PHIL TAYLOR claimed his tenth tournament victory of 2009 with a narrow 6-5 win over Gary Anderson in the Dutch Players Championship.
Taylor continued his incredible run of success this year to claim another £6,000 title - but was pushed all the way by a superb Anderson display.
The Scot - who joined the PDC in February - reached his first Players Championship final and led Taylor 3-1 and 5-4.
But the world number one showed his class to claim victory, missing double 18 for a nine-dart leg before levelling at five-all in 11 darts, and then winning the deciding leg with a 12-darter.
Taylor had hit a 180 on his way to the game's opening leg, before Anderson matched that in the second, took out 61 to break throw and 70 for a 3-1 cushion.
He also missed the bullseye for a 167 finish in leg five before Taylor cut the gap to 3-2.
The pair traded 180s in the next before Anderson took out 96 in two darts to lead 4-2, with Taylor taking a 131 checkout and then double 16 to level.
Anderson won the ninth in 11 darts to go within touching distance of defeating Taylor for a second time in a Dutch-based final, after winning the 2007 World Darts Trophy.
But Taylor rallied in style, hitting a 180 followed by a 174 to leave 147, then landing treble 20 and treble 17 before narrowly missing double 18 for a perfect leg.
Anderson was unable to convert a 116 finish, and Taylor returned to take out double nine for an 11-darter, before hitting scores of 180, 100 and 140 to set up an 81 checkout for the win, which he landed on double six.
Taylor finished the game with an average of 116.04, with Anderson not far behind on 108.24.
"That was a superb final and really enjoyable to play in," said Taylor. "When Gary broke my throw early on I knew it would be hard to break back and it took something special.
"There will be a lot more to come from Gary and I'm sure we'll have a lot of good games in the coming years."
Taylor had won seven previous PDC Pro Tour events this year, and defeated Christian van Overdijk, Maik Langendorf and Wayne Jones to reach the quarter-finals.
There, he came from 2-0 down to defeat Colin Osborne 6-2, sealing victory with a ten-dart leg, and repeated the scoreline in the semi-finals against Ronnie Baxter.
Anderson's run improves his chances of qualifying for the Stan James World Matchplay later this year, seeing him pick up the £3,000 runner-up prize.
He was a 6-4 semi-final winner against Terry Jenkins in another high-quality contest, and also overcome Steve Brown, Mervyn King, Denis Ovens, Steve Maish and Patrick Loos in his best performance since joining the PDC.
Jenkins missed double 12 for a nine-darter during a win over Tony Eccles on his way to a second successive Players Championship semi-final.
Baxter knocked out Kevin McDine, Peter Manley and Kevin Painter in reaching the last four, while Brown's run saw him reach his first quarter-final for 18 months.
Players Championship (Saturday)
First Round
Phil Taylor (1) Bye
Christian van Overdijk 6-3 Kevin Wensink
Maik Langendorf 6-5 Lionel Sams (32)
Par Riihonen 6-2 Robert Watson-Lang
Wayne Jones (16) 6-1 Jose Perales
Chris Thompson 6-1 Hermie van Orsouw
Andy Smith (17) 6-0 Dave Ahmet
Nandor Bezzeg 6-5 Wayne Atwood
Colin Osborne (8) Bye
Mareno Michels 6-2 Robin Ferdinandus
Gino Vos 6-2 Michael van Gerwen (25)
Roland Scholten 6-2 Richard van Zijtveld
Stuart Bousfield 6-3 Colin Lloyd (9)
Martyn Turner 6-4 Steve Grubb
Matt Clark (24) 6-1 Ian Perkins
Andreas Sterk 6-3 Simon Craven
Mark Walsh (5) Bye
Patrick Bulen 6-0 Julio Barbero
Michel Helder 6-4 Wayne Mardle (28)
Bryan de Hoog 6-3 Mick McGowan
Kevin Painter (12) 6-1 Berti Schluga
Jyhan Artut 6-4 Andree Welge
Jamie Caven (21) 6-3 Mario Masurka
Tony Ayres 6-3 Dave Ladley
Ronnie Baxter (4) Bye
Erwin Renkema 6-3 Ray Farrell
Kevin McDine (29) 6-2 Thomas Nielson
Remco van Eijden 6-4 Markus Schonbein
Adrian Lewis (13) 6-2 Jan van der Rassel
Dennis Zijderhand 6-4 Nick Fullwell
Peter Manley (20) 6-1 Gabriela Gobel
Mark Webster 6-4 Didier de Vuyst
Alan Tabern (2) Bye
Toon Greebe 6-3 Adrian Gray
Barrie Bates (32) 6-1 Barry Zander
Steve Brown 6-2 Peter Wright
Vincent van der Voort (15) 6-0 Larry Butler
Colin Monk 6-1 Swen Seifert
Alex Roy (18) 6-2 Yves Cottenge
Marko Puls 6-5 Dennis Smith
Mervyn King (7) Bye
Russell Mason 6-2 Jon Archer
Jelle Klaasen (26) 6-3 Dave Honey
John Kuczynski 6-5 Carlos Rodriguez
Denis Ovens (10) 6-1 Gary Barnett
Steve Hine 6-4 John Quantock
Steve Maish (23) 6-1 Rolf Kaiser
Gary Anderson 6-3 Patrick Loos
Terry Jenkins (6) Bye
Jesus Martinez 6-2 Andy Fordham
Wes Newton (27) 6-0 Gerard Klijn
Kirk Shepherd 6-2 Frank Liebeton
Andy Hamilton (11) 6-3 Bob Valies
Dyson Parody 6-5 Rico Dera
Tony Eccles (22) 6-2 Hannes Schnier
Rocco Maes 6-1 Dave Ansell
Robert Thornton (3) Bye
Sebastijan Pecjak 6-4 Tomas Seyler
Marko Kantele 6-5 Co Stompe (30)
Darren Johnson 6-2 John Lokken
Steve Beaton (14) 6-2 Christian Kotal
Jarkko Komula 6-2 Dylan Duo
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Andy Jenkins (19)
Johnny Okken 6-0 Perparim Shamolli
Second Round
Phil Taylor 6-3 Christian van Overdijk
Maik Langendorf 6-5 Par Riihonen
Wayne Jones 6-0 Chris Thompson
Andy Smith 6-0 Nandor Bezzeg
Colin Osborne 6-5 Mareno Michels
Gino Vos 6-3 Roland Scholten
Martyn Turner 6-3 Stuart Bousfield
Matt Clark 6-1 Andreas Sterk
Mark Walsh 6-1 Patrick Bulen
Michel Helder 6-3 Bryan de Hoog
Kevin Painter 6-1 Jyhan Artut
Tony Ayres 6-4 Jamie Caven
Ronnie Baxter 6-1 Erwin Renkema
Kevin McDine 6-1 Remco van Eijden
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Dennis Zijderhand
Peter Manley 6-4 Mark Webster
Toon Greebe 6-2 Alan Tabern
Steve Brown 6-5 Barrie Bates
Colin Monk 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Alex Roy 6-3 Marko Puls
Mervyn King 6-0 Russell Mason
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 John Kuczynski
Denis Ovens 6-3 Steve Hine
Gary Anderson 6-3 Steve Maish
Terry Jenkins 6-0 Jesus Martinez
Kirk Shepherd 6-5 Wes Newton
Andy Hamilton 6-5 Dyson Parody
Tony Eccles 6-0 Rocco Maes
Robert Thornton 6-3 Sebastijan Pecjak
Darren Johnson 6-2 Marko Kantele
Steve Beaton 6-4 Jarkko Komula
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Johnny Okken
Losers £200
Third Round
Phil Taylor 6-2 Maik Langendorf
Wayne Jones 6-5 Andy Smith
Colin Osborne 6-4 Gino Vos
Matt Clark 6-4 Martyn Turner
Mark Walsh 6-0 Michel Helder
Kevin Painter 6-1 Tony Ayres
Ronnie Baxter 6-1 Kevin McDine
Peter Manley 6-5 Adrian Lewis
Steve Brown 6-2 Toon Greebe
Colin Monk 6-2 Alex Roy
Mervyn King 6-2 Jelle Klaasen
Gary Anderson 6-3 Denis Ovens
Terry Jenkins 6-2 Kirk Shepherd
Tony Eccles 6-1 Andy Hamilton
Robert Thornton 6-3 Darren Johnson
Steve Beaton 6-4 Mensur Suljovic
Losers £300
Fourth Round
Phil Taylor 6-2 Wayne Jones
Colin Osborne 6-1 Matt Clark
Kevin Painter 6-2 Mark Walsh
Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Peter Manley
Steve Brown 6-2 Colin Monk
Gary Anderson 6-1 Mervyn King
Terry Jenkins 6-2 Tony Eccles
Robert Thornton 6-5 Steve Beaton
Losers £400
Quarter-Finals
Phil Taylor 6-2 Colin Osborne
Ronnie Baxter 6-4 Kevin Painter
Gary Anderson 6-1 Steve Brown
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Robert Thornton
Losers £800
Semi-Finals
Phil Taylor 6-2 Ronnie Baxter
Gary Anderson 6-4 Terry Jenkins
Losers £1,500
Final
Phil Taylor 6-5 Gary Anderson
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000
Round-by-Round Updates
First Round
Stuart Bousfield is the first winner of the day, defeating Colin Lloyd 6-3.
Kevin Painter is 6-1 winner against Berti Schluga, with Wayne Jones and Denis Ovens progressing by the same scoreline.
Belgium's Patrick Bulen whitewashes Julio Barbero.
Erwin Renkema takes 6-3 win against Ray Farrell.
Toon Greebe knocks out Adrian Gray with 6-3 victory.
Dutch youngster Gino Vos gets the better of Michael van Gerwen with 6-2 victory.
German star Tomas Seyler is knocked out 6-4 by Sebastijan Pecjak.
Larry Butler, a quarter-finalist in last Sunday's Blue Square UK Open Regional Final, is a first round casualty this time out, losing 6-2 to Vincent van der Voort.
Steve Beaton opens with 6-2 win over Christian Kotal.
Martyn Turner knocks out World Championship qualifier Steve Grubb 6-4.
Steve Hine sees off John Quantock with 6-4 win.
Barrie Bates, Jelle Klaasen and Colin Monk also progress to last 64.
Jesus Martinez knocks out Andy Fordham with 6-2 victory.
Jarkko Komula is 6-2 victor against Dylan Duo.
Wayne Mardle suffers first round defeat to Michel Helder with 6-4 loss.
Kevin McDine, and Smith and Wes Newton all move into round two.
Roland Scholten sets up first round clash with Gino Vos thanks to 6-2 win over Richard van Zijtveld.
Peter Manley is 6-1 winner against lady player Gabriela Gobel.
Mensur Suljovic takes 6-4 winner against Andy Jenkins.
Marko Kantele wins in a deciding leg against Co Stompe.
Dyson Parody and Maik Langendorf are other 6-5 winners, against Rico Dera and Lionel Sams respectively.
Hungary's World Championship qualifier Nandor Bezzeg is 6-5 winner against Wayne Atwood, having trailed 5-3.
Sweden's Par Riihonen enjoys 6-2 victory over Robert Watson-Lang.
Tony Eccles and Kirk Shepherd move into last 64 with 6-2 wins.
USA's John Kuczynski is 6-5 winner in international battle with Spain's Carlos Rodriguez.
Andreas Sterk is 6-3 winner against Simon Craven, with Tony Ayres winning by the same scoreline against Dave Ladley.
Mark Webster opens his challenge with a 6-4 win over Didier de Vuyst.
Second Round
Colin Osborne takes narrow 6-5 win against Marena Michels.
Wayne Jones, last Sunday's Regional Final runner-up, whitewashes Chris Thompson 6-0.
Mark Walsh and Kevin Painter enjoy 6-1 wins ahainst Patrick Bulen and Jyhan Artut - a double-winner last weekend in German events.
Ronnie Baxter is 6-1 winner against Erwin Renkema.
Number two seed Alan Tabern is defeated 6-2 by Toon Greebe.
Mervyn King whitewashes Russell Mason, and Terry Jenkins is 6-0 winner against Jesus Martinez.
Phil Taylor wins 6-3 against Christian van Overdijk.
Gino Vos knocks out fellow Dutchman Roland Scholten.
Denis Ovens and Robert Thornton are also 6-3 winners, against Steve Hine and Sebastijan Pecjak.
Andy Smith whitewashes Nandor Bezzeg to claim second successive 6-0 win.
Adrian Lewis takes 6-3 win over Dennis Zijderhand.
Kirk Shepherd and Steve Brown progress with deciding leg wins against Wes Newton and Barrie Bates respectively.
Steve Beaton wins 6-4 against Jarkko Komula.
Colin Monk knocks out Dutchman Vincent van der Voort 6-3.
Kevin McDine is 6-1 winner against Remco van Eijden.
Tony Ayres wins 6-4 against Jamie Caven.
Germany's Maik Langendorf edges out Par Riihonen to set up third round game with Phil Taylor.
Jelle Klaasen takes 6-2 win against John Kuczynski to progress to last 32.
Andy Hamilton takes narrow win over Gibraltar's Dyson Parody in a deciding leg.
Mensur Suljovic is 6-1 winner against Johnny Okken.
Peter Manley knocks out Mark Webster 6-4.
Tony Eccles sets up third round clash with Andy Hamilton after whitewashing Rocco Maes.
Alex Roy is 6-3 winner against Marko Puls.
Third Round
Mark Walsh is whitewash winner against Michel Helder to reach last 16.
Mervyn King wins 6-2 against Jelle Klaasen.
Terry Jenkins moves into fourth round with 6-2 win over Kirk Shepherd.
Colin Osborne enjoys 6-4 win against Gino Vos, ending the young Dutchman's run.
Steve Brown ends the hopes of another Dutchman, Toon Greebe, with 6-2 win.
Wayne Jones narrowly defeats Andy Smith in a deciding leg.
Gary Anderson reaches last 16 with 6-3 win over Denis Ovens, taking out 127 for the win.
World number one Phil Taylor overcomes Maik Langendorf 6-2.
Kevin Painter enjoys heavy 6-1 win against Tony Ayres and now faces Mark Walsh.
Scotland's Robert Thornton is 6-3 winner against Darren Johnson.
Peter Manley narrowly defeats Adrian Lewis in a deciding leg.
Tony Eccles progresses to last 16 with 6-1 win against Andy Hamilton.
Steve Beaton sets up fourth round game with Robert Thornton after 6-4 win over Mensur Suljovic.
Matt Clark knocks out Yorkshireman Martyn Turner 6-4.
Colin Monk wins through to fourth round with 6-2 win over Alex Roy.
Fourth Round
Gary Anderson reaches his first PDC Pro Tour quarter-final with 6-1 victory over Mervyn King.
Terry Jenkins moves into last eight with 6-2 win over Tony Eccles, missing double 12 for a nine-darter in one leg, which he took out in ten darts.
Phil Taylor continues his bid for another title with 6-2 win over Wayne Jones.
Kevin Painter reaches quarters with 6-2 win over Mark Walsh.
Robert Thornton sneaks into last eight with 6-5 defeat of Steve Beaton.
Ronnie Baxter defeats Peter Manley 6-2 and now faces Painter.
Steve Brown reaches first quarter-final for 18 months with 6-2 win over Colin Monk.
Colin Osborne takes out 140 finish to seal 6-1 win against Matt Clark.
Quarter-Finals
Ronnie Baxter comes from 3-0 down to defeat Kevin Painter 6-4.
Terry Jenkins is 6-3 winner against Robert Thornton.
Gary Anderson's impressive run of form continues with 6-1 win over Steve Brown to reach his first semi-final since joining the PDC.
Phil Taylor comes from 2-0 down to defeat Colin Osborne 6-2, sealing the win with a ten-darter.
Semi-Finals
Phil Taylor wins the first semi-final, defeating Ronnie Baxter 6-2. The duo shared the opening four legs, but Taylor crucially broke throw in the sixth to move 4-2 up before taking the next two for victory.
Gary Anderson defeated Terry Jenkins 6-4 to win the second semi and earn a place in his first PDC Pro Tour final. He broke throw in the opening leg and moved 2-0 up before Jenkins got off the mark, although the Scot extended his advantage to 4-1 in averaging over 116. However, he missed three darts at a double for a 5-1 cushion, with Jenkins taking leg six and the next to trail 4-3. The next two legs were shared, but a 104 checkout gave Anderson victory.