RONNIE BAXTER defeated Phil Taylor 6-2 to win the Las Vegas Players Championship.
Baxter picked up his first tournament win of 2009 with the £6,000 title at the Mandalay Bay Resort, condemning Taylor to only his second Players Championship loss of the year with a fine display.
Having been pushed all the way to a deciding leg by Japan's Morihiro Hashimoto in the first round, he then defeated Davis Snider, Wayne Mardle, Kevin Painter and John Part to reach the semi-finals.
He then overcame Peter Wright 6-3 before taking victory against Taylor.
Baxter opened the final with a 121 finish and also led 2-0 before Taylor took out 104 to get off the mark.
Double eight and double 16 put Baxter 4-1 up before a 13-darter saw him move a leg away from victory.
Taylor fired in a 128 checkout for a 12-darter to stay in the game, but a 180 from Baxter sent him clear in the next - and he had enough breathing space to miss seven match darts before landing double one for the title.
Taylor, making his first outing since winning the Blue Square UK Open in Bolton recently after struggling with a bad back since, warmed up nicely for the defence of his PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic title.
He saw off American duo Darin Young and John Kuczynski before whitewashing Rocco Maes and Simon Whitlock to reach the quarter-finals.
The world number one came from 4-3 down to defeat Alan Tabern 6-4 in the quarters, and saw off Gary Anderson 6-2 in the semis.
Wright's run to the last four was his best-ever on the PDC Pro Tour, and should secure him a place in the stanjames.com World Matchplay - coming two days after he also qualified for the Desert Classic.
The Lowestoft player's run included a whitewash of Colin Lloyd and a 6-1 win over Dennis Priestley, as well as a 6-3 defeat of Co Stompe in the last eight.
The tournament featured a brace of nine-darters, with Larry Butler and Wes Newton sharing an £800 bonus for the achievement.
Both, however, went on to lose the matches they were playing at the time, with Butler going down to Jan van der Rassel and Newton losing to Colin Osborne.
Wright's run jumps him above Kevin McDine in the list of 16 qualifiers for the World Matchplay from the Players Championship Order of Merit.
However, they will be finalised following the Desert Classic - when the PDC's top 16 qualify by right for July's Blackpool event, meaning a player could still break into the top 16 with a good run over the next five days.
The PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic begins on Wednesday and will be played through to Sunday at the Mandalay Bay Resort, and screened live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Las Vegas Players Championship
First Round
Chris White 6-1 Neil Dickson
Simon Whitlock 6-5 Lee Williams
Sean Palfrey 6-1 David Ansell
Paul Lim 6-1 Jim McKevitt
Mark Carter 6-4 Jacko Barry
Michael Putz 6-2 Gary Storey
Jan van der Rassel 6-2 Louis Blundell
Roland Scholten 6-4 John Quantock
Scott Burnett 6-0 Ken MacNeil
Mick McGowan 6-4 Stephen Panuncialman
Phillip Hazel 6-5 Gislain Tremblay
Darren Johnson 6-5 John Murray
Chuck Pankow 6-0 Kevin Fletcher
Peter Wright 6-5 Dennis Smith
Gary Barnett 6-2 Joe Formica
Davis Snider 6-3 Brian Jones
Jon Archer 6-4 Jeff Angione
Ian Jopling Bye (Andy Fordham retired with back injury)
Robert Heckman 6-1 Matt Jackson
John Part 6-0 John Latchic
Second Round
Phil Taylor (1) 6-1 John Kuczynski
Darin Young 6-4 Chris White
Matt Clark (32) 6-1 Robert Race
Rocco Maes 6-2 Tyler Hayne
Michael van Gerwen (16) v Mark Lawrence
Simon Whitlock 6-0 John Denich
Andy Smith (17) 6-1 Tony Ayres
Sean Palfrey 6-0 Cory Donham
Alan Tabern (8) 6-3 Stuart Holden
Paul Lim 6-2 Pete Riehl
Jelle Klaasen (25) 6-1 Dan Lauby
Shane O'Connor 6-0 Mark Venable
Gerry Convery 6-5 Terry Jenkins (9)
Mark Carter 6-3 Robbie Newland
Paul Knighton 6-5 Tony Eccles (24)
Davey Mansell 6-0 Martin Hulme
James Wade (5) 6-4 Mark Webster
James Barton 6-0 Michael Putz
Steve Maish (28) 6-0 Andrew Bennett
Bill Davis 6-0 Brian Rowe
Andy Hamilton (12) 6-1 Gary Mawson
Jan van der Rassel 6-2 Larry Butler - Larry Butler hits nine-darter
Jamie Caven (21) 6-1 Scott Henning
Mark Tiller 6-1 Simon Craven
Robert Thornton (4) 6-0 Sam Rooney
Roland Scholten 6-1 Adrian W Lewis
Raymond van Barneveld (29) 6-0 Ryan Vander Weit
Jim Newman 6-1 Karl Loiseau
Gary Anderson (13) 6-2 Jeff Hubbard
Scott Burnett 6-2 Paul DiCecca
Adrian Lewis (20) 6-1 David Wilderman
Kevin Harris 6-4 Mick McGowan
Mark Walsh (2) 6-5 David Fatum
Phillip Hazel 6-5 Bertrand Lajoie
Co Stompe (31) 6-4 Ray Carver
Steve Hine 6-4 Darren Latham
Mark Dudbridge (15) 6-2 Nick Fullwell
Darren Johnson 6-0 Sato Fumihiro
Vincent van der Voort (18) 6-5 Steve Brown
Colin Monk 6-3 Chuck Pankow
Colin Lloyd (7) 6-4 Chris Cooper
Peter Wright 6-1 Dan Zimmerman
Peter Manley (26) 6-1 Andy Mason
Timmy Nicoll 6-0 Drazen Severin
Dennis Priestley (10) 6-1 Joe Cullen
Bryan de Hoog 6-0 Gary Barnett
Andy Jenkins (23) 6-2 Martyn Turner
Barrie Bates 6-0 Marc Garcia
Ronnie Baxter (6) 6-5 Morihiro Hashimoto
Davis Snider 6-1 Steve Gooch
Wayne Mardle (27) 6-3 Jason Clark
Steve Grubb 6-5 Mark Stephenson
Mervyn King (11) 6-0 Ron Peppers
Kirk Shepherd 6-1 Jon Archer
Kevin Painter (22) 6-1 Eddie Lawrence
Mark Nielsen 6-4 Kevin Hill
Colin Osborne (3) 6-3 Par Riihonen
Kevin Dowling 6-3 Ian Jopling
Wes Newton (30) 6-4 Dave Ladley
Dieter Schutsch 6-2 Joe DaVanti
Denis Ovens (14) 6-1 Joseph Bodrogi
Robert Heckman 6-2 Stacy Bromberg
Steve Beaton (19) 6-2 Kevin McDine
John Part 6-0 Anthony Thompson
Third Round
Phil Taylor 6-2 Darin Young
Rocco Maes 6-5 Matt Clark
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
Sean Palfrey 6-5 Andy Smith
Alan Tabern 6-3 Paul Lim
Jelle Klaasen 6-5 Shane O'Connor
Mark Carter 6-4 Gerry Convery
Paul Knighton 6-1 Davey Mansell
James Wade 6-5 James Barton
Bill Davis 6-3 Steve Maish
Andy Hamilton 6-3 Jan van der Rassel
Jamie Caven 6-0 Mark Tiller
Robert Thornton 6-1 Roland Scholten
Jim Newman 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Gary Anderson 6-1 Scott Burnett
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Kevin Harris
Mark Walsh 6-4 Phillip Hazel
Co Stompe 6-2 Steve Hine
Mark Dudbridge 6-4 Darren Johnson
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Colin Monk
Peter Wright 6-0 Colin Lloyd
Peter Manley 6-3 Timmy Nicoll
Dennis Priestley 6-3 Bryan de Hoog
Barrie Bates 6-3 Andy Jenkins
Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Davis Snider
Wayne Mardle 6-2 Steve Grubb
Mervyn King 6-4 Kirk Shepherd
Kevin Painter 6-0 Mark Nielsen
Colin Osborne 6-3 Kevin Dowling
Wes Newton 6-2 Dieter Schutsch
Denis Ovens 6-1 Robert Heckman
John Part 6-3 Steve Beaton
Losers £200
Fourth Round
Phil Taylor 6-0 Rocco Maes
Simon Whitlock 6-0 Sean Palfrey
Alan Tabern 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Paul Knighton 6-5 Mark Carter
James Wade 6-4 Bill Davis
Andy Hamilton 6-3 Jamie Caven
Robert Thornton 6-2 Jim Newman
Gary Anderson 6-3 Adrian Lewis
Co Stompe 6-3 Mark Walsh
Mark Dudbridge 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Peter Wright 6-3 Peter Manley
Dennis Priestley 6-4 Barrie Bates
Ronnie Baxter 6-4 Wayne Mardle
Kevin Painter 6-3 Mervyn King
Colin Osborne 6-3 Wes Newton - Wes Newton hits nine-darter
John Part 6-4 Denis Ovens
Losers £300
Fifth Round
Phil Taylor 6-0 Simon Whitlock
Alan Tabern 6-1 Paul Knighton
James Wade 6-4 Andy Hamilton
Gary Anderson 6-3 Robert Thornton
Co Stompe 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Peter Wright 6-1 Dennis Priestley
Ronnie Baxter 6-1 Kevin Painter
John Part 6-5 Colin Osborne
Losers £400
Quarter-Finals
Phil Taylor 6-4 Alan Tabern
Gary Anderson 6-4 James Wade
Peter Wright 6-3 Co Stompe
Ronnie Baxter 6-3 John Part
Losers £800
Semi-Finals
Phil Taylor 6-2 Gary Anderson
Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Peter Wright
Losers £1,500
Final
Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Phil Taylor
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000