JELLE KLAASEN came from two sets down to defeat Vincent van der Voort 3-2 in the final of the John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic at Ireland's National Event Centre in Killarney.
The 23-year-old won his first PDC title with a scintillating display to see off his MasterDarts stablemate and close friend van der Voort.
Van der Voort won the first two sets of the final 2-1 in a blistering start, hitting three 180s along the way.
However, the former Lakeside champion lifted his game to win the third set without reply, thanks in part to two maximums of his own.
He edged the fourth 2-1 to level matters, taking the deciding leg with a neat 76 finish after scores of 180 and 140 pulled him clear.
Van der Voort led 1-0 in the final set, only for Klaasen to level and then secure the win on double four - as his opponent waited on 40 for the game.
"I'm delighted," said Klaasen afterwards. "This means so much to me because I've worked so hard this year.
"I've had a very bad year-and-a-half but I'm back playing well again now, which is thanks to joining the PDC in January.
"It's been very hard for me. People in Holland said I couldn't play darts any more and that I couldn't get back to the top, but I've proven to myself - and hopefully to them - that I'm back again.
"It was hard playing someone I knew so well in the final, and when he went 2-0 up it made it even tougher for me. I didn't start too well and missed a few doubles but I didn't let him get any match darts so I'm very happy."
The win will ensure that Klaasen competes in the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship this December, with his £5,000 first prize lifting him up the Players Championship Order of Merit.
"That is the best part about this win," he admitted. "I was eighth and now I'm probably first so I'm delighted that I have earned a place at Alexandra Palace."
Klaasen overcame Wayne Atwood, Kevin Painter, Matt Clark and Peter Manley on his way to the last eight, and whitewashed Ronnie Baxter 3-0 in the quarter-finals.
Klaasen found himself 1-0 down in his semi-final against Colin Lloyd, but produced finishes of 121, 112 and 110 in taking the next three sets for victory.
Van der Voort also came from a set down in the semis, producing a sensational display against Bob Anderson to win 3-1.
He hit eight 180s in winning the next three sets 2-0, 2-1 and 2-1 - including six perfect darts in one leg, which he took in 11, and two maximums in another which he finished in 12.
Anderson, who turns 60 on Wednesday, was in superb form on his way to his first semi-final for two years.
He swept past world number seven Andy Hamilton and failed to drop a leg in his quarter-final whitewash of Dave Askew.
Ronnie Baxter's run to the last eight saw him take another step towards sealing his place in the PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts, with the top two non-qualified players in the PDC Order of Merit following next weekend's Players Championships in Holland earning spots.
Alan Tabern closed the gap on Kevin Painter a little by reaching the last 16, with Painter defeated by Klaasen in the last 64.
Lloyd's run to the semis included a walkover win over Dennis Priestley, who withdrew through illness whilst leading during their last 16 game.
Kerry's Sean Marshall reached the fourth round, a feat matched by Ali Powell, who knocked out Roland Scholten.
The John McEvoy Bronze Youth Dart knockout was won by Sean McArdle, who came from 2-0 down to defeat Shane Nolan 3-2.
Sara Rose defeated Maureen Kelly 4-3 in the final of the John McEvoy Silver Dart womens event.
Jelle Klaasen is pictured with the John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic trophy, presented by (left to right) Destination Killarney's Andrew Spillane, sponsor John McEvoy and Gleneagle Hotel's Lorraine O'Shea
John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic
Round One
Tommy O'Reilly 3-1 Noel Canning
Sean Marshall 3-2 Owen Caffrey
Peter Quinn 3-0 Thomas Kelly
Kieran Murray3-0 James Lynch
Patrick Murphy 3-2 John-Paul Dowdall
Paul Radford 3-0 Stephen Cranny
Martin Murphy3-0 Billy McAuliffe
Arthur O'Brien 3-2 Stephen O'Connor
Jason McGann 3-1 John Ross Crangle
Daniel Wiles 3-2 Ricky Williams
Roy Baillie 3-0 Peter Rogers
Sean McGowan 3-1 Steve Cusick
Shane O'Connor 3-0 James Broderick
Dermot Kellehir 3-0 Stephen Conway
Anthony Wade 3-0 Philip Bautista
Kevin McDine 3-0 William O'Carroll
Jim McKevitt 3-1 Pat Griffin
Gary Welding 3-0 Jon Archer
Liam Miley 3-1 Brian Doheny
Alan Caves 3-0 Ted Foxe
Jason Barry Bye (Darren Webster)
Ray Farrell 3-0 Stephen Holland
Jelle Klaasen 3-0 John Peel
Matt Clark 3-0 Damian O'Driscoll
John Ferrell 3-0 Liam Doyle
Kieran Lennon 3-2 Thomas Wiley
Simon Wykes Bye (Richie Burnett)
Joe Collins 3-0 Brian Cathcart
Gary Coyne 3-2 Darrell Hodgson
Peter Waters 3-2 Andrew Dwyer
Barney Reddy 3-0 Kevin McCann
Ali Powell 3-0 James Byrne
Steve Brown 3-0 Gerald Murphy
Raymie Williamson 3-0 Luke Kelly
Robbie Parker 3-0 Danny Brosnan
Steve Smith 3-0 Henry O'Neill
Sean Palfrey 3-0 David Bradley
Kevin Hill 3-2 Noel Redmond
Pete Allen 3-0 Patrick McCarthy
Jason Clark 3-0 Eugene McArdle
Joe Byrne 3-2 Anto McCracken
Jimmy Leahy 3-1 Matt Leacy
Alan O'Reilly 3-1 Steven Coyne
Benny Grace 3-0 John McGann
Mick Barry 3-0 Declan O'Sullivan
Andrew Coulter 3-0 Joe Coyne
Lionel Sams 3-0 Anto Turner
Stephen McDonnell 3-0 Billy Matthews
Gerry Healy 3-0 Fran Pacelli
Round Two
Tommy O'Reilly Bye (Raymond van Barneveld)
Sean Marshall 3-0 Trevor Cullen
Colin Monk 3-2 Dennis Smith
Pakie O'Donovan 3-2 Peter Quinn
Alan Tabern 3-0 Kieran Murray
Mark Howard 3-1 Patrick Murphy
Chris Mason 3-0 Derek White
Toon Greebe 3-0 Paul Radford
Colin Lloyd 3-0 Martin Murphy
Arthur O'Brien 3-1 David French
Steve Beaton 3-1 Ben Burton
Tony Eccles 3-0 Jason McGann
Dennis Priestley 3-0 Daniel Wiles
Roy Baillie 3-0 Andy Price
Dennis McCarthy 3-1 Alan Warriner-Little
Sean McGowan 3-0 Robert Kelly
Adrian Lewis 3-0 Shane O'Connor
Mark Stephenson 3-2 Dermot Kellehir
Mark Walsh 3-0 Paul Madden
Michael Byrne 3-1 Anthony Wade
Ronnie Baxter 3-2 Kevin McDine
Jim McKevitt 3-1 Martin Murphy
Wayne Jones 3-0 Ken Moran
Gary Welding 3-0 Chris Sargeant
Peter Manley 3-0 Liam Miley
Alan Caves 3-0 John Dunne
Adrian Gray 3-0 John MaGowan
Jason Barry 3-1 Damie Foley
Kevin Painter 3-0 Ray Farrell
Jelle Klaasen 3-2 Wayne Atwood
Michael O'Sullivan Bye (Andy Smith)
Matt Clark 3-0 Tony Geraghty
John Ferrell Bye (James Wade)
Michael van Gerwen 3-1 Kieran Lennon
Steve Maish 3-0 Eamonn Carey
Ian Branks 3-1 Simon Wykes
Mark Dudbridge 3-0 Joe Collins
Gary Coyne 3-2 Noel McCarthy
Colin Osborne 3-1 Connie Finnan
Peter Evison 3-0 Peter Waters
Roland Scholten 3-0 Barney Reddy
Ali Powell 3-1 Gary Bradley
Vincent van der Voort 3-2 Brian Cullen
Steve Brown 3-0 Mick Clampett
Wayne Mardle 3-0 Raymie Williamson
Robbie Parker 3-0 Paul Leahy
Mick McGowan 3-0 Andrew Spillane
Steve Smith 3-0 Vidal Pugales
Andy Hamilton 3-0 Sean Palfrey
Jimmy Murray 3-1 Kevin Hill
Bob Anderson 3-1 Dave Honey
Barrie Bates 3-1 Jason Clark
Joe Byrne 3-0 Jamie Kellehir
Jason Cullen 3-2 Wes Newton
Robert Watson-Lang 3-1 Jimmy Leahy
Alan O'Reilly Bye (Terry Jenkins)
Dave Ladley 3-2 Benny Grace
Dave Askew 3-0 Lyndon Inchoco
Mick Barry 3-0 John McEvoy
Andy Jenkins 3-0 Andrew Coulter
Lionel Sams 3-1 Patrick Moylan
Denis Ovens 3-1 Stephen McDonnell
Gerry Healy 3-2 Gareth Walsh
Round Three
Sean Marshall 3-1 Tommy O'Reilly
Colin Monk 3-1 Pakie O'Donovan
Alan Tabern 3-1 Mark Howard
Toon Greebe 3-2 Chris Mason
Colin Lloyd 3-0 Arthur O'Brien
Tony Eccles 3-2 Steve Beaton
Dennis Priestley 3-0 Roy Baillie
Dennis McCarthy 3-1 Sean McGowan
Adrian Lewis 3-1 Mark Stephenson
Mark Walsh 3-0 Michael Byrne
Ronnie Baxter 3-1 Jim McKevitt
Gary Welding 3-2 Wayne Jones
Peter Manley 3-1 Alan Caves
Adrian Gray 3-0 Jason Barry
Jelle Klaasen 3-1 Kevin Painter
Matt Clark 3-2 Michael O'Sullivan
Michael van Gerwen 3-0 John Ferrell
Steve Maish 3-0 Ian Branks
Mark Dudbridge 3-0 Gary Coyne
Colin Osborne 3-0 Peter Evison
Ali Powell 3-2 Roland Scholten
Vincent van der Voort 3-2 Steve Brown
Wayne Mardle 3-0 Robbie Parker
Steve Smith 3-2 Mick McGowan
Andy Hamilton 3-0 Jimmy Murray
Bob Anderson 3-0 Pete Allen
Barrie Bates 3-1 Joe Byrne
Robert Watson-Lang 3-2 Jason Cullen
Dave Ladley 3-0 Alan O'Reilly
Dave Askew 3-1 Mick Barry
Andy Jenkins 3-2 Lionel Sams
Denis Ovens 3-0 Gerry Healy
Losers £75
Round Four
Colin Monk 3-1 Sean Marshall
Alan Tabern 3-2 Toon Greebe
Colin Lloyd 3-1 Tony Eccles
Dennis Priestley 3-0 Dennis McCarthy
Mark Walsh 3-0 Adrian Lewis
Ronnie Baxter 3-2 Gary Welding
Peter Manley 3-2 Adrian Gray
Jelle Klaasen 3-1 Matt Clark
Steve Maish 3-1 Michael van Gerwen
Colin Osborne 3-2 Mark Dudbridge
Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Ali Powell
Wayne Mardle 3-0 Steve Smith
Bob Anderson 3-1 Andy Hamilton
Barrie Bates 3-1 Robert Watson-Lang
Dave Askew 3-2 Dave Ladley
Andy Jenkins 3-2 Denis Ovens
Losers £150
Round Five
Colin Monk 3-2 Alan Tabern
Colin Lloyd v Dennis Priestley - Lloyd wins, Priestley forfeited through illness
Ronnie Baxter 3-1 Mark Walsh
Jelle Klaasen 3-1 Peter Manley
Colin Osborne 3-1 Steve Maish
Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Wayne Mardle
Bob Anderson 3-2 Barrie Bates
Dave Askew 3-1 Andy Jenkins
Losers £300
Quarter-Finals
Colin Lloyd 3-0 Colin Monk
Jelle Klaasen 3-0 Ronnie Baxter
Vincent van der Voort 3-1 Colin Osborne
Bob Anderson 3-0 Dave Askew
Losers £600
Semi-Finals
Jelle Klaasen 3-1 Colin Lloyd (1-2, 2-0, 2-1, 2-1)
Vincent van der Voort 3-1 Bob Anderson (1-2, 2-0, 2-1, 2-1)
Losers £1,250
Final
Jelle Klaasen 3-2 Vincent van der Voort (1-2, 1-2, 2-0, 2-1, 2-1)
Winner £5,000
Runner-Up £2,500