MICHAEL VAN GERWEN edged out nine-dart star James Wade 6-5 to win the Players Championship 6 final, as Devon Petersen also landed a perfect leg in Coventry.
Van Gerwen, the current Betway Premier League leader who has dominated the circuit so far in 2015, added yet another title with his second Players Championship success and eighth PDC ProTour win of the year.
The Dutchman, though, was pushed all the way by a superb display from Wade in the final as the left-hander landed a perfect nine-darter to level at two-all and also hit legs of 13 and 12 darts to take the final to a decider.
Crucially, though, he never had a dart to break throw as van Gerwen - who fired in six 180s and a 177 in the game and hit winning legs which included two 12-darters and a 14-dart leg - landed double ten in leg 11 to claim the win.
Van Gerwen had also seen off two other Premier League rivals, Raymond van Barneveld and Dave Chisnall, on his way to the final and dropped only one leg in his wins over Tim Martin, Cristo Reyes and Devon Petersen before winning an all-Dutch semi-final against Benito van de Pas 6-3.
Wade's run to the final saw him put aside his Premier League disappointment - with Thursday's draw against Stephen Bunting meaning that he cannot now qualify for the final - as he reached at least the last eight for a fifth successive PDC ProTour event.
Wade's brilliant nine-darter in the final had been preceded by a magical ten-dart finish in the deciding leg of his semi-final against Ian White, who hit back from 3-1 down to take the game all the way.
Wade also defeated Josh Payne, Robert Owen, Mark Webster, Steve Beaton and Brendan Dolan on the day as he took home £5,000 in prize money for reaching his third PDC ProTour final of the year.
White was appearing in his third ProTour semi-final of 2015 following his wins over Nigel Heydon, Luke Woodhouse, William O'Connor, Jamie Lewis and Andy Boulton, with three of those games also going to a deciding leg before he was edged out by Wade.
Dutch youngster van de Pas continued his impressive recent form, which included a nine-dart finish last month, as he progressed to only his second Players Championship semi-final.
Van de Pas saw off Jamie Bain, John Bowles, Chris Dobey, World Youth Champion Keegan Brown and Jonny Clayton to reach the last four, before van Gerwen proved too strong.
South African star Petersen enjoyed his best-ever day on the PDC ProTour as he reached his first Players Championship quarter-final and also landed a nine-dart finish, his first in competition.
The perfect leg came during his first round win over Ronny Huybrechts, and he went on to defeat Vincent van der Voort, Mensur Suljovic and Simon Whitlock before being whitewashed by van Gerwen - who also ended his hopes in the Coral UK Open quarter-finals in March.
Welshman Clayton and Scottish-based Boulton were also appearing in their first PDC ProTour quarter-finals, where they were joined by Northern Irish ace Brendan Dolan in the first of three Players Championship events being staged this weekend at Coventry's Ricoh Arena.
The two nine-darters on Friday took this year's total to an incredible 16 already in PDC tournaments during 2015, with only 20 having been landed during last year.
Wade's perfect leg was the first of those 15 to be hit by one of the ten Premier League stars, while Petersen's was the first by a South African in a PDC event.
Players Championship Six
Friday May 1, Ricoh Arena, Coventry
First Round
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-0 Tim Martin
Cristo Reyes 6-2 Joe Cullen
Raymond van Barneveld (32) 6-2 Adam Hunt
Darren Johnson 6-5 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Dave Chisnall (16) 6-2 David Pallett
Kyle Anderson 6-0 Martyn Turner
Terry Temple 6-4 Jamie Caven (17)
Steve Hine 6-5 Joey Ten Berge
Simon Whitlock (8) 6-0 Ross Twell
Kevin Thomas 6-3 John Part
Barrie Bates 6-3 Dean Winstanley (25)
Mick Todd 6-2 Kevin Voornhout
Vincent van der Voort (9) 6-4 Darren Webster
Devon Petersen 6-4 Ronny Huybrechts - Devon Petersen hits nine-dart finish
Mensur Suljovic (24) 6-4 Matthew Edgar
Tony Newell 6-4 Steve McNally
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-5 Peter Wright (5)
Stuart Kellett 6-3 Jyhan Artut
Andy Smith (28) 6-3 Jan Dekker
Mark Barilli 6-4 Magnus Caris
Jay Foreman 6-5 Mervyn King (12)
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Ronnie Baxter
Nathan Derry 6-3 Jelle Klaasen (21)
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Pete Dyos
Adrian Lewis (4) 6-1 Curtis Hammond
Keegan Brown 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Ross Smith 6-5 Kevin Painter (29)
Ricky Evans 6-2 Nick Fullwell
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Terry Jenkins (13)
Chris Dobey 6-1 Steve West
Benito van de Pas (20) 6-3 Jamie Bain
John Bowles 6-3 Ian Moss
James Wade (2) 6-3 Josh Payne
Robert Owen 6-4 Kevin McDine
Mark Webster (31) 6-4 Eddie Dootson
Brian Woods 6-4 Prakash Jiwa
Kim Huybrechts (15) 6-5 Paul Milford
Jason Wilson 6-2 Ben Ward
Steve Beaton (18) 6-5 Steve Brown
Paul Nicholson 6-2 Dave Ladley
Robbie Green 6-1 Robert Thornton (7)
Andy Jenkins 6-5 Jason Marriott
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 John Henderson (26)
Lee Palfreyman 6-5 Jamie Robinson
Brendan Dolan (10) 6-4 Matt Padgett
Wayne Jones 6-1 Kirk Shepherd
Andrew Gilding (23) 6-0 Steve Douglas
Mark Frost 6-1 Conan Whitehead
Michael Smith (6) 6-3 Roxy-James Rodriguez
Andy Boulton 6-2 Mark Walsh
Kevin Dowling 6-2 Gerwyn Price (27)
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Joe Murnan
Jason Lovett 6-4 Justin Pipe (11)
James Wilson 6-4 Tomas Seyler
Andy Hamilton (22) 6-4 Christian Kist
Andy Parsons 6-1 Dennis Smith
Johnny Haines 6-3 Gary Anderson (3)
Mike Zuydwijk 6-4 Alan Norris
Jamie Lewis (30) 6-2 Alan Tabern
Ken MacNeil 6-3 Gary Stone
Ian White (14) 6-4 Nigel Heydon
Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Wes Newton
Mark Dudbridge 6-5 Stephen Bunting (19)
William O'Connor 6-5 Jim Walker
Second Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Cristo Reyes
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Darren Johnson
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Kyle Anderson
Terry Temple 6-5 Steve Hine
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Kevin Thomas
Barrie Bates 6-4 Mick Todd
Devon Petersen 6-2 Vincent van der Voort
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Tony Newell
Stuart Kellett 6-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Mark Barilli 6-4 Andy Smith
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Jay Foreman
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Nathan Derry
Keegan Brown 6-5 Adrian Lewis
Ricky Evans 6-0 Ross Smith
Chris Dobey 6-1 Nathan Aspinall
Benito van de Pas 6-5 John Bowles
James Wade 6-3 Robert Owen
Mark Webster 6-3 Brian Woods
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Jason Wilson
Steve Beaton 6-3 Paul Nicholson
Andy Jenkins 6-2 Robbie Green
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Lee Palfreyman
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Wayne Jones
Mark Frost 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Andy Boulton 6-2 Michael Smith
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Kevin Dowling
James Wilson 6-2 Jason Lovett
Andy Parsons 6-4 Andy Hamilton
Mike Zuydwijk 6-4 Johnny Haines
Jamie Lewis 6-4 Ken MacNeil
Ian White 6-3 Luke Woodhouse
William O'Connor 6-5 Mark Dudbridge
Third Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Terry Temple
Simon Whitlock 6-0 Barrie Bates
Devon Petersen 6-5 Mensur Suljovic
Mark Barilli 6-5 Stuart Kellett
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Mickey Mansell
Keegan Brown 6-3 Ricky Evans
Benito van de Pas 6-5 Chris Dobey
James Wade 6-3 Mark Webster
Steve Beaton 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Andy Jenkins
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Mark Frost
Andy Boulton 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Andy Parsons 6-2 James Wilson
Jamie Lewis 6-5 Mike Zuydwijk
Ian White 6-5 William O'Connor
Fourth Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Dave Chisnall
Devon Petersen 6-3 Simon Whitlock
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Mark Barilli
Benito van de Pas 6-2 Keegan Brown
James Wade 6-1 Steve Beaton
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Andy Boulton 6-2 Andy Parsons
Ian White 6-2 Jamie Lewis
Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Devon Petersen
Benito van de Pas 6-1 Jonny Clayton
James Wade 6-3 Brendan Dolan
Ian White 6-5 Andy Boulton
Semi-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Benito van de Pas
James Wade 6-5 Ian White
Final
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 James Wade - James Wade hits nine-dart finish
Final - Leg-by-leg
Michael van Gerwen v James Wade
0-0 - Michael van Gerwen wins the bull and throws first.
1-0 - van Gerwen lands two 140s to Wade's one in the leg before pinning double nine to claim the opener in 15 darts,
1-1 - van Gerwen opens the leg with a 180, but Wade posts two 140s before finishing double ten for a 15-darter of his own.
2-1 - van Gerwen scores 140 and 177 before taking out 120 for a 12-dart finish.
2-2 - NINE-DART FINISH FROM JAMES WADE. Both players open with 180s before Wade lands another maximum, before finishing 141 with treble 20, treble 19 and double 12.
3-2 - van Gerwen fires in another 180 as he leaves 84 before finishing the combination for a 12-darter.
3-3 - Wade levels in 13 darts, landing a maximum and tops.
4-3 - van Gerwen opens with a 180 before finishing double 16 for a 14-darter.
4-4 - van Gerwen is unable to give himself a dart at a double to break on 75, and Wade holds throw on double four.
5-4 - van Gerwen opens with another maximum before finishing 92 for a 15-dart leg.
5-5 - Wade's 171 to kick off the leg is bettered by a 180 from van Gerwen, but the left-hander also adds a maximum as both leave 50 after nine darts, with Wade finishing tops for a 12-darter to send the game into a decider.
6-5 - The pair are unable to find the power scoring of previous legs, with van Gerwen initially missing two darts at tops for the match before returning - when Wade cannot finish 145 - to land double ten for the triumph.