MARK WALSH won his third PDC Pro Tour event of 2009 with victory over Jamie Caven in the final of Saturday's Players Championship.
Walsh followed up his victories in Coventry and Derby earlier this year with a battling display at the Barnsley Metrodome to claim the £6,000 title.
He edged out Andy Jenkins 6-5 in the quarter-finals before coming from 5-1 down to defeat Colin Lloyd in a deciding leg in the semis.
Walsh then overcame Caven in a high-quality final, which featured seven maximums in ten legs.
Caven landed one 180 and a 106 finish to win the opening leg, before Walsh replied in kind with a 115 checkout to level.
Caven hit another maximum in the third, but a 78 finish from Walsh saw him break throw before he moved 3-1 up.
Walsh landed a 180 but missed two darts for the fifth leg as Caven replied, and the next two legs were shared before a Walsh 180 set up a 41 finish as he pushed 5-3 up.
Caven opened the ninth leg with a 180 and took out 76 to remain in the contest, but Walsh was too strong with the throw in the next to seal victory.
Caven's £3,000 runner-up cheque further improves his chances of securing a qualification place for next month's stanjames.com World Matchplay in Blackpool.
He included Andy Hamilton and Jelle Klaasen amongst his victims in reaching the quarter-finals, where he defeated Steve Beaton in a deciding leg.
He then won the all-Derby battle with in-form Colin Osborne 6-5 in the semis, coming from 4-2 and 5-4 down to seal victory with a 116 finish.
Osborne's semi-final appearance followed his run to the final of the Blue Square UK Open last week, while Vincent van der Voort and Andy Jenkins joined Lloyd and Beaton in reaching the quarters.
Three-time World Champion John Part came from 5-2 down to defeat world number six Mervyn King in the first round, and went on to reach the last 16 before losing to Lloyd.
Players Championship
First Round
Board One
Dennis Priestley (1) Bye
Michael Barnard 6-2 Kevin Dowling
Barrie Bates (32) 6-5 Simon Craven
Dave Honey 6-0 Andy Pearson
Board Two
Adrian Lewis (16) 6-0 Ian Jopling
Les Fitton 6-2 Alex Tinsley
Vincent van der Voort (17) 6-2 Geoff Wylie
Dylan Duo 6-3 Peter Wright
Board Three
Colin Lloyd (8) 6-0 Stuart Holden
Stuart Dutton 6-1 Kevin Harris
Chris Loudon 6-5 Steve Maish (25)
Ian MacFarlane 6-1 Russell Mason
Board Four
John Part 6-5 Mervyn King (9)
Norman Fletcher 6-1 Mike Roberts
Tony Eccles (24) 6-5 Steve Grubb
Andy Relf 6-1 Jim Leighton
Board Five
Mark Walsh (5) 6-2 Brendan Dolan
Darren Johnson 6-5 Darren Latham
Anastasia Dobromyslova 6-3 Andy Smith (28)
Michael Smith 6-3 Colin Monk
Board Six
Michael van Gerwen (12) 6-3 Jimmy O'Regan
Ian Lever 6-2 Robbie Parker
Alex Roy (21) 6-1 Dyson Parody
Kevin McDine 6-1 Roland Scholten
Board Seven
Ronnie Baxter (4) 6-1 Mark Cox
Gary Mawson 6-5 Gary Blades
Wes Newton (29) 6-1 Steve Watts
Louis Blundell 6-4 Steve Cupitt
Board Eight
Kevin Painter (13) 6-1 Steve Perkins
Mick McGowan 6-4 Mark Lawrence
Andy Jenkins (20) 6-1 Andy Fulton
Mark Jodrill 6-2 Richie Burnett
Board Nine
Robert Thornton (2) Bye
John MaGowan 6-2 Jonathan Overton
John Quantock 6-3 Wayne Mardle (31)
Stephen Hardy 6-2 Jason Clark
Board Ten
Gary Anderson (15) 6-4 Justin Pipe
Nigel Birch 6-3 Richard Foster
Wayne Jones (18) 6-4 Lionel Sams
Toon Greebe 6-3 Geoff Whitworth
Board 11
Colin Osborne (7) 6-4 Mark Webster
Arron Monk 6-1 Sean White
Pete Allen 6-5 Matt Clark (26)
Jan van der Rassel 6-2 Mark Frost
Board 12
Denis Ovens (10) 6-3 Par Riihonen
Kirk Shepherd 6-5 Dennis Smith
Peter Manley (23) 6-4 Dave Smith
Adrian Gray 6-0 Matt Gallett
Board 13
Terry Jenkins (6) 6-2 Joe Cullen
Steve Brown 6-2 Mark Stephenson
Jelle Klaasen (27) 6-2 Chris Thompson
James Barton 6-0 Paul Hodkin
Board 14
Andy Hamilton (11) 6-1 Trevor Frost
Gary Welding 6-1 Steve Evans
Jamie Caven (22) 6-0 Jon Archer
Lee Williams 6-3 Ray Farrell
Board 15
Alan Tabern (3) 6-3 Nick Fullwell
Rick Lowther 6-5 Dave Ladley
Chris Mason 6-2 Co Stompe (30)
Martyn Turner 6-1 Kevin Hill
Board 16
Mark Dudbridge (14) 6-2 Paul Nicholson
Chris Cooper 6-0 Stuart Bousfield
Steve Beaton (19) 6-1 Paul Gudgeon
Steve Hine 6-0 Ken Dobson
Second Round
Dennis Priestley 6-2 Michael Barnard
Barrie Bates 6-5 Dave Honey
Les Fitton 6-3 Adrian Lewis
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Dylan Duo
Colin Lloyd 6-0 Stuart Dutton
Chris Loudon 6-3 Ian MacFarlane
John Part 6-0 Norman Fletcher
Tony Eccles 6-0 Andy Relf
Mark Walsh 6-3 Darren Johnson
Michael Smith 6-0 Anastasia Dobromyslova
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Ian Lever
Alex Roy 6-2 Kevin McDine
Ronnie Baxter 6-4 Gary Mawson
Louis Blundell 6-3 Wes Newton
Mick McGowan 6-4 Kevin Painter
Andy Jenkins 6-3 Mark Jodrill
Robert Thornton 6-2 John MaGowan
Stephen Hardy 6-4 John Quantock
Gary Anderson 6-1 Nigel Birch
Wayne Jones 6-4 Toon Greebe
Colin Osborne 6-1 Arron Monk
Jan van der Rassel 6-2 Pete Allen
Denis Ovens 6-2 Kirk Shepherd
Adrian Gray 6-5 Peter Manley
Terry Jenkins 6-5 Steve Brown
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 James Barton
Andy Hamilton 6-3 Gary Welding
Jamie Caven 6-4 Lee Williams
Alan Tabern 6-4 Rick Lowther
Martyn Turner 6-0 Chris Mason
Mark Dudbridge 6-5 Chris Cooper
Steve Beaton 6-5 Steve Hine
Losers £200
Third Round
Barrie Bates 6-4 Dennis Priestley
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Les Fitton
Colin Lloyd 6-3 Chris Loudon
John Part 6-2 Tony Eccles
Mark Walsh 6-0 Michael Smith
Alex Roy 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Ronnie Baxter 6-3 Louis Blundell
Andy Jenkins 6-5 Mick McGowan
Stephen Hardy 6-5 Robert Thornton
Gary Anderson 6-2 Wayne Jones
Colin Osborne 6-1 Jan van der Rassel
Denis Ovens 6-1 Adrian Gray
Jelle Klaasen 6-5 Terry Jenkins
Jamie Caven 6-4 Andy Hamilton
Alan Tabern 6-1 Martyn Turner
Steve Beaton 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Losers £300
Fourth Round
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Barrie Bates
Colin Lloyd 6-3 John Part
Mark Walsh 6-2 Alex Roy
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Ronnie Baxter
Gary Anderson 6-1 Stephen Hardy
Colin Osborne 6-3 Denis Ovens
Jamie Caven 6-2 Jelle Klaasen
Steve Beaton 6-5 Alan Tabern
Losers £400
Quarter-Finals
Colin Lloyd 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Mark Walsh 6-5 Andy Jenkins
Colin Osborne 6-4 Gary Anderson
Jamie Caven 6-5 Steve Beaton
Losers £800
Semi-Finals
Mark Walsh 6-5 Colin Lloyd
Jamie Caven 6-5 Colin Osborne
Losers £1,500
Final
Mark Walsh 6-4 Jamie Caven
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000
News Updates
Tony Ayres withdrew ahead of the event following a vehicle breakdown en route to Barnsley.
First Round
Colin Lloyd and Adrian Lewis whitewash Stuart Holden and Ian Jopling respectively in their opening games.
Ronnie Baxter, a Blue Square UK Open semi-finalist last week, defeats Mark Cox 6-1.
Terry Jenkins overcomes Joe Cullen 6-2.
Kevin Painter, who like Baxter reached the last four in Bolton, wins 6-1 against Steve Perkins.
Mark Dudbridge defeats Paul Nicholson 6-2, and Andy Hamilton wins 6-1 in his clash with Trevor Frost.
John Part comes from 5-2 down to win in a deciding 11th leg against Mervyn King.
Mark Walsh and Michael Barnard pick up 6-2 victories in their games with Brendan Dolan and Kevin Dowling.
Welsh Players Championship winner Gary Anderson wins 6-4 against Justin Pipe.
Blue Square UK Open runner-up Colin Osborne is 6-4 winner in game with Mark Webster.
Alan Tabern and Denis Ovens are 6-3 victors, against Nick Fullwell and Par Riihonen.
John MaGowan wins 6-2 against Jonathan Overton.
Chris Cooper whitewashes Stuart Bousfield.
Les Fitton celebrates his return to action with 6-2 victory over Alex Tinsley.
Steve Brown and Stuart Dutton pick up 6-1 wins against Mark Stephenson and Kevin Harris.
Gary Welding is 6-1 winner against Steve Evans.
Mick McGowan takes 6-4 win against Mark Lawrence, a quarter-finalist in last week's UK Open.
Arron Monk defeats fellow youngster Sean White 6-1.
Gary Mawson edges out Gary Blades in a decider, and Barrie Bates defeats Simon Craven in the same manner.
John Quantock sees off Wayne Mardle 6-3, with Nigel Birch winning by the same scoreline against Richard Foster.
Jelle Klaasen defeats Chris Thompson 6-2.
Steve Beaton wins 6-1 against Paul Gudgeon, and Norman Fletcher wins in the same manner against Mike Roberts.
Newcomer Rick Lowther is deciding leg winner against Dave Ladley, while Kirk Shepherd, Darren Johnson and Barrie Bates all win in 11 legs.
Jamie Caven whitewashes Jon Archer.
Andy Jenkins wins 6-1 against Andy Fulton.
Scotland's Chris Loudon is deciding leg winner against Steve Maish.
Wes Newton picks up 6-1 victory against Steve Watts.
Dave Honey whitewashes Andy Pearson to progress to second round game with Barrie Bates.
Chris Mason overcomes Co Stompe 6-2, and James Barton defeats Paul Hodkin without reply.
Alex Roy is 6-1 winner against Gibraltar's Dyson Parody.
Steve Hine whitewashes Ken Dobson, and Lee Williams - defeated by Phil Taylor in the UK Open last week - wins 6-3 against Ray Farrell.
Dylan Duo picks up 6-3 win over Peter Wright.
Russian lady star Anastasia Dobromyslova defeats Andy Smith 6-3.
Mark Jodrill and Stephen Hardy win 6-2 against Richie Burnett and Jason Clark respectively.
Wayne Jones defeats Lionel Sams 6-4, and Peter Manley wins by the same scoreline against Dave Smith.
Martyn Turner wins 6-1 against Kevin Hill, and Ian MacFarlane defeats Russell Mason by the same score.
Pete Allen wins in a deciding leg against Matt Clark.
Tony Eccles also wins in 11 legs against Steve Grubb.
Kevin McDine wins 6-1 in clash with Holland's Roland Scholten, and Louis Blundell is 6-4 winner against Steve Cupitt.
Toon Greebe is 6-3 winner against Geoff Whitworth.
Andy Relf wins 6-1 in meeting with Jim Leighton, and Michael Smith defeats Colin Monk 6-3.
Adrian Gray whitewashes youngster Matt Gallett.
Second Round
Terry Jenkins comes from 5-4 down to defeat Steve Brown, who missed match darts in leg ten before Jenkins took out 152 and 154 in successive legs to claim victory.
Dennis Priestley wins 6-2 against Michael Barnard, and Robert Thornton defeats John MaGowan in the same manner.
Colin Lloyd whitewashes Stuart Dutton.
Les Fitton overcomes Adrian Lewis 6-3, while Andy Hamilton wins by the same scoreline against Gary Welding.
Mark Dudbridge edges out Chris Cooper in a deciding leg, while Alan Tabern is 6-4 winner versus Rick Lowther.
Michael van Gerwen reaches last 32 with 6-2 win over Ian Lever.
Mick McGowan progresses with 6-4 defeat of Kevin Painter.
Ronnie Baxter completes 6-4 win over Gary Mawson with 131 checkout.
Jelle Klaasen sets up third round meeting with Terry Jenkins by seeing off James Barton 6-4.
Gary Anderson is 6-1 winner against Nigel Birch.
Vincent van der Voort joins fellow countrymen van Gerwen and Klaasen in last 32 with 6-3 defeat of Dylan Duo.
Chris Loudon is 6-3 winner in game with Ian MacFarlane to set up third round game with Colin Lloyd.
Alex Roy wins 6-2 against Kevin McDine.
Steve Beaton edges out Steve Hine in a decider, and Barrie Bates is a similarly narrow winner against Dave Honey.
Jamie Caven defeats Lee Williams 6-4.
Denis Ovens overcomes Kirk Shepherd 6-2.
John Part whitewashes Norman Fletcher, and Martyn Turner also fails to drop a leg in defeating Chris Mason.
Andy Jenkins defeats Mark Jodrill 6-3, and Mark Walsh also wins 6-3 against Darren Johnson.
Wayne Jones defeats Toon Greebe 6-4, and Louis Blundell is 6-3 winner against Wes Newton.
Jan van der Rassel wins 6-2 against Pete Allen and now faces Colin Osborne in round three.
Michael Smith whitewashes Anastasia Dobromyslova.
Tony Eccles whitewashes Andy Relf and now meets John Part in round three.
Adrian Gray's deciding leg win over Peter Manley completes third round line-up.
Third Round
Jelle Klaasen is first man into last 16 with 6-5 win over Terry Jenkins.
Vincent van der Voort joins Klaasen in round four with 6-4 win against Les Fitton.
Alex Roy denies a third Dutchman a last 16 spot, defeating Michael van Gerwen 6-4.
Alan Tabern defeats Martyn Turner 6-1.
Colin Lloyd overcomes Chris Loudon 6-3 to progress to last 16.
Steve Beaton defeats Mark Dudbridge 6-3 to move into round four.
Jamie Caven is 6-4 winner against Andy Hamilton.
Andy Jenkins defeats Mick McGowan in a deciding leg.
Stephen Hardy reaches last 16 with narrow win over Robert Thornton.
Gary Anderson remains on course for second successive Players Championship win by defeating Wayne Jones 6-2.
Ronnie Baxter progresses to last 16 with 6-3 win over Louis Blundell.
Barrie Bates is 6-4 winner against Dennis Priestley.
Mark Walsh whitewashes Michael Smith to set up last 16 game with Hertfordshire rival Alex Roy.
Colin Osborne seals 6-1 win over Jan van der Rassel with 170 checkout.
Denis Ovens overcomes Adrian Gray 6-1 and now meets Osborne in fourth round.
John Part moves through to last 16 with 6-2 win over Tony Eccles.
Fourth Round
Jamie Caven is first player into quarter-finals as he chases second win in as many PDC Pro Tour events, defeating Jelle Klaasen 6-2.
Steve Beaton edges past Alan Tabern in a deciding leg to reach quarters.
Vincent van der Voort races to 6-2 win against Barrie Bates.
Andy Jenkins picks up 6-4 win against Ronnie Baxter.
Mark Walsh progresses to quarter-finals with 6-3 win against Alex Roy.
Gary Anderson continues his bid for another title with 6-1 win over Stephen Hardy.
Colin Osborne's good run of form continues with 6-3 win over Denis Ovens, setting up tasty quarter-final with Anderson.
Colin Lloyd comes from 2-0 down to defeat John Part 6-3.
Quarter-Finals
Jamie Caven edges into semi-finals with narrow 11-leg win against Steve Beaton.
Mark Walsh lands a 180 to set up a double 19 finish in the deciding leg of his clash with Andy Jenkins for a 13-dart winning leg.
Colin Osborne overcomes Gary Anderson 6-4 to reach semi-finals.
Colin Lloyd takes out 102 for a 12-darter to win deciding leg of his clash with Vincent van der Voort.
Semi-Finals
Mark Walsh comes from 5-1 down to defeat Colin Lloyd in a deciding leg. Lloyd missed the bullseye in the decider before Walsh took out 136.
Jamie Caven recovers from 4-2 down to edge out Colin Osborne, finishing 116 for the game.