MERVYN KING picked up his second PDC Pro Tour win of 2008 with victory in the PartyPoker.net Dutch Darts Trophy.
King defeated Raymond van Barneveld 3-2 in the final to claim the £5,000 winner's cheque, following up his victory in April's Scottish Players Championship with another title to jump up to 12th in the PDC Order of Merit.
He defeated Mensur Suljovic, Adrian Gray and Wes Newton in the early stages and then recorded 3-1 wins over Robert Thornton and Colin Lloyd to reach the final.
King took the first set of the final without reply before van Barneveld replied in Kind to level matters, only for the Norfolk man to edge the third in a deciding leg.
A 118 finish put him in front in the fourth, but two missed match darts allowed van Barneveld to level in the next leg before the Dutchman took out 156 for the set.
But King landed a fourth maximum of the game in winning the final set's opener, and pounced on a missed double 14 from his opponent to seal the victory.
Van Barneveld came from a set down to win his semi-final against Andy Hamilton, having only dropped two sets in earlier wins over Robert Watson-Lang, Steve Maish, Mark Dudbridge and Colin Osborne.
Jelle Klaasen recorded a nine-dart leg in his win over Terry Jenkins, earning him a £4,800 bonus as the first player to achieve the feat in a Players Championship since John MaGowan in August.
Klaasen went on to lose to Denis Ovens in the last 16, while his compatriot Michael van Gerwen - who is closing on a place in the world's top 32 - was a narrow quarter-final loser to Hamilton.
Sunday's second Players Championship event at the Holiday Inn in Leiden, Holland will be the final event of 2008 to count towards qualification for the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship via the Players Championship Order of Merit.
It will also be decisive in confirming the top 32 players in this year's Players Championship Order of Merit, who will compete in January's inaugural Players Championship Finals at the Circus Tavern.
PartyPoker.net Dutch Darts Trophy (Saturday)
Preliminary Round
Robert Watson-Lang 3-0 Leroy Kwadijk
Jasper Smidt 3-1 Darren Johnson
Mark Dudbridge 3-0 Jim Leighton
Jeffrey Stigter 3-1 Kees Slokkers
Ron de Pijpar 3-0 Lee White
Andree Welge Bye (Bernhard Kraus)
Rocco Maes 3-0 Tomokazu Onoda
Jan van der Rassel 3-0 Kevin Wensink
Toon Greebe 3-0 Erwin Extercatte
Michael Rosenauer 3-0 Matt Jackson
Shane Passey 3-0 Steve Randall
Peter Manley 3-0 Mike Herold
Carlos Rodriguez 3-0 Paul Cooper
Jamie Caven 3-2 Willem Kralt
Wim Mink 3-1 John Quantock
David Platt Bye (Alan Warriner-Little)
Kevin Painter 3-0 Steve Cusick
Jacko Barry 3-1 Martyn Turner
Ben Burton 3-0 Diana van Houten
Louis Blundell 3-0 Boyd Meijer
Robert Thornton 3-0 Dave Ladley
Vincent van der Voort 3-1 Steve Hine
Dave Honey Bye (Olaf Fiss)
Colin Monk 3-2 Co Stompe
Nick Fulwell 3-1 Peter Aleman
Hannes Schnier Bye (Danny de Haas)
Mensur Suljovic 3-1 Ian Jopling
Andrew Davies 3-1 Dylan Duo
Jonathan Overton 3-2 Huseyin Zengin
Olaf Tupuschis 3-1 Mark Carter
Ronnie Baxter 3-1 Felix McBrearty
Freddy de Geus 3-2 Rolf Kaiser
Tomas Seyler 3-1 Edward Steggerda
Peter Wright 3-2 Remco van Eijden
James Keogh 3-0 John Lokken
Denis Ovens 3-0 Kevin Harris
Chris Thompson 3-0 Elmer Kralt
Justin Pipe 3-1 Wayne Atwood
First Round
Raymond van Barneveld 3-0 Robert Watson-Lang
Steve Maish 3-0 Jasper Smidt
Mark Dudbridge 3-1 Jeffrey Stigter
Mark Walsh 3-0 Ron de Pijpar
Dennis Priestley 3-1 Andree Welge
Steve Beaton 3-0 Rocco Maes
Colin Osborne 3-0 Jan van der Rassel
Toon Greebe 3-0 Tony Eccles
Wayne Mardle 3-2 Michael Rosenauer
Michael van Gerwen 3-0 Shane Passey
Peter Manley 3-0 Carlos Rodriguez
Jamie Caven Bye (Andy Smith)
Andy Hamilton 3-1 Wim Mink
David Platt 3-0 Matt Clark
Jacko Barry 3-2 Kevin Painter
Barrie Bates 3-0 Ben Burton
James Wade 3-1 Louis Blundell
Robert Thornton 3-2 Kevin McDine
Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Dave Honey
Kirk Shepherd 3-1 Colin Monk
Alan Tabern 3-1 Nick Fulwell
Wes Newton 3-1 Hannes Schnier
Mervyn King 3-0 Mensur Suljovic
Adrian Gray 3-0 Andrew Davies
Colin Lloyd 3-0 Jonathan Overton
Mick McGowan 3-1 Olaf Tupuschis
Ronnie Baxter 3-0 Freddy de Geus
Tomas Seyler 3-2 Wayne Jones
Terry Jenkins 3-1 Peter Wright
Jelle Klaasen 3-2 James Keogh
Denis Ovens 3-1 Chris Thompson
Andy Jenkins 3-0 Justin Pipe
Losers £75
Second Round
Raymond van Barneveld 3-2 Steve Maish
Mark Dudbridge 3-2 Mark Walsh
Dennis Priestley 3-2 Steve Beaton
Colin Osborne 3-2 Toon Greebe
Michael van Gerwen 3-1 Wayne Mardle
Jamie Caven 3-0 Peter Manley
Andy Hamilton 3-0 David Platt
Jacko Barry 3-2 Barrie Bates
Robert Thornton 3-2 James Wade
Kirk Shepherd 3-2 Vincent van der Voort
Wes Newton 3-2 Alan Tabern
Mervyn King 3-0 Adrian Gray
Colin Lloyd 3-0 Mick McGowan
Ronnie Baxter 3-2 Tomas Seyler
Jelle Klaasen 3-2 Terry Jenkins ** Nine-darter from Klaasen
Denis Ovens 3-0 Andy Jenkins
Losers £150
Third Round
Raymond van Barneveld 3-0 Mark Dudbridge
Colin Osborne 3-1 Dennis Priestley
Michael van Gerwen 3-0 Jamie Caven
Andy Hamilton 3-2 Jacko Barry
Robert Thornton 3-1 Kirk Shepherd
Mervyn King 3-2 Wes Newton
Colin Lloyd 3-0 Ronnie Baxter
Denis Ovens 3-2 Jelle Klaasen
Losers £300
Quarter-Finals
Raymond van Barneveld 3-0 Colin Osborne (2-0, 2-0, 2-0)
Andy Hamilton 3-2 Michael van Gerwen (2-1, 1-2, 1-2, 2-1, 2-0)
Mervyn King 3-1 Robert Thornton (2-0, 0-2, 2-0, 2-1)
Colin Lloyd 3-1 Denis Ovens (1-2, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0)
Losers £600
Semi-Finals
Raymond van Barneveld 3-1 Andy Hamilton (1-2. 2-1, 2-0, 2-0)
Mervyn King 3-1 Colin Lloyd (2-0, 2-1, 0-2, 2-0)
Losers £1,250
Final
Raymond van Barneveld 2-3 Mervyn King (0-2, 2-0, 1-2, 2-1, 0-2)
Winner £5,000
Runner-Up £2,500
News Updates
Preliminary Round
Jan van der Rassel defeats Kevin Wensink in straight sets, with Belgium's Rocco Maes defeating Japanese hopeful Tomokazu Onoda by the same scoreline.
Chris Thompson and Nick Fulwell open with wins over Elmer Kralt and Peter Aleman respectively.
Mensur Suljovic, a second round loser in the European Championship last weekend, defeats Ian Jopling 3-1.
Carlos Rodriguez and Wim Mink knock out York duo Paul Cooper and John Quantock.
Robert Watson-Lang earns clash with Raymond van Barneveld after straight sets defeat of former World Championship qualifier Leroy Kwadijk.
Colin Monk edges out Holland's Co Stompe in five sets.
Toon Greebe wins the all-Dutch battle with Erwin Extercatte 3-0, while Jacko Barry defeats Martyn Turner 3-1.
Peter Wright defeats Holland's Remco van Eijden in five sets, with Freddy de Geus also claiming a 3-2 win.
Robert Thornton defeats Dave Ladley in straight sets, while Ron de Pijpar overcomes Lee White by the same scoreline.
Andrew Davies moves into last 64 with 3-1 defeat of Gibraltar's Dylan Duo.
Jasper Smidt overcomes Darren Johnson 3-1, and Jonathan Overton edges past Huseyin Zengin in five sets.
Mark Dudbridge defeats Jim Leighton in straight sets, and Ben Burton overcomes Diana van Houten in the same manner.
Jamie Caven takes 3-2 win over Willem Kralt, and with Andy Smith absent through illness progresses into last 32.
Peter Manley defeats Mike Herold in straight sets, with Shane Passey defeating Steve Randell 3-0.
Kevin Painter and Ronnie Baxter defeat Steve Cusick and Felix McBrearty respectively to move into round one.
First Round
Dennis Priestley defeats Germany's Andree Welge 3-1, and Alan Tabern overcomes Nick Fulwell by the same scoreline.
David Platt and Colin Osborne move into last 32 with straight sets wins over Matt Clark and Jan van der Rassel respectively.
James Wade and Mervyn King defeat Louis Blundell and Mensur Suljovic to reach second round.
Holland's Toon Greebe overcomes Tony Eccles 3-0.
Kirk Shepherd and Wes Newton take 3-1 wins over Colin Monk and Hannes Schnier.
Steve Beaton's win over Rocco Maes sets up clash of World Champions in last 32 against Dennis Priestley.
Terry Jenkins defeats Peter Wright 3-1, and Wayne Mardle sees off Michael Rosenauer in five sets.
Adrian Gray and Steve Maish win their opening games without dropping a set against Andrew Davies and Jasper Smidt.
Peter Manley and Barrie Bates see off Carlos Rodriguez and Ben Burton 3-0.
Vincent van der Voort sets up meeting with Kirk Shepherd after 3-0 defeat of Dave Honey.
Mark Dudbridge meets Mark Walsh in last 32 after 3-1 win over Jeffrey Stigter.
Robert Thornton edges past Kevin McDine in five sets, and now meets James Wade in last 32.
Colin Lloyd defeats Jonathan Overton in straight sets, with Andy Jenkins seeing off Justin Pipe by the same score.
Jelle Klaasen moves into round two with narrow win over James Keogh.
Germany's Tomas Seyler comes from 2-1 down to defeat Wayne Jones.
Jacko Barry, Mick McGowan and Denis Ovens complete first round with victories.
Second Round
Andy Hamilton defeats David Platt 3-0.
Colin Osborne also moves into last 16, defeating Toon Greebe in five sets.
Wes Newton, an ITV Wildcard Qualifier for the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts, defeats Alan Tabern 3-2.
Dennis Priestley also wins in five sets, against Steve Beaton.
Mervyn King overcomes Adrian Gray 3-0.
JELLE KLAASEN HITS NINE-DARTER against Terry Jenkins, earning him a £4,800 bonus should no other player achieve the feat in this tournament.
Michael van Gerwen defeats Wayne Mardle 3-1.
Robert Thornton defeats number two seed James Wade in a deciding set.
Raymond van Barneveld moves into last 16 with five-set defeat of Steve Maish.
Kirk Shepherd continues his good form to follow last weekend's run to the semi-finals of the John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic with 3-2 win over Vincent van der Voort.
Jamie Caven sees off Peter Manley in straight sets to move into last 16.
Klaasen follows up earlier nine-darter with final-set victory over Terry Jenkins.
Mark Dudbridge defeats Mark Walsh 3-2, and now faces Raymond van Barneveld in last 16.
Denis Ovens defeats Andy Jenkins 3-0 and now meets Jelle Klaasen in third round.
Colin Lloyd takes straight sets win over Mick McGowan, and will meet Ronnie Baxter in last 16, after the Blackpool man's 3-2 win over Tomas Seyler.
Jacko Barry wins marathon five-set game with Barrie Bates.
Third Round
Michael van Gerwen races into quarter-finals with 3-0 win over Jamie Caven.
Mervyn King defeats Wes Newton in five sets.
Robert Thornton wins quarter-final place with 3-1 win over Kirk Shepherd.
World number two Raymond van Barneveld takes last eight spot with 3-0 defeat of Mark Dudbridge.
Colin Osborne defeats Dennis Priestley 3-1 to set up quarter-final with van Barneveld.
Colin Lloyd powers past Ronnie Baxter in straight sets to reach quarter-finals.
Denis Ovens sets up quarter-final with Lloyd after deciding leg win over Jelle Klaasen.
Andy Hamilton is pushed all the way by Jacko Barry before booking a place in quarter-finals.
Quarter-Finals
Mervyn King defeats Robert Thornton 3-1 to win a place in semi-finals.
Raymond van Barneveld fails to drop a leg in 3-0 defeat of Colin Osborne.
Colin Lloyd sets up semi-final with Mervyn King after 3-1 win over Denis Ovens, winning six legs without reply to seal victory after losing the first set.
Andy Hamilton comes from 2-1 down to defeat Michael van Gerwen in five sets, taking the decider without reply to reach semis.
Semi-Finals
Mervyn King defeated Colin Lloyd 3-1 to reach his first Players Championship final since April. King took the first set without reply and doubled his lead in the second, winning the decisive third leg on double ten after Lloyd missed double seven for a 134 finish. Lloyd took out 141 to lead in set three, and then double top cut the gap to 2-1 in the game, but a 100 finish edged King ahead in the fourth, and he landed a third maximum of the game to pull clear in the next leg, sealing the win on double top.
Raymond van Barneveld came from a set down to win through to his fourth Players Championship final of 2008 with a 3-1 defeat of Andy Hamilton. Hamilton took out 119 for the first leg and then edged the deciding leg on double two, after the pair shared five maximums in the opening set. Van Barneveld hit two 180s in taking the second set's opener, and double ten saw him edge the third leg to square the game. Hamilton landed a maximum of his own in the third set's opening leg, but a 120 finish from van Barneveld proved a hammer blow, as he took the set on double top and then finished 130 to lead in the fourth before wrapping up the win on double eight.