MICHAEL VAN GERWEN claimed his eighth tournament victory of 2016 in superb style by defeated Benito van de Pas 6-3 in the final of Players Championship Three at the Barnsley Metrodome, on a day which saw two nine-darters achieved.
World number one van Gerwen top prize as he won through the 128-player field in Barnsley in the third of the year's £75,000 Players Championship tournaments.
Van Gerwen followed up early wins over Paul Nicholson, Mark Walsh and Jeffrey de Graaf with defeats of Simon Whitlock, Mark Webster - with a whitewash - and Robbie Green to reach the final.
He then raced into a four-leg lead in the final, landing an 11-darter, a 13-dart finish and two 14-dart legs in the process, before van de Pas hit back by winning three of his own to reduce the gap to 4-3, including a 121 checkout and legs of 13 and 12 darts.
Van Gerwen, though, denied his rival the chance to level in leg eight with a brilliant ten-darter before taking the next in 13 darts to secure victory and the £10,000 first prize, averaging 111.29 and landing three 180s to his compatriot's 99.89 average and two maximums.
Van den Pas saw off Alan Tabern, Lee Evans, Ricky Evans, Chris Dobey, Peter Wright and Alan Norris during his run to the decider, which saw him pick up £6,000 as he fell short of his first senior PDC title.
Green reached his first PDC semi-final as he defeated James Richardson, Dave Chisnall, Darren Johnson, James Wilson and Jamie Robinson.
Green was joined in the last four by Alan Norris, who landed a nine-dart finish - his third since joining the PDC circuit in January 2015 - during his run to the semi-finals.
Norris saw off Wayne Jones, Terry Temple, Andrew Gilding, Steve Beaton and Michael Smith on the day as he picked up £3,000 in prize money, while Mark Webster and Peter Wright joined Robinson and Smith in the quarter-finals.
Adrian Lewis had earlier preceded Norris in achieving a nine-dart finish, scoring 180, 174 and 147 during his first round win over Ray Campbell, although he was later defeated by PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion Max Hopp.
World Champion Gary Anderson was joined by his Premier League rivals Robert Thornton and James Wade in suffering a first round defeat on the day, while Phil Taylor reached the third round before being edged out by Mervyn King.
Two further Players Championship events will take place on Saturday and Sunday, with a further £150,000 prize money on offer over the PDC ProTour weekend.
NB: From the original list of entries, Richie Corner withdrew and was replaced by Jay Foreman.
Players Championship Three
Friday April 8
First Round
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-1 Paul Nicholson
Mark Walsh 6-4 Jay Foreman
Darren Webster 6-4 Rowby-John Rodriguez (32)
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3 Brian Woods
Stephen Bunting (16) 6-2 Robert Owen
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-1 Simon Preston
Simon Whitlock (17) 6-1 Prakash Jiwa
Darron Brown 6-3 Haruki Muramatsu
Kim Viljanen 6-4 James Wade (8)
Jim Walker 6-1 Paul Milford
Mark Webster (25) 6-2 William O'Connor
Steve McNally 6-2 John Henderson
Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 Jelle Klaasen (9)
Magnus Caris 6-5 John Bowles
Jonathan Worsley 6-5 Vincent van der Voort (24)
Steve Hine 6-4 Matt Clark
Dave Chisnall (5) 6-4 Peter Hudson
Robbie Green 6-3 James Richardson
Ron Meulenkamp 6-5 Joe Cullen (28)
Darren Johnson 6-1 Mickey Mansell
Terry Jenkins (12) 6-3 Nigel Daniels
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 David Pallett
Brendan Dolan (21) 6-2 Wes Newton
James Wilson 6-1 Matthew Dennant
Kim Huybrechts (4) 6-4 Mike Zuydwijk
Devon Petersen 6-2 Berry van Peer
Jamie Robinson 6-5 Keegan Brown (29)
Nathan Derry 6-5 Yordi Meeuwisse
Mensur Suljovic (13) 6-0 Stuart Kellett
Kyle Anderson 6-3 Vincent Kamphuis
Daryl Gurney (20) 6-0 Stephen Willard
Matthew Edgar 6-4 Harry Robinson
Peter Wright (2) 6-1 Mick McGowan
Ross Smith 6-3 Cristo Reyes
Andy Hamilton 6-5 Joe Murnan (31)
Jason Lovett 6-4 Ryan Palmer
Phil Taylor (15) 6-5 Andy Smith
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-2 Jason Marriott
Mervyn King (18) 6-3 Nigel Heydon
Josh Payne 6-5 Christian Kist
Adrian Lewis (7) 6-1 Ray Campbell - Adrian Lewis hits nine-dart finish
Max Hopp 6-2 Scott Dale
Jamie Lewis (26) 6-4 Andy Parsons
Chris Dobey 6-5 Andy Jenkins
Benito van de Pas (10) 6-3 Alan Tabern
Lee Evans 6-3 Dean Winstanley
Ricky Evans 6-4 Gerwyn Price (23)
Andy Boulton 6-5 Ronnie Baxter
Ian White (6) 6-4 Tony Newell
Curtis Hammond 6-5 Jason Wilson
Steve Beaton (27) 6-1 Dennis Smith
Steve West 6-5 Mark Frost
Ronny Huybrechts 6-1 Robert Thornton (11)
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Shaun Griffiths
Alan Norris (22) 6-1 Wayne Jones
Terry Temple 6-2 Nathan Aspinall
Michael Smith (3) 6-5 Ted Evetts
Mark Barilli 6-4 Johnny Haines
Jamie Caven (30) 6-1 Ryan Meikle
Kevin Painter 6-1 Jyhan Artut
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Gary Anderson (14)
Dick van Dijk 6-4 John Part
Justin Pipe (19) 6-5 Simon Stevenson
Jan Dekker 6-3 Mike De Decker
Second Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Mark Walsh
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-4 Darren Webster
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Darron Brown
Jim Walker 6-4 Kim Viljanen
Mark Webster 6-1 Steve McNally
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Magnus Caris
Steve Hine 6-2 Jonathan Worsley
Robbie Green 6-5 Dave Chisnall
Darren Johnson 6-2 Ron Meulenkamp
Terry Jenkins 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
James Wilson 6-2 Brendan Dolan
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Devon Petersen
Jamie Robinson 6-4 Nathan Derry
Kyle Anderson 6-4 Mensur Suljovic
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Matthew Edgar
Peter Wright 6-2 Ross Smith
Andy Hamilton 6-1 Jason Lovett
Phil Taylor 6-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Mervyn King 6-2 Josh Payne
Max Hopp 6-5 Adrian Lewis
Chris Dobey 6-5 Jamie Lewis
Benito van de Pas 6-2 Lee Evans
Ricky Evans 6-3 Andy Boulton
Curtis Hammond 6-5 Ian White
Steve Beaton 6-4 Steve West
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Ronny Huybrechts
Alan Norris 6-3 Terry Temple - Alan Norris hits nine-dart finish
Michael Smith 6-1 Mark Barilli
Jamie Caven 6-4 Kevin Painter
Jonny Clayton 6-2 Dick van Dijk
Justin Pipe 6-1 Jan Dekker
Losers £500
Third Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Jeffrey de Graaf
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Mark Webster 6-3 Jim Walker
Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 Steve Hine
Robbie Green 6-4 Darren Johnson
James Wilson 6-4 Terry Jenkins
Jamie Robinson 6-2 Kim Huybrechts
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Kyle Anderson
Peter Wright 6-3 Andy Hamilton
Mervyn King 6-5 Phil Taylor
Chris Dobey 6-2 Max Hopp
Benito van de Pas 6-1 Ricky Evans
Steve Beaton 6-2 Curtis Hammond
Alan Norris 6-2 Andrew Gilding
Michael Smith 6-0 Jamie Caven
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Justin Pipe
Losers £1,000
Fourth Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Simon Whitlock
Mark Webster 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena
Robbie Green 6-5 James Wilson
Jame Robinson 6-5 Daryl Gurney
Peter Wright 6-5 Mervyn King
Benito van de Pas 6-2 Chris Dobey
Alan Norris 6-3 Steve Beaton
Michael Smith 6-2 Jonny Clayton
Losers £1,500
Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Mark Webster
Robbie Green 6-2 Jamie Robinson
Benito van de Pas 6-2 Peter Wright
Alan Norris 6-3 Michael Smith
Losers £2,250
Semi-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Robbie Green
Benito van de Pas 6-3 Alan Norris
Losers £3,000
Final
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Benito van de Pas
Winner £10,000
Runner-Up £6,000