ADRIAN LEWIS won his second PDC ProTour title of the year after defeating Steve Farmer 6-4 at the K2 Centre in Crawley to win Saturday's Players Championship.
Lewis bounced back from a disappointing summer after first round exits at the StanJames.com World Matchplay and the PartyPoker.net European Championship to claim to £6,000 first prize.
The Stoke star edged his first two matches with deciding leg victories over Wayne Atwood and Steve Maish, the latter including a superb 161 checkout to win the game.
Alex Roy was dispatched in the last 16 6-1 before defeating Mark Webster and Vincent van der Voort by 6-5 scorelines to reach the final.
Both players' throws were broken in the opening two legs of the final before Lewis took the lead for the first time by winning the third leg in 11 darts.
Farmer hit 140 and 177 in the fourth leg to level the game at two apiece before Lewis led again by taking the fifth.
Lewis broke throw in the sixth leg and then won the next in 14 darts to go within touching distance of victory.
Farmer reduced the deficit to 5-3 with a two-dart 95 finish and then hit double 16 in the ninth leg to keep his hopes alive.
Both players had chances to win the tenth leg but it was Lewis who finally prevailed to hit double one to claim victory.
Steve Farmer enjoyed his best result on the ProTour since joining the PDC circuit earlier this year and is now in with a good chance of qualifying for the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.
He defeated Arron Monk and Andy Hamilton, both by 6-1 margins before ending Steve Grubb's challenge with a 6-4 win.
Farmer produced superb displays to defeat James Wade and Mark Dudbridge before a deciding-leg win over Gary Anderson saw him reach his first PDC final.
A second Players Championship will be held on Sunday at the K2 Centre in Crawley.
Players Championship 25
First Round
Simon Whitlock (1) Bye
Colin Monk 6-2 Steven Pearson
Steve Hine (32) 6-4 Kirk Shepherd
Dave Askew 6-3 Louis Blundell
Ronnie Baxter (16) Bye
Peter Hudson 6-0 Aodhagan O'Neill
Mark Dudbridge (17) 6-2 Richie Burnett
Ian White 6-4 Nigel Birch
Andy Hamilton (8) Bye
Steve Farmer 6-1 Arron Monk
Steve Grubb 6-2 Michael van Gerwen (25)
Anastasia Dobromyslova 6-0 Henry Zapata
James Wade (9) Bye
Adrian Gray 6-0 Lee White
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Brendan Dolan (24)
Michael Barnard 6-3 Mark Tiller
Jamie Caven (5) Bye
Gary Welding 6-4 Mark Frost
Terry Jenkins (28) 6-4 Matt Clark
Stuart Dutton 6-1 Stephen Perkins
Wayne Jones (12) Bye
Par Riihonen 6-3 Roland Scholten
Co Stompe (21) 6-4 Nick Fulwell
Andy Pearce 6-4 Paul Rowley
Gary Anderson (4) Bye
Mark Hylton 6-3 Darren Johnson
Robert Thornton (29) 6-5 Sam Allen
Stephen Hardy 6-0 Martyn Bevan
Denis Ovens (13) Bye
John Magowan 6-5 Michael Smith
Kevin McDine 6-5 Kevin Painter (20)
Gary Eastwood 6-2 Jim McKevitt
Wes Newton (2) Bye
Chris Thompson 6-3 Andy Callaby
Tony Ayres 6-3 Peter Wright (31)
Scott Rand 6-2 Andy Mason
Mervyn King (15) Bye
Mick McGowan 6-3 Simon Burt
Alan Tabern (18) 6-1 Dylan Duo
Dennis Smith 6-2 Patrick Pace
Vincent van der Voort (7) Bye
Nigel Heydon 6-3 John Part
Terry Temple 6-4 Jelle Klaasen (26)
Ryan Herrington 6-3 Mark Jones
Steve Beaton (10) Bye
Jamie Atkins 6-2 David Ansell
Paul Nicholson (23) 6-5 Justin Pipe
Martyn Turner 6-3 Kevin Dowling
Colin Lloyd (6) Bye
Steve Evans 6-0 Jon Archer
Mark Webster (27) 6-4 Mark Jodrill
Joe Cullen 6-5 William O'Connor
Mark Walsh (11) Bye
Geoff Whitworth 6-3 Ian Jopling
Steve Brown (22) 6-1 Dean Allsopp
Tony Randell 6-3 Ian McFarlane
Adrian Lewis (3) Bye
Wayne Atwood 6-0 Steve Musson
Mareno Michels 6-4 Tony Eccles (30)
Steve Maish 6-5 Dave Honey
Colin Osborne (14) Bye
Paul Williams 6-1 Andy Relf
Alex Roy 6-5 Barrie Bates (19)
Wayne Mardle 6-1 Matt Padgett
Second Round
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Colin Monk
Dave Askew 6-3 Steve Hine
Ronnie Baxter 6-1 Peter Hudson
Mark Dudbridge 6-2 Ian White
Steve Farmer 6-1 Andy Hamilton
Steve Grubb 6-4 Anastasia Dobromyslova
James Wade 6-4 Adrian Gray
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Michael Barnard
Gary Welding 6-3 Jamie Caven
Stuart Dutton 6-4 Terry Jenkins
Wayne Jones 6-1 Par Riihonen
Co Stompe 6-1 Andy Pearce
Gary Anderson 6-4 Mark Hylton
Robert Thornton 6-5 Stephen Hardy
Denis Ovens 6-2 John Magowan
Kevin McDine 6-3 Gary Eastwood
Wes Newton 6-2 Chris Thompson
Scott Rand 6-2 Tony Ayres
Mervyn King 6-1 Mick McGowan
Alan Tabern 6-4 Dennis Smith
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Nigel Heydon
Terry Temple 6-0 Ryan Herrington
Jamie Atkins 6-4 Steve Beaton
Martyn Turner 6-5 Paul Nicholson
Steve Evans 6-4 Colin Lloyd
Mark Webster 6-1 Joe Cullen
Mark Walsh 6-4 Geoff Whitworth
Steve Brown 6-2 Tony Randell
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Wayne Atwood
Steve Maish 6-2 Mareno Michels
Paul Williams 6-3 Colin Osborne
Alex Roy 6-4 Wayne Mardle
Losers £200
Third Round
Simon Whitlock 6-0 Dave Askew
Mark Dudbridge 6-1 Ronnie Baxter
Steve Farmer 6-4 Steve Grubb
James Wade 6-5 Andy Jenkins
Stuart Dutton 6-5 Gary Welding
Wayne Jones 6-4 Co Stompe
Gary Anderson 6-3 Robert Thornton
Kevin McDine 6-2 Denis Ovens
Wes Newton 6-3 Scott Rand
Mervyn King 6-4 Alan Tabern
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Terry Temple
Martyn Turner 6-5 Jamie Atkins
Mark Webster 6-1 Steve Evans
Mark Walsh 6-5 Steve Brown
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Steve Maish
Alex Roy 6-3 Paul Williams
Losers £300
Fourth Round
Mark Dudbridge 6-1 Simon Whitlock
Steve Farmer 6-3 James Wade
Wayne Jones 6-4 Stuart Dutton
Gary Anderson 6-2 Kevin McDine
Mervyn King 6-4 Wes Newton
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Martyn Turner
Mark Webster 6-3 Mark Walsh
Adrian Lewis 6-1 Alex Roy
Losers £500
Quarter Finals
Steve Farmer 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Gary Anderson 6-4 Wayne Jones
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Mervyn King
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Mark Webster
Losers £1,000
Semi Finals
Steve Farmer 6-5 Gary Anderson
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Losers £1,500
Final
Adrian Lewis 6-4 Steve Farmer
Winner: £6,000
Runner-Up: £3,000