JOE MURNAN won his first PDC ranking title with a brilliant 6-4 victory over Dave Chisnall in Sunday's Players Championship in Crawley.
The Bolton ace picked up the £10,000 first prize and put himself in line to qualify for July's BetVictor World Matchplay as he went all the way to glory on the PDC ProTour for the first time.
Ranked 73rd in the world going into the weekend, Murnan had lost his PDC Tour Card at the end of 2014 but bounced back by reaching the German Darts Championship quarter-finals in February.
He will now move into the world's top 64 following this triumph, although more significantly jumps up the ProTour Order of Merit into the provisional qualifying places for the World Matchplay this summer - and in line to compete in other major tournaments during 2015.
Murnan, who had been a first round victim of Gerwyn Price in Saturday's Players Championship, opened Sunday's tournament with a 6-4 win over number seven seed Vincent van der Voort.
He then saw off youngsters Adam Hunt, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Josh Payne to reach the quarter-finals, where he was a 6-3 winner against Betway Premier League star Stephen Bunting.
Murnan then overcame Daryl Gurney 6-3 in the semi-finals before recording an impressive triumph over another Premier League ace, high-flying Chisnall.
Murnan held his own with a 121 checkout and legs of 12, 14 and 15 darts to share the final's opening six legs, before breaking throw with a 14-dart leg, which featured a 180, to lead 4-3.
He then finished 67 for a 15-dart leg to lead 5-3, and though Chisnall hit back with a 14-darter it was the Bolton ace tho finished tops in the next to complete the finest day of his career to date.
Chisnall's defeat denied him a first ranking victory for 18 months as he bidded to win a ninth PDC title, although the run to the decider was another confidence boost ahead of Thursday's Premier League Play-Offs in London.
His run included brilliant victories over the world's top two players - Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor - and saw him pick up £5,000 prize money.
After opening the day with wins over Wayne Jones and Gary Stone, he then overcame Taylor 6-5 in the last 32, and after seeing off Andy Smith and PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion Keegan Brown - sealing the win with a 167 finish - he then defeated van Gerwen 6-4 in the semis.
Van Gerwen took out legs of 12 and 11 darts to pull back from 4-1 to 4-3 only for Chisnall to halt his fightback with a 152 checkout before completing the win with a 130 finish.
Van Gerwen's defeat saw him miss out in the semi-finals for a second successive day, despite his wins over Jamie Robinson, Joe Cullen, Ronny Huybrechts, Benito van de Pas and Andrew Gilding.
Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney won through to his second PDC ProTour semi-final of the year, as he defeated Curtis Hammond, Steve Brown, Jelle Klaasen, Mark Webster and his compatriot Brendan Dolan.
Dolan had pushed Gurney all the way to a deciding leg in the last eight, where he was joined by Gilding, Brown and Bunting.
Three-time World Champion John Part enjoyed his best result of 2015 as he reached the last 16, where he was joined by Gary Anderson, Mark Webster, Ian Moss, Andy Smith, Benito van de Pas and Josh Payne.
The PDC ProTour continues with another double-header of Players Championship events at the Barnsley Metrodome next weekend.
Sunday May 17, K2 Centre, Crawley
First Round
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-1 Jamie Robinson
Joe Cullen 6-4 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Ronny Huybrechts (32) 6-2 Jyhan Artut
Max Hopp 6-2 Dennis Smith
Jamie Caven (16) 6-3 Michael Barnard
Connie Finnan 6-4 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Benito van de Pas (17) 6-3 Andy Jenkins
Matt Clark 6-3 Dave Ladley
Mervyn King (8) 6-3 Joey Ten Berge
Mickey Mansell 6-4 Johnny Haines
Andrew Gilding (25) 6-3 Mark Walsh
Ricky Evans 6-1 Jason Lovett
Jim Walker 6-4 Ian White (9)
Prakash Jiwa 6-5 Paul Milford
Tony Newell 6-4 John Henderson (24)
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Shaun Griffiths
Simon Whitlock (5) 6-2 Lee Evans
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Brian Woods
Keegan Brown (28) 6-4 Mark Barilli
Andy Boulton 6-1 Luke Woodhouse
Terry Jenkins (12) 6-2 Tomas Seyler
Ian Moss 6-1 Roxy-James Rodriguez
Gerwyn Price (21) 6-5 Colin Lloyd
Stuart Kellett 6-2 Mark Dudbridge
Michael Smith (4) 6-3 Stuart Harding
Jamie Bain 6-4 Nathan Derry
Andy Smith (29) 6-4 Alan Norris
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Terry Temple
Dave Chisnall (13) 6-3 Wayne Jones
Gary Stone 6-3 Jan Dekker
Phil Taylor (20) 6-1 Barrie Bates
Alan Tabern 6-2 Lee Palfreyman
Gary Anderson (2) 6-1 William O'Connor
Devon Petersen 6-4 Steve Hine
Darren Johnson 6-4 Kevin Painter (31)
James Wilson 6-5 Mick Todd
Ross Smith 6-4 Steve Beaton (15)
Kevin Bambrick 6-2 Pete Dyos
Stephen Bunting (18) 6-4 Robbie Green
Kevin Thomas 6-5 Jason Marriott
Joe Murnan 6-4 Vincent van der Voort (7)
Adam Hunt 6-2 Eddie Dootson
Christian Kist 6-4 Dean Winstanley (26)
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6- 1 Tim Martin
Matthew Edgar Bye (Justin Pipe (10) withdrew)
Josh Payne 6-2 Jay Foreman
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Andy Hamilton (23)
Kevin McDine 6-2 Ben Ward
Brendan Dolan (6) 6-3 Steve Douglas
Ken MacNeil 6-2 Conan Whitehead
Stephen Willard 6-4 Jamie Lewis (27)
Magnus Caris 6-5 Kirk Shepherd
John Part 6-5 Robert Thornton (11)
Steve McNally 6-5 John Bowles
Mensur Suljovic (22) 6-1 Mark Hylton
Darren Webster 6-0 Matt Padgett
Nigel Heydon 6-4 Peter Wright (3)
Aden Kirk 6-1 Mike Zuydwijk
Mark Webster (30) 6-0 Wes Newton
David Pallett 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Steve Brown 6-2 Kim Huybrechts (14)
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Curtis Hammond
Jelle Klaasen (19) 6-3 Mark Frost
Nick Fullwell 6-4 Ronnie Baxter
Second Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Joe Cullen
Ronny Huybrechts 6-5 Max Hopp
Jamie Caven 6-4 Connie Finnan
Benito van de Pas 6-5 Matt Clark
Mervyn King 6-4 Mickey Mansell
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Ricky Evans
Jim Walker 6-4 Prakash Jiwa
Tony Newell 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Nathan Aspinall
Keegan Brown 6-4 Andy Boulton
Ian Moss 6-4 Terry Jenkins
Stuart Kellett 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Jamie Bain 6-5 Michael Smith
Andy Smith 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Gary Stone
Phil Taylor 6-3 Alan Tabern
Gary Anderson 6-2 Devon Petersen
James Wilson 6-1 Darren Johnson
Ross Smith 6-3 Kevin Bambrick
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Kevin Thomas
Joe Murnan 6-1 Adam Hunt
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-5 Christian Kist
Josh Payne 6-5 Matthew Edgar
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Kevin McDine
Brendan Dolan 6-4 Ken MacNeil
Stephen Willard 6-4 Magnus Caris
John Part 6-1 Steve McNally
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Darren Webster
Aden Kirk 6-3 Nigel Heydon
Mark Webster 6-3 David Pallett
Daryl Gurney 6-5 Steve Brown
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Nick Fullwell
Losers £250
Third Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Ronny Huybrechts
Benito van de Pas 6-2 Jamie Caven
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Mervyn King
Jim Walker 6-5 Tony Newell
Keegan Brown 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Ian Moss 6-2 Stuart Kellett
Andy Smith 6-1 Jamie Bain
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Phil Taylor
Gary Anderson 6-5 James Wilson
Stephen Bunting 6-1 Ross Smith
Joe Murnan 6-2 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Josh Payne 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Stephen Willard
John Part 6-1 Mensur Suljovic
Mark Webster 6-1 Aden Kirk
Daryl Gurney 6-1 Jelle Klaasen
Losers £750
Fourth Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Benito van de Pas
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Jim Walker
Keegan Brown 6-2 Ian Moss
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Andy Smith
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Gary Anderson
Joe Murnan 6-5 Josh Payne
Brendan Dolan 6-1 John Part
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Mark Webster
Losers £1,500
Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Andrew Gilding
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Keegan Brown
Joe Murnan 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Daryl Gurney 6-5 Brendan Dolan
Losers £2,000
Semi-Finals
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Joe Murnan 6-3 Daryl Gurney
Losers £2,500
Final
Joe Murnan 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Winner £10,000
Runner-Up £5,000
Match Stats
| Dave Chisnall | 4-6 | Joe Murnan |
| 11 | 100+ | 13 |
| 10 | 140+ | 11 |
| 1 | 170+ | 0 |
| 2 | 180 | 3 |
| 99.35 | Average | 99.09 |
| 32 | High Finish | 121 |
| 0 | Breaks of Throw | 1 |
NB: From the original entries, Raymond van Barneveld, Paul Nicholson and James Wade withdrew, with their places being filled by PDPA Associate Members Kevin Bambrick, Lee Evans and Mark Hylton.