darren Johnson.
World Champion Gary Anderson, who finished 2014 top of the PDC ProTour Order of Merit, picked up where he left off as he swept through the field before narrowly beating Wade 6-5 in a brilliant final at the Barnsley Metrodome.
Anderson's day began with comfortable 6-2 and 6-3 victories against Dave Ladley and John Bowles respectively, before he then saw off promising youngster Chris Dobey 6-2 to win his board.
And Anderson would really begin to turn on the style as he went on to beat four of his Betway Premier League opponents in a row to take the title.
A thumping 6-1 win over Stephen Bunting came first before the 44-year-old then sealed an incredible 6-0 whitewash win over Adrian Lewis to book his place in the semi-finals.
But Anderson's best was still yet to come as he produced a stunning display to beat Dave Chisnall 6-2, averaging 109.83 as he booked his place in the final.
Wade began the afternoon in similarly solid fashion as he comfortably won his board with back-to-back 6-3 wins against Mark Cox and Mark Frost and a 6-1 victory against Wales' Kevin Thomas.
Another 6-3 success followed against Dean Winstanley in the Last 16 before he then battled his way to the final with succesive 6-5 wins against Magnus Caris and Ian White.
And unsurprisingly there would be nothing to separate the players in the final as the game went to 4-4 before Wade appeared to have taken a crucial break in the ninth leg to move 5-4 ahead and one leg away from the win.
But Anderson showed his class as he broke straight back with a brilliant 11-darter before hitting back-to-back 180s at the start of the deciding leg and eventually taking out 20 to secure the title and the £10,000 winner's cheque.
Players Championship One
Saturday March 14, Barnsley Metrodome
First Round
Kyle Anderson 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Mark Dudbridge 6-5 Alan Tabern
Kevin Painter 6-3 Steve Brown
Darren Johnson 6-5 Nathan Derry (Nathan Derry Nine-Darter)
Joe Murnan 6-4 Steve Beaton
Conan Whitehead 6-4 Stephen McNally
Luke Woodhouse 6-5 Jamie Caven
Devon Petersen 6-2 Ian Moss
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Kevin Voornhout
Tim Martin 6-1 David Pallett
Prakash Jiwa 6-5 Ronnie Baxter
Joey Ten Berge 6-3 Colin Osborne
Ian White 6-0 Keegan Brown
Terry Temple 6-4 Colin Lloyd
Benito van de Pas 6-3 James Wilson
Adam Hunt 6-3 Dennis Smith
Peter Wright 6-5 Tomas Seyler
Stuart Kellett 6-3 Mark Walsh
Andy Smith 6-2 Jason Wilson
Nigel Heydon 6-3 Paul Milford
Magnus Caris 6-1 Mervyn King
Kirk Shepherd 6-3 Andy Jenkins
Christian Kist 6-2 Andrew Gilding
Andy Parsons 6-2 Robert Owen
James Wade 6-3 Mark Cox
Mark Frost 6-3 Ricky Evans
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-2 Wes Newton
Kevin Thomas 6-1 Gary Stone
Justin Pipe 6-2 Jan Dekker
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Jim Walker
Dean Winstanley 6-1 John Part
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-4 Johnny Haines
Gary Anderson 6-2 David Ladley
John Bowles 6-5 Wayne Jones
Mark Webster 6-0 Jonny Clayton
Chris Dobey 6-3 David Dodds
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Ross Twell
Steve West 6-4 Brian Woods
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Andy Boulton
James Forster 6-3 Jason Lovett
Adrian Lewis 6-2 John Henderson
Steve Hine 6-1 Tony Richardson
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Matt Padgett
Josh Payne 6-1 Tony Newell
Ross Smith 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Mickey Mansell 6-4 Ben Ward
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Jamie Robinson
Curtis Hammond 6-3 William O'Connor
Robert Thornton 6-4 Cristo Reyes
Jyhan Artut 6-5 Jamie Lewis
Kevin McDine 6-5 Darren Webster
Alan Norris 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Simon Whitlock
Joe Cullen 6-5 Dimitri van den Bergh
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Steve Douglas
Robbie Green 6-1 Eddie Dootson
Ronny Huybrechts 6-5 Michael Smith
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4 Kenny MacNeil
Max Hopp 6-4 Mensur Suljovic
Dave Bird 6-5 Jamie Bain
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Paul Nicholson
Lee Palfreyman 6-2 Mick Todd
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Mark Barilli
Mike Zuydwijk 6-5 Matthew Edgar
Second Round
Kyle Anderson 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Kevin Painter 6-3 Darren Johnson
Joe Murnan 6-5 Conan Whitehead
Devon Petersen 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Tim Martin
Joey Ten Berge 6-2 Prakash Jiwa
Ian White 6-4 Terry Temple
Benito van de Pas 6-5 Adam Hunt
Peter Wright 6-4 Stuart Kellett
Andy Smith 6-2 Nigel Heydon
Magnus Caris 6-1 Kirk Shepherd
Andy Parsons 6-1 Christian Kist
James Wade 6-3 Mark Frost
Kevin Thomas 6-4 Rowby-Jonh Rodriguez
Justin Pipe 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Dean Winstanley 6-4 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Gary Anderson 6-3 John Bowles
Chris Dobey 6-3 Mark Webster
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Steve West
Stephen Bunting 6-3 James Forster
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Steve Hine
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Josh Payne
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Ross Smith
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Curtis Hammond
Robert Thornton 6-3 Jyhan Artut
Alan Norris 6-2 Kevin McDine
Joe Cullen 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Robbie Green
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Ronny Huybrechts
Dave Bird 6-5 Max Hopp
Lee Palfreyman 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Mike Zuydwijk
Losers: £250
Third Round
Kevin Painter 6-1 Kyle Anderson
Joe Murnan 6-5 Devon Petersen
Joey Ten Berge 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Ian White 6-1 Benito van de Pas
Peter Wright 6-5 Andy Smith
Magnus Caris 6-3 Andy Parsons
James Wade 6-1 Kevin Thomas
Dean Winstanley 6-4 Justin Pipe
Gary Anderson 6-2 Chris Dobey
Stephen Bunting 6-1 Terry Jenkins
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Mickey Mansell
Alan Norris 6-3 Robert Thornton
Joe Cullen 6-4 Andy Hamilton
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 Dave Bird
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Lee Palfreyman
Losers: £750
Last 16
Kevin Painter 6-5 Joe Murnan
Ian White 6-2 Joey Ten Berge
Magnus Caris 6-4 Peter Wright
James Wade 6-3 Dean Winstanley
Gary Anderson 6-1 Stephen Bunting
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Joe Cullen 6-2 Alan Norris
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Losers: £1,500
Quarter-Finals
Ian White 6-4 Kevin Painter
James Wade 6-5 Magnus Caris
Gary Anderson 6-0 Adrian Lewis
Dave Chisnall 6-0 Joe Cullen
Losers: £2,000
Semi-Finals
James Wade 6-5 Ian White
Gary Anderson 6-2 Dave Chisnall
Losers: £2,500
Final
Gary Anderson 6-5 James Wade
Winner: £10,000
Runner-Up: £5,000
The day also saw yet another spectacular nine-dart finish as Nathan Derry landed a perfect leg on his Players Championship debut against Darren Johnson.
World Champion Gary Anderson, who finished 2014 top of the PDC ProTour Order of Merit, picked up where he left off as he swept through the field before narrowly beating Wade 6-5 in a brilliant final at the Barnsley Metrodome.
Anderson's day began with comfortable 6-2 and 6-3 victories against Dave Ladley and John Bowles respectively, before he then saw off promising youngster Chris Dobey 6-2 to win his board.
And Anderson would really begin to turn on the style as he went on to beat four of his Betway Premier League opponents in a row to take the title.
A thumping 6-1 win over Stephen Bunting came first before the 44-year-old then sealed an incredible 6-0 whitewash win over Adrian Lewis to book his place in the semi-finals.
But Anderson's best was still yet to come as he produced a stunning display to beat Dave Chisnall 6-2, averaging 109.83 as he booked his place in the final.
Wade began the afternoon in similarly solid fashion as he comfortably won his board with back-to-back 6-3 wins against Mark Cox and Mark Frost and a 6-1 victory against Wales' Kevin Thomas.
Another 6-3 success followed against Dean Winstanley in the Last 16 before he then battled his way to the final with succesive 6-5 wins against Magnus Caris and Ian White.
And unsurprisingly there would be nothing to separate the players in the final as the game went to 4-4 before Wade appeared to have taken a crucial break in the ninth leg to move 5-4 ahead and one leg away from the win.
But Anderson showed his class as he broke straight back with a brilliant 11-darter before hitting back-to-back 180s at the start of the deciding leg and eventually taking out 20 to secure the title and the £10,000 winner's cheque.
Players Championship One
Saturday March 14, Barnsley Metrodome
First Round
Kyle Anderson 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Mark Dudbridge 6-5 Alan Tabern
Kevin Painter 6-3 Steve Brown
Darren Johnson 6-5 Nathan Derry (Nathan Derry Nine-Darter)
Joe Murnan 6-4 Steve Beaton
Conan Whitehead 6-4 Stephen McNally
Luke Woodhouse 6-5 Jamie Caven
Devon Petersen 6-2 Ian Moss
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Kevin Voornhout
Tim Martin 6-1 David Pallett
Prakash Jiwa 6-5 Ronnie Baxter
Joey Ten Berge 6-3 Colin Osborne
Ian White 6-0 Keegan Brown
Terry Temple 6-4 Colin Lloyd
Benito van de Pas 6-3 James Wilson
Adam Hunt 6-3 Dennis Smith
Peter Wright 6-5 Tomas Seyler
Stuart Kellett 6-3 Mark Walsh
Andy Smith 6-2 Jason Wilson
Nigel Heydon 6-3 Paul Milford
Magnus Caris 6-1 Mervyn King
Kirk Shepherd 6-3 Andy Jenkins
Christian Kist 6-2 Andrew Gilding
Andy Parsons 6-2 Robert Owen
James Wade 6-3 Mark Cox
Mark Frost 6-3 Ricky Evans
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-2 Wes Newton
Kevin Thomas 6-1 Gary Stone
Justin Pipe 6-2 Jan Dekker
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Jim Walker
Dean Winstanley 6-1 John Part
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-4 Johnny Haines
Gary Anderson 6-2 David Ladley
John Bowles 6-5 Wayne Jones
Mark Webster 6-0 Jonny Clayton
Chris Dobey 6-3 David Dodds
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Ross Twell
Steve West 6-4 Brian Woods
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Andy Boulton
James Forster 6-3 Jason Lovett
Adrian Lewis 6-2 John Henderson
Steve Hine 6-1 Tony Richardson
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Matt Padgett
Josh Payne 6-1 Tony Newell
Ross Smith 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Mickey Mansell 6-4 Ben Ward
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Jamie Robinson
Curtis Hammond 6-3 William O'Connor
Robert Thornton 6-4 Cristo Reyes
Jyhan Artut 6-5 Jamie Lewis
Kevin McDine 6-5 Darren Webster
Alan Norris 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Simon Whitlock
Joe Cullen 6-5 Dimitri van den Bergh
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Steve Douglas
Robbie Green 6-1 Eddie Dootson
Ronny Huybrechts 6-5 Michael Smith
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4 Kenny MacNeil
Max Hopp 6-4 Mensur Suljovic
Dave Bird 6-5 Jamie Bain
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Paul Nicholson
Lee Palfreyman 6-2 Mick Todd
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Mark Barilli
Mike Zuydwijk 6-5 Matthew Edgar
Second Round
Kyle Anderson 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Kevin Painter 6-3 Darren Johnson
Joe Murnan 6-5 Conan Whitehead
Devon Petersen 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Tim Martin
Joey Ten Berge 6-2 Prakash Jiwa
Ian White 6-4 Terry Temple
Benito van de Pas 6-5 Adam Hunt
Peter Wright 6-4 Stuart Kellett
Andy Smith 6-2 Nigel Heydon
Magnus Caris 6-1 Kirk Shepherd
Andy Parsons 6-1 Christian Kist
James Wade 6-3 Mark Frost
Kevin Thomas 6-4 Rowby-Jonh Rodriguez
Justin Pipe 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Dean Winstanley 6-4 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Gary Anderson 6-3 John Bowles
Chris Dobey 6-3 Mark Webster
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Steve West
Stephen Bunting 6-3 James Forster
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Steve Hine
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Josh Payne
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Ross Smith
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Curtis Hammond
Robert Thornton 6-3 Jyhan Artut
Alan Norris 6-2 Kevin McDine
Joe Cullen 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Robbie Green
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Ronny Huybrechts
Dave Bird 6-5 Max Hopp
Lee Palfreyman 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Mike Zuydwijk
Losers: £250
Third Round
Kevin Painter 6-1 Kyle Anderson
Joe Murnan 6-5 Devon Petersen
Joey Ten Berge 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Ian White 6-1 Benito van de Pas
Peter Wright 6-5 Andy Smith
Magnus Caris 6-3 Andy Parsons
James Wade 6-1 Kevin Thomas
Dean Winstanley 6-4 Justin Pipe
Gary Anderson 6-2 Chris Dobey
Stephen Bunting 6-1 Terry Jenkins
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Mickey Mansell
Alan Norris 6-3 Robert Thornton
Joe Cullen 6-4 Andy Hamilton
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 Dave Bird
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Lee Palfreyman
Losers: £750
Last 16
Kevin Painter 6-5 Joe Murnan
Ian White 6-2 Joey Ten Berge
Magnus Caris 6-4 Peter Wright
James Wade 6-3 Dean Winstanley
Gary Anderson 6-1 Stephen Bunting
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Joe Cullen 6-2 Alan Norris
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Losers: £1,500
Quarter-Finals
Ian White 6-4 Kevin Painter
James Wade 6-5 Magnus Caris
Gary Anderson 6-0 Adrian Lewis
Dave Chisnall 6-0 Joe Cullen
Losers: £2,000
Semi-Finals
James Wade 6-5 Ian White
Gary Anderson 6-2 Dave Chisnall
Losers: £2,500
Final
Gary Anderson 6-5 James Wade
Winner: £10,000
Runner-Up: £5,000