PHIL TAYLOR whitewashed Adrian Lewis 6-0 to win the final of the German Darts Classic in Gladbeck.
Taylor claimed a third successive Players Championship win with the triumph, bouncing back in style from defeat to James Wade in the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts on Thursday.
The world number one dropped only six legs in seven games on Saturday, including four 6-0 victories as he took the £6,000 title.
American David Fatum held Taylor at two-all in their first round clash, only for the Stoke legend to win the next four legs and then whitewash Patrick Loos, Mensur Suljovic and Steve Beaton in reaching the quarter-finals.
He defeated Dutchmen Michael van Gerwen and Vincent van der Voort 6-3 and 6-1 respectively to reach the final before unleashing a superb display on local rival Lewis.
Finishes of 68 and 80 put Taylor in command, double eight moved him 3-0 up and double 16 further extended the lead without Lewis having a dart at a double.
Taylor then sealed victory with two sensational finishes, taking out 129 with treble 19, double 16 and double top followed by a 115 of 25, bullseye and double top to claim the title with a 108.66 average.
Taylor had earlier taken out a bull-25-bull finish in seeing off van Gerwen, and the win follows a double-header victory in Gibraltar last month.
Lewis' run was his best in a Players Championship since last June, as he saw off Denis Ovens 6-1 in the semis after earlier victories over Alan Tabern, Wes Newton and Mark Walsh.
Ovens enjoyed narrow 6-5 wins over Wayne Jones and Steve Maish on the way to his first semi-final of 2009, while van der Voort whitewashed Colin Osborne 6-0 in the quarter-finals.
Mark Webster's first appearance in a Players Championship since joining the PDC was short-lived as he suffered a 6-1 first round defeat to Ronnie Baxter, taking out 142 for the only leg he won.
Play continues with a second Players Championship in Gladbeck on Sunday.
Picture courtesy Thomas Schroeer
German Darts Classic Players Championship (Saturday)
Preliminary Round
Mensur Suljovic 6-0 Gordon Shumway
Jacko Barry 6-4 Sladan Nedic
Russell Mason 6-0 Hans Pfaff
Marek Polach 6-3 Muzaffer Celick
Simon Craven 6-1 Michael Rahlf
Kevin Munch 6-1 Paul Rothuizen
Ian Jopling 6-2 Christian Overdijk
Swen Seifert 6-2 Huseyin Zengin
Bernhard Kraus 6-0 Ulf Struck
Mirco Stute 6-0 Rudiger Lohse
Gary Mawson 6-2 Barry Zander
Richard van Zijtveld 6-3 Detlev Vrba
Dennis Smith 6-1 Karl Reiszner
Jyhan Artut 6-1 Erwin Extercatte
Jan van der Rassel 6-1 Alan Caves
Co Stompe 6-5 Arron Monk
Ronald Eichler 6-5 Detlev Haut
Dennis Zijderhand 6-1 Nick Fullwell
Maik Langendorf 6-0 Geoff Whitworth
Christian Kotal Bye (Steve Randall Retired Injured)
Steve Grubb 6-3 Tomas Seyler
Brendan Dolan 6-0 Stefan Mindum
John Quantock 6-3 Jurgen Brech
Toon Greebe 6-1 Jonny Nijs
Hannes Schnier 6-4 Marco Sieg
Steve Brown 6-4 Chris Cooper
John Lokken 6-4 Andreas Becker
Colin Monk 6-5 Sebastijn Pecjak
Lambert Schluga 6-0 Jan Siemon
Dyson Parody 6-2 Danny Pinhorne
Jason Clark 6-5 Chris Thompson
Marko Kantele 6-3 Marcel Hausotter
Remco van Eijden 6-0 Holger Goddinger
Darren Johnson 6-3 Matheus Ziolkowski
Andries Sterk 6-5 Holger Rettig
Peter Seidl 6-0 Andy Nitzinger
Peter Wright 6-3 Mick McGowan
Wayne Atwood 6-1 Martin Horecny
Michael Wolf 6-5 Bobby Biemanns
Martyn Turner 6-0 Daniel Kihello
Karsten Kornath 6-1 Beatrix Krockel
Oto Zmelik 6-5 Andrew Davies
Dave Honey 6-0 Martin Kapucian
Tobias Rolf 6-4 Jurgen Demler
Dave Ladley 6-1 Jon Archer
Michael Rosenauer 6-1 Christian Stehmann
Rolf Kaiser 6-3 Frank Kahike
First Round
Phil Taylor (1) 6-2 David Fatum
Patrick Loos 6-1 Markus Scheck
Marko Puls 6-2 Lionel Sams (32)
Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Jacko Barry
Andree Welge 6-4 Andy Smith (16)
Andy Krockel 6-4 Bernd Roith
Steve Beaton (17) 6-0 Russell Mason
Simon Craven 6-1 Marek Polach
Andy Hamilton (8) 6-5 Jarkko Komula
David Platt 6-3 Olaf Tupuschis
Matt Clark (25) 6-5 Kevin Munch
Ian Jopling 6-4 Swen Seifert
Mark Dudbridge (9) 6-2 Mario Masurka
Jorg Aufmhoff 6-0 Werner Schuller
Michael van Gerwen (24) 6-0 Bernhard Kraus
Gary Mawson 6-5 Mirco Stute
Colin Osborne (5) 6-3 Michael Barnard
Didier de Vuyst 6-2 Frank Kunze
Barrie Bates (28) 6-2 Richard van Zijtveld
Dennis Smith 6-5 Jyhan Artut
Kevin Painter (12) 6-4 Mark Jodrill
Michael Jescheniak 6-0 Oliver Erckmann
Tony Eccles (21) 6-1 Jan van der Rassel
Co Stompe 6-0 Ronald Eichler
Terry Jenkins (4) 6-0 Erwin Renkema
Jim Leighton 6-2 Peter van der Broek
Kevin McDine (29) 6-2 Dennis Zijderhand
Maik Langendorf 6-3 Chris Kotal
Vincent van der Voort (13) 6-3 Rocco Maes
Yves Cottenje 6-2 Bob Valies
Jamie Caven (20) 6-0 Steve Grubb
Brendan Dolan 6-3 John Quantock
Alan Tabern (2) 6-2 Francisco Cruz
Dave Smith 6-2 Carlo Sessini
Toon Greebe 6-2 Adrian Gray (31)
Steve Brown 6-4 Hannes Schnier
Peter Manley (15) 6-0 Ben Burton
Justin Pipe Bye (Gary Welding Retired)
Andy Jenkins (18) 6-2 John Lokken
Colin Monk 6-4 Lambert Schluga
Robert Thornton (7) 6-1 Stuart Bousfield
Patrick Bulen 6-5 Robert Watson-Lang
Wes Newton (26) 6-0 Dyson Parody
Marko Kantele 6-5 Jason Clark
Mark Walsh (10) 6-0 Bryan de Hoog
Dennis Koenen 6-4 Par Riihonen
Adrian Lewis (23) 6-1 Remco van Eijden
Darren Johnson 6-2 Andries Sterk
Braulio Roncero 6-3 Colin Lloyd (6)
Tony Ayres 6-1 Lucio Rave
Carlos Rodriguez (27) 6-5 Peter Seidl
Peter Wright 6-4 Wayne Atwood
Denis Ovens (11) 6-2 Kevin Wensink
Dylan Duo 6-3 Maik Kummerhove
Steve Maish (22) 6-1 Michael Wolf
Martyn Turner 6-1 Karsten Kornath
Ronnie Baxter (3) 6-1 Mark Webster
Dieter Schutsch 6-2 Dave Ahmet
Jelle Klaasen (30) 6-0 Oto Zmelik
Dave Honey 6-1 Tobias Rolf
Wayne Jones (14) 6-4 Ian Perkins
Javier Pia Costa 6-0 Frank Liebeton
Chris Mason (19) 6-5 Dave Ladley
Michael Rosenauer 6-2 Rolf Kaiser
Second Round
Phil Taylor 6-0 Patrick Loos
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Marko Puls
Andree Welge 6-3 Andy Krockel
Steve Beaton 6-4 Simon Craven
Andy Hamilton 6-1 David Platt
Matt Clark 6-5 Ian Jopling
Mark Dudbridge 6-2 Jorg Aufmhoff
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Gary Mawson
Colin Osborne 6-0 Didier de Vuyst
Barrie Bates 6-5 Dennis Smith
Kevin Painter 6-0 Michael Jescheniak
Co Stompe 6-3 Tony Eccles
Terry Jenkins 6-0 Jim Leighton
Kevin McDine 6-3 Maik Langendorf
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Yves Cottenje
Jamie Caven 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Alan Tabern 6-4 Dave Smith
Steve Brown 6-4 Toon Greebe
Peter Manley 6-4 Justin Pipe
Andy Jenkins 6-3 Colin Monk
Patrick Bulen 6-5 Robert Thornton
Wes Newton 6-4 Marko Kantele
Mark Walsh 6-3 Dennis Koenen
Adrian Lewis 6-2 Darren Johnson
Tony Ayres 6-2 Braulio Roncero
Peter Wright 6-4 Carlos Rodriguez
Denis Ovens 6-2 Dylan Duo
Steve Maish 6-3 Martyn Turner
Ronnie Baxter 6-4 Dieter Schutsch
Jelle Klaasen 6-1 Dave Honey
Wayne Jones 6-0 Javier Pia Costa
Michael Rosenauer 6-3 Chris Mason
Losers £200
Third Round
Phil Taylor 6-0 Mensur Suljovic
Steve Beaton 6-5 Andree Welge
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Matt Clark
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Mark Dudbridge
Colin Osborne 6-2 Barrie Bates
Co Stompe 6-2 Kevin Painter
Kevin McDine 6-1 Terry Jenkins
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Jamie Caven
Alan Tabern 6-3 Steve Brown
Peter Manley 6-5 Andy Jenkins
Wes Newton 6-2 Patrick Bulen
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Mark Walsh
Peter Wright 6-4 Tony Ayres
Denis Ovens 6-5 Steve Maish
Ronnie Baxter 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Wayne Jones 6-4 Michael Rosenauer
Losers £300
Fourth Round
Phil Taylor 6-0 Steve Beaton
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Andy Hamilton
Colin Osborne 6-4 Co Stompe
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Kevin McDine
Alan Tabern 6-1 Peter Manley
Adrian Lewis 6-4 Wes Newton
Denis Ovens 6-1 Peter Wright
Wayne Jones Bye (Ronnie Baxter Retired)
Losers £400
Quarter-Finals
Phil Taylor 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
Vincent van der Voort 6-0 Colin Osborne
Adrian Lewis 6-2 Alan Tabern
Denis Ovens 6-5 Wayne Jones
Losers £800
Semi-Finals
Phil Taylor 6-1 Vincent van der Voort
Adrian Lewis 6-1 Denis Ovens
Losers £1,500
Final
Phil Taylor 6-0 Adrian Lewis
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000
News Updates
Preliminary Round
Austrian Mensur Suljovic is a straight legs winner against Gordon Shumway.
Jan van der Rassel wins the first stage game 6-1 against Alan Caves.
Holland's Remco van Eijden moves into first round with whitewash of Holger Goddinger.
Co Stompe edges out Arron Monk in a deciding leg.
Jason Clark defeats Chris Thompson 6-5, with Michael Wolf and Oto Zmelik also deciding leg winners.
Germany's Michael Rosenauer wins second stage game 6-1 against Christian Stehmann.
Marko Kantele takes 6-3 win over Marcel Hausotter in third stage game.
Jacko Barry comes from 4-1 down to win 6-4 against Sladan Nedic.
First Round
Terry Jenkins whitewashes Erwin Renkema.
Mark Dudbridge - twice a runner-up already on the 2009 PDC Pro Tour - defeats Mario Masurka 6-2.
Phil Taylor defeats American David Fatum 6-2, winning four successive legs after the first four were shared.
Braulio Roncero knocks out Colin Lloyd 6-3, while Andy Smith goes down 6-4 to top German Andree Welge.
Kevin Painter, Colin Osborne, Mark Walsh and Wayne Jones all secure passage to round two.
Ronnie Baxter defeats PDC debutant Mark Webster 6-1, with the Welshman's only leg coming courtesy of a 142 finish.
Peter Manley, Steve Beaton, Michael Jescheniak and Javier Pia Costa are all whitewash winners.
Jelle Klaasen whitewashes Oto Zmelik, and Wes Newton, Co Stomp and Jamie Caven also win 6-0.
Chris Mason is narrow 6-5 winner against Dave Ladley.
German Maik Langendorf is 6-3 winner against Chris Kotal to set up clash with Kevin McDine.
Dutch youngster Toon Greebe ends Adrian Gray's hopes with 6-2 victory.
Andy Jenkins wins stage game with John Lokken 6-2.
Second Round
Phil Taylor whitewashes Patrick Loos, and Wayne Jones is another 6-0 winner, against Javier Pia Costa.
Kevin Painter reaches last 32 with 6-0 win over Michael Jescheniak, and Terry Jenkins is straight legs winner over Jim Leighton.
Mark Dudbridge moves through with 6-2 win over Jorg Aufmhoff.
Mark Walsh progresses past Dennis Koenen 6-3.
Mensur Suljovic sets up clash with Taylor thanks to 6-4 win over Marko Puls.
Andree Welge wins all-German battle with Andy Krockel 6-3.
Michael van Gerwen's 6-3 win over Gary Mawson means he now meets Dudbridge.
Co Stompe sets up game with Kevin Painter with victory over Tony Eccles.
Alan Tabern moves into last 32 with 6-4 win over Dave Smith.
Steve Beaton takes 6-4 win over Simon Craven to set up clash with Welge.
Germany's Michael Rosenauer is 6-3 winner against Chris Mason.
Adrian Lewis powers to 6-2 win against Darren Johnson and now meets Walsh.
Jelle Klaasen defeats Dave Honey 6-1 and now meetes Ronnie Baxter in the last 32.
Belgium's Patrick Bulen defeats Robert Thornton in a deciding leg, and now meets Wes Newton, who defeated Marko Kantele 6-4.
Jamie Caven takes 6-4 win over Brendan Dolan.
Matt Clark punishes two missed match darts from Ian Jopling to progress with a 6-5 win.
Andy Jenkins overcomes Colin Monk 6-3.
Third Round
World number one Phil Taylor cruises past Mensur Suljovic 6-0.
Michael van Gerwen moves into the last 16 with 6-2 win over Mark Dudbridge.
Kevin McDine is 6-1 winner against Terry Jenkins.
Co Stompe reels off six successive legs to punish missed doubles from Kevin Painter in a 6-1 victory for the Dutchman.
Steve Beaton edges past Andree Welge and now takes on Phil Taylor.
Colin Osborne is 6-2 winner against Barrie Bates, while Alan Tabern sees off Steve Brown 6-4.
Wes Newton reaches last 16 with 6-2 defeat of Patrick Bulen, and now meets Adrian Lewis, who defeated Mark Walsh in a deciding leg.
Ronnie Baxter's game with Jelle Klaasen also goes all the way to an 11th leg, while Wayne Jones ends German Michael Rosenauer's challenge.
Denis Ovens sneaks past Steve Maish 6-5.
Andy Hamilton sees off Matt Clark 6-2 and now meets Michael van Gerwen in the last 16.
Peter Manley enjoys narrow win over Andy Jenkins.
Fourth Round
Wayne Jones is handed walkover into quarter-finals after Ronnie Baxter withdraws.
Phil Taylor marches into quarters with 6-0 whitewash of Steve Beaton - he has now won 22 successive legs.
Colin Osborne takes 6-4 win over Co Stompe, while Vincent van der Voort wins by the same scoreline against Kevin McDine.
Adrian Lewis moves through to last eight with 6-4 win over Wes Newton.
Denis Ovens ends Peter Wright's good run with a 6-1 victory.
Michael van Gerwen races to 6-3 win over Andy Hamilton.
Alan Tabern defeats Peter Manley 6-1 with a fine performance to reach the last eight.
Quarter-Finals
Vincent van der Voort whitewashes Colin Osborne to move into semi-finals.
Denis Ovens takes deciding leg win over Wayne Jones to reach semis.
Phil Taylor wraps up 6-3 win over Michael van Gerwen with a bull-25-bull 125 finish.
Adrian Lewis wins a place in the semis with 6-2 defeat of Alan Tabern.
Semi-Finals
Phil Taylor defeats Vincent van der Voort 6-1 to reach third successive Players Championship final - following an early 114 checkout with a 122 game shot.
Adrian Lewis won a place in his first PDC Pro Tour final since a UK Open Regional Final in Wigan last March with a fine 6-1 defeat of Denis Ovens. An 87 checkout on the bullseye helped him into a 2-0 lead before Ovens took the third, but four successive legs - including a two-dart 96 checkout - put Lewis into the decider against former mentor Phil Taylor.