JAMES WADE bounced back to top form to win Sunday's Scottish Players Championship with a 3-1 defeat of Mark Walsh.
The world number three has struggled for form over the past month and crashed out of the Sky Poker World Grand Prix in the first round recently.
But he powered through the field at the Magnum Centre in Irvine to claim the £5,000 winner's cheque and his first tournament win since June's UK Open.
He lost the first set of the final to Walsh, but hit back to win the second without reply and took out 140 to seal the third in the same manner.
An 85 finish put him ahead in the fourth set before Walsh took the second leg to stay in the game, but Wade took out double top to seal the victory.
Walsh secured his place in the European Championship later this month with another impressive run, including Dennis Priestley, Denis Ovens and
Robert Thornton among his victims in reaching his first Players Championship final of a consistent year.
Ayrshire's Robert Thornton enjoyed a successful day on home soil, reaching the semi-finals.
His run included five-set wins over Kevin Painter, Co Stompe, Darren Johnson and Andy Smith as well as a 3-1 win over Wayne Mardle in the last 16.
Stoke's Andy Hamilton reached the other semi, dropping only two sets en route to the last four before losing 3-1 to Wade.
Spanish star Carlos Rodriguez enjoyed his best run yet on the PDC Pro Tour with wins over Alan Tabern, Mark Carter, Lee Williams and Jason Barry to reach the quarter-finals, where he too went down against Wade.
Denis Ovens followed up Saturday's appearance in the final with a run to the quarter-final, where he lost 3-1 to Walsh.
Andy Smith's run to the quarter-finals improved his hopes of breaking into the eight Players Championship qualification places for the European Championship.
However, both he and Mark Dudbridge will need to reach the final of next Saturday's Players Championship in Dinslaken to jump into the eight places, with Wayne Jones and Kevin Painter the two players in the final qualifying spots.
Scottish Players Championship (Sunday)
Preliminary Round
Sean Palfrey 3-0 Steve Randall
Michael Smith 3-2 Geoff Wylie
Erwin Extercatte 3-1 Jim Leighton
Paul Knighton 3-1 Scott Kirchner
Robert Watson-Lang 3-0 Simon Craven
Dave Smith 3-1 Danny King
Matt Jackson 3-1 Isen Veljic
Danny Pinhorne 3-0 Jim Young
Steve Evans 3-0 Dave Ansell
Brendan Dolan 3-0 Sam Rooney
Colin Monk 3-0 Gary Storey
Peter Wright 3-1 Paul Anthony
Gary Blades 3-0 Robbie Newland
Steve Maish 3-1 Steve Cusick
Ian Critchett 3-1 Michael Barnard
Shane O'Connor 3-0 Steve Cupitt
Louis Blundell 3-2 Ian Eames
John Kuczynski 3-1 Aaron Turner
Tony Ayres 3-1 Andy Howarth
James Keogh 3-2 Stuart Holden
Mark Frost 3-1 Ben Burton
Gary Mawson 3-0 Davey Mansell
Nick Fulwell 3-1 Colin McGarry
Kevin Dowling 3-1 Steve Hine
Wayne Atwood 3-0 David Davies
Jamie Caven 3-0 Jon Archer
Gary Noonan 3-0 Ian Perkins
Jan van der Rassel 3-1 Steve Musson
Michael Rosenauer 3-0 Chris Beeston
Jonathan Overton 3-0 Karl Loiseau
David Platt 3-0 Sean White
Martyn Turner 3-1 Lee Holden
First Round
James Wade 3-0 Tom Martin
Joey Palfreyman 3-0 Ian Jopling
Matt Clark 3-2 Peter Walford
Sean Palfrey 3-2 Michael Smith
Mark Dudbridge 3-1 Chris Daglish
Steve Brown 3-2 Jason Crawley
Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Mark Jodrill
Erwin Extercatte 3-1 Paul Knighton
Carlos Rodriguez 3-2 Alan Tabern
Mark Carter 3-0 Ian Walters
Lee Williams 3-2 Wayne Jones
Dave Smith 3-1 Robert Watson-Lang
Norman Fletcher 3-0 Roland Scholten
Jacko Barry 3-0 Mark Layton
Adrian Gray 3-0 Steve Watts
Matt Jackson 3-0 Danny Pinhorne
Andy Hamilton 3-0 Andy Mason
Dennis Smith 3-2 Andy Pearson
Steve Beaton 3-1 Jelle Klaasen
Brendan Dolan 3-0 Steve Evans
Colin Osborne 3-1 Ken Dobson
Lionel Sams 3-1 Jason Clark
Barrie Bates 3-0 Mark Stephenson
Peter Wright 3-1 Colin Monk
Colin Lloyd 3-0 Stephen Hardy
Dave Ladley 3-0 Matt Gallett
Mick McGowan 3-0 Peter Aleman
Steve Maish 3-0 Gary Blades
Mervyn King 3-0 Richie Burnett
Steve Grubb 3-0 Arron Monk
Andy Jenkins 3-1 Lee Palfreyman
Shane O'Connor 3-1 Ian Critchett
Terry Jenkins Bye (Peter Allen withdrew injured)
Robbie Parker Bye (Shayne Burgess)
Tony Eccles 3-0 Gary Welding
Louis Blundell 3-1 John Kuczynski
Denis Ovens 3-0 Bill Davis
Jim Withers 3-0 John Jenkinson
Chris Mason 3-0 Lee White
James Keogh 3-1 Tony Ayres
Dennis Priestley 3-0 Andrew Davies
John Quantock 3-1 Kevin Hill
Alex Roy 3-2 Kevin McDine
Mark Frost 3-1 Gary Mawson
Peter Manley 3-0 Chris Cooper
Felix McBrearty 3-0 Kevin Harris
Mark Walsh 3-0 Mike Herold
Nick Fulwell 3-2 Kevin Dowling
Adrian Lewis 3-0 Russell Mason
Alan Green Bye (Shane Passey)
Wes Newton 3-2 Alan Warriner-Little
Jamie Caven 3-0 Wayne Atwood
Ronnie Baxter 3-0 Darrell Townsend
Alan Caves 3-1 Martin Burchell
Andy Smith Bye (Taro Yachi)
Gary Noonan 3-2 Jan van der Rassel
Wayne Mardle 3-0 Dylan Duo
John MaGowan 3-0 John Dawes
Michael van Gerwen 3-1 Andy Relf
Michael Rosenauer 3-2 Jonathan Overton
Robert Thornton 3-2 Kevin Painter
Co Stompe 3-0 Dave Honey
Darren Johnson 3-0 Kirk Shepherd
David Platt 3-0 Martyn Turner
Second Round
James Wade 3-0 Joey Palfreyman
Matt Clark 3-1 Sean Palfrey
Mark Dudbridge 3-0 Steve Brown
Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Erwin Extercatte
Carlos Rodriguez 3-0 Mark Carter
Lee Williams 3-0 Dave Smith
Jacko Barry 3-1 Norman Fletcher
Matt Jackson 3-2 Adrian Gray
Andy Hamilton 3-0 Dennis Smith
Steve Beaton 3-1 Brendan Dolan
Colin Osborne 3-0 Lionel Sams
Barrie Bates 3-2 Peter Wright
Colin Lloyd 3-0 Dave Ladley
Steve Maish 3-2 Mick McGowan
Mervyn King 3-0 Steve Grubb
Shane O'Connor 3-2 Andy Jenkins
Terry Jenkins 3-0 Robbie Parker
Tony Eccles 3-2 Louis Blundell
Denis Ovens 3-1 Jim Withers
James Keogh 3-1 Chris Mason
Dennis Priestley 3-0 John Quantock
Alex Roy 3-0 Mark Frost
Felix McBrearty 3-1 Peter Manley
Mark Walsh 3-0 Nick Fulwell
Adrian Lewis 3-2 Alan Green
Jamie Caven 3-0 Wes Newton
Ronnie Baxter 3-2 Alan Caves
Andy Smith 3-0 Gary Noonan
Wayne Mardle 3-2 John MaGowan
Michael van Gerwen 3-2 Michael Rosenauer
Robert Thornton 3-2 Co Stompe
Darren Johnson 3-2 David Platt
Losers £75
Third Round
James Wade 3-0 Matt Clark
Vincent van der Voort 3-1 Mark Dudbridge
Carlos Rodriguez 3-1 Lee Williams
Jacko Barry 3-2 Matt Jackson
Andy Hamilton 3-2 Steve Beaton
Colin Osborne 3-0 Barrie Bates
Steve Maish 3-2 Colin Lloyd
Mervyn King 3-1 Shane O'Connor
Tony Eccles 3-1 Terry Jenkins
Denis Ovens 3-0 James Keogh
Dennis Priestley 3-0 Alex Roy
Mark Walsh 3-2 Felix McBrearty
Adrian Lewis 3-0 Jamie Caven
Andy Smith 3-0 Ronnie Baxter
Wayne Mardle 3-2 Michael van Gerwen
Robert Thornton 3-2 Darren Johnson
Losers £150
Fourth Round
James Wade 3-1 Vincent van der Voort
Carlos Rodriguez 3-1 Jacko Barry
Andy Hamilton 3-0 Colin Osborne
Mervyn King 3-2 Steve Maish
Denis Ovens 3-0 Tony Eccles
Mark Walsh 3-2 Dennis Priestley
Andy Smith 3-1 Adrian Lewis
Robert Thornton 3-1 Wayne Mardle
Losers £300
Quarter-Finals
James Wade 3-1 Carlos Rodriguez (2-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-0)
Andy Hamilton 3-0 Mervyn King (2-0, 2-0, 2-1)
Mark Walsh 3-1 Denis Ovens (2-1, 0-2, 2-1, 2-1)
Robert Thornton 3-2 Andy Smith (2-1, 2-0, 0-2, 1-2, 2-1)
Losers £600
Semi-Finals
James Wade 3-1 Andy Hamilton (2-1, 1-2, 2-0, 2-0)
Mark Walsh 3-1 Robert Thornton (2-0, 0-2, 2-0, 2-1)
Losers £1,250
Final
James Wade 3-1 Mark Walsh (0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 2-1)
Winner £5,000
Runner-Up £2,500
News Updates
Preliminary Round
Sean Palfrey, Steve Evans, Colin Monk and David Platt open up with 3-0 wins.
Erwin Extercatte and Nick Fulwell win 3-1 against Jim Leighton and Colin McGarry.
Robert Watson-Lang defeats Simon Craven in straight sets.
Michael Rosenauer and Wayne Atwood win 3-0 against Chris Beeston and David Davies, with Gary Blades overcoming Robbie Newland by the same scoreline.
Mark Frost and Tony Ayres take 3-1 wins over Ben Burton and Andy Howarth.
Kevin Dowling wins the Midlands battle with Steve Hine 3-1, while Martyn Turner wins by the same score against Lee Holden.
Dave Smith, who reached the last 16 on Saturday, defeats Danny King 3-1.
UK Open finalist Gary Mawson overcomes Davey Mansell 3-0, but fellow American Scott Kirchner loses 3-1 to Paul Knighton.
Michael Smith edges out Geoff Wylie in a deciding set and now meets Palfrey in round one.
John Kuczynski wins 3-1 against Aaron Turner.
First Round
Andy Hamilton opens round one with a 3-0 win over Andy Mason.
Robert Thornton defeats Kevin Painter in a deciding leg - following up a ten-darter earlier in the game with an 11-darter to win the match, thanks to four 140 scores and a two-dart 81 finish.
Colin Lloyd bounces back from first round loss to Robert Thornton on Saturday with 3-0 win over Stephen Hardy.
Norman Fletcher whitewashes Roland Scholten to move into second round.
James Wade, Ronnie Baxter, Dennis Priestley and Peter Manley take 3-0 wins in their openers.
Mervyn King defeats former World Champion Richie Burnett 3-0.
Wayne Mardle and Terry Jenkins progress past Dylan Duo and Pete Allen - who withdrew in mid-game with an arm problem - into round two.
Carlos Rodriguez knocks out Alan Tabern in a five-set thriller, while Mark Dudbridge defeats Chris Daglish 3-1.
Denis Ovens defeats America's Bill Davis 3-0.
Co Stompe earns clash with Thornton after 3-0 defeat of Dave Honey.
Lionel Sams defeats Jason Clark 3-1 to set up clash with Osborne.
Dave Ladley's win over Matt Gallett earns round two game with Lloyd.
John Quantock defeats Kevin Hill 3-1 and now meets fellow Yorkshireman Dennis Priestley in round two.
Felix McBrearty overcomes Kevin Harris in straight sets.
Darren Johnson knocks out World Championship runner-up Kirk Shepherd 3-0, with Jamie Caven defeating Wayne Atwood by the same scoreline.
Steve Beaton wins the clash of former World Champions against Jelle Klaasen 3-1.
Barrie Bates and Mick McGowan take straight sets wins over Mark Stephenson and Peter Aleman.
Steve Brown defeats Jason Crawley 3-2.
Michael van Gerwen defeats Andy Relf 3-1, but there is disappointment for fellow Dutchman Jan van der Rassel, who loses 3-2 to Gary Noonan.
Lee Williams knocks out Wayne Jones over five sets, while Matt Clark wins by the same scoreline against Peter Walford.
Brendan Dolan takes 3-0 win over Steve Evans, with Adrian Gray overcoming Steve Watts by the same score.
Peter Wright overcomes Colin Monk 3-1, with Shane O'Connor a four-set winner against Ian Critchett.
Erwin Extercatte sets up all-Dutch second round tie with win over Paul Knighton.
Sean Palfrey edges past Michael Smith in five sets.
Dave Smith defeats Robert Watson-Lang 3-1.
Michael Rosenauer edges past Jonathan Overton in a deciding leg of their five-set tussle.
Second Round
Adrian Lewis is first man into last 32 with 3-2 win over Alan Green.
Ronnie Baxter also progresses with five-set win over Alan Caves.
Terry Jenkins defeats Robbie Parker in straight sets, with Colin Lloyd defeating Dave Ladley in the same manner.
Robert Thornton holds off Co Stompe to win 3-2 - after the Dutchman comes from 2-0 down to level the match.
Andy Hamilton overcomes Dennis Smith 3-0, with Jamie Caven defeating Wes Newton by the same score.
Colin Osborne is another straight sets winner, against Lionel Sams.
Mark Dudbridge wins all-Bristol battle with Steve Brown 3-0.
James Wade avenges Saturday's defeat to Lee Palfreyman with win over brother Joey Palfreyman to reach last 32.
Carlos Rodriguez fails to drop a leg in an impressive win over Mark Carter.
Mervyn King defeats Steve Grubb in straight sets to reach round three.
Andy Smith sets up clash with Ronnie Baxter after 3-0 defeat of Gary Noonan.
Jacko Barry knocks out Norman Fletcher 3-1.
Felix McBrearty sends Peter Manley packing with a win by the same score.
Tony Eccles edges out Lancashire's Louis Blundell in a deciding leg.
Denis Ovens and Dennis Priestley defeat Jim Withers and John Quantock respectively to progress.
Steve Maish defeats Mick McGowan in five sets, while Vincent van der Voort races past Erwin Extercatte 3-0.
Darren Johnson takes five-set win over David Platt.
Barrie Bates and Shane O'Connor take 3-2 wins over Peter Wright and Andy Jenkins respectively, while Steve Beaton defeats Brendan Dolan 3-1.
Matt Jackson edges out Adrian Gray 3-2, while James Keogh defeats Chris Mason and Mark Walsh overcomes Nick Fulwell.
Michael van Gerwen and Wayne Mardle take 3-2 wins over Michael Rosenauer and John MaGowan.
Third Round
Adrian Lewis produces a heavy-scoring display to defeat Jamie Caven 3-0.
Andy Smith overcomes Ronnie Baxter in straight sets.
Vincent van der Voort sees off Mark Dudbridge 3-1, while Spain's Carlos Rodriguez defeats Lee Williams by the same score.
Tony Eccles defeats Terry Jenkins 3-1 to reach last 16.
Steve Maish holds off Colin Lloyd's fightback from 2-0 down to take deciding set win.
Colin Osborne and Mervyn King move into last 16, while local star Robert Thornton wins five-set game with Darren Johnson.
Dennis Priestley books last 16 spot with 3-0 win over Alex Roy, Saturday's Scottish Players Championship winner.
World number three James Wade sees off Matt Clark 3-0 to reach last 16.
Denis Ovens reaches fourth round with 3-0 win over Ireland's James Keogh.
Andy Hamilton sets up fourth round clash with Colin Osborne after narrow win over Steve Beaton.
Wayne Mardle takes out 116 to defeat Michael van Gerwen in a deciding leg - after the young Dutchman missed two darts at double 12 for victory in a tight contest.
Jacko Barry edges out Matt Jackson 3-2, with Mark Walsh winning by the same score against Felix McBrearty.
Fourth Round
Andy Smith defeats Adrian Lewis 3-1 to progress to quarter-finals.
James Wade reaches last eight with 3-1 win over Vincent van der Voort.
Denis Ovens continues his good weekend with a straight sets win over Tony Eccles.
Mervyn King dashes Steve Maish's chances of a second successive semi-final with 3-2 win.
Andy Hamilton defeats Colin Osborne 3-0.
Mark Walsh edges out Dennis Priestley in five sets to reach quarter-finals.
Robert Thornton wins 3-1 against Wayne Mardle to move into last eight.
Spain's Carlos Rodriguez reaches his first PDC Pro Tour quarter-final with 3-1 win over Ireland's Jacko Barry.
Quarter-Finals
Andy Hamilton drops just one leg in comfortable 3-0 win over Mervyn King to reach semis.
Mark Walsh reaches last four with 3-1 win over Denis Ovens, edging the final two sets of the match 2-1 against Saturday's runner-up, who hit seven perfect darts in one leg.
James Wade defeated Carlos Rodriguez 3-1 to book his semi-final place. Rodriguez missed darts to win the first set before edging the second, but Wade pulled through to take the third in a decider and then the fourth without reply and end the Spaniard's impressive run.
Robert Thornton win's final-leg thriller against Andy Smith - who came from two sets down to level before losing out in a deciding leg.
Semi-Finals
James Wade powered past Andy Hamilton to reach the final with a 3-1 victory. Wade took the first set before Hamilton edged the second, but the world number three took the next four legs for victory - with a key 180 in the final leg setting up his winning finish.
Mark Walsh ended local hopes with a 3-1 win over Ayrshire's Robert Thornton. Walsh took the opening set without reply, before Thornton replied in kind to take the second. But back-to-back legs gave Walsh the third and he won the next 2-1 for victory.