ALAN NORRIS won his third PDC ranking title with a 6-1 victory over newcomer Peter Jacques in the final of Players Championship One.
Norris picked up the £10,000 top prize in the first of the PDC's 22 Players Championship tournaments which will be held this year, as 128 players competed in Barnsley on Saturday.
Norris' previous PDC titles had come at a Players Championship in Dublin and a European Tour event in Germany, but he enjoyed success on UK soil for the first time as he saw off Jacques in the decider.
Jacques, a 43-year-old postman from Huddersfield, tested himself on the PDC circuit by competing in five Unicorn Challenge Tour events in 2016 before competing in Qualifying School in January, and though he failed to win a Tour Card put himself in a strong position to top up the field for Players Championship events.
He made his PDC ProTour debut in style by taking home £6,000 - and came within one game of emulating 2015 Players Championship winner Joe Murnan by taking a title without holding a Tour Card.
Early wins over Paul Nicholson and Josh Payne were followed by a narrow 6-5 victory over William O'Connor as Jacques moved into the last 16.
There, he saw off two-time World Champion Gary Anderson 6-3, overcame former World Youth Champion Michael Smith 6-4 in the quarter-finals and came from two legs down to defeat world number five James Wade in the semis.
However, the task proved too great as Jacques' fairytale run was finally ended in the final by Norris, who claimed a 6-1 triumph.
The Yeovil-born ace opened the final with a 180 and took the lead with a 13-darter before punishing missed doubles from Jacques to claim the next two legs.
Double six saw Jacques get off the mark at 3-1, but tops restored Norris' cushion before he hit the same bed to complete combinations of 74 and 72 to seal the win.
Norris' day began with victories over the 2016 Challenge Tour's top two, Rob Cross and Ryan Searle, before he overcame Belgian youngster Mike De Decker, former World Youth Champion Keegan Brown and Australian pair Kyle Anderson and Simon Whitlock to reach the final.
Whitlock's run to the last four saw him maintain the form which has earned him two wins in Coral UK Open Qualifiers recently, while Wade followed up his run to the final of UK Open Qualifier Six with a semi-final appearance.
Michael Smith and Kyle Anderson were joined in the quarter-finals by Steve West and Spain's Cristo Reyes, while Betway Premier League stars Gary Anderson, Peter Wright, and Dave Chisnall all reached the last 16.
Austria's Mensur Suljovic also won through to the last 16 on his return to action after missing the UK Open Qualifiers for family reasons, while Northern Irish pair Brendan Dolan and Daryl Gurney, Keegan Brown and Mervyn King also won through their boards.
Sunday sees a second £75,000 Players Championship held at the Barnsley Metrodome, with action from two boards streamed throughout the event at www.livepdc.tv and a series of bookmakers' websites.
Play will commence at 12pm, with all games being the best of 11 legs.
WHERE TO WATCH
Live coverage from two streamed boards will be available online for all PDCTV-HD Subscribers worldwide via www.livepdc.tv .
Live coverage is also available through the following bookmakers' websites:
188 Bet
Aspen
Bet365
Fonbet
Nike
TAB NZ
Vivarobet
Players Championship One
Saturday February 25, Barnsley Metrodome
First Round
Peter Wright (1) 6-1 Kirk Shepherd
Vincent Kamphuis 6-2 Simon Preston
Joe Murnan 6-3 Jamie Caven (32)
Terry Temple 6-3 Simon Stevenson
Kyle Anderson (16) 6-2 Richie Corner
Mick McGowan 6-5 Jonathan Worsley
James Wilson (17) 6-4 Andy Jenkins
Peter Hudson 6-5 James Richardson
Kim Huybrechts (8) 6-2 Jim Brown
Richie Burnett 6-4 Mark Walsh
Justin Pipe (25) 6-4 Bryan De Hoog
Keegan Brown 6-4 Kevin Painter
Alan Norris (9) 6-4 Rob Cross
Ryan Searle 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Robert Thornton (24) 6-1 Devon Petersen
Mike De Decker 6-2 Dimtiri Van den Bergh
Simon Whitlock (5) 6-3 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Andy Boulton 6-4 Paul Harvey
Darren Webster (28) 6-2 Ryan Palmer
Maik Langendorf 6-3 Berry van Peer
Ryan Meikle 6-3 Joe Cullen (12)
Steve Hine 6-5 Mick Todd
Daryl Gurney (21) 6-1 Diogo Portela
Wayne Jones 6-1 Martin Schindler
Dave Chisnall (4) 6-4 Shaun Griffiths
Jimmy Hendriks 6-5 Stuart Kellett
Jermaine Wattimena (29) 6-0 Yordi Meeuwisse
Jan Dekker 6-1 Harry Robinson
Wes Newton 6-4 Stephen Bunting (13)
Zoran Lerchbacher 6-5 Prakash Jiwa
Steve West (20) 6-4 Andy Parsons
John Bowles 6-2 Scott Derbyshire
Mensur Suljovic (2) 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld
Matthew Dennant 6-4 Jamie Bain
Christian Kist (31) 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Aden Kirk 6-4 Ron Meulenkamp
Steve Beaton (15) 6-3 Ricky Evans
Mickey Mansell 6-2 Darren Johnson
Cristo Reyes (18) 6-1 Jeffrey De Graaf
Robert Owen 6-4 Andrew Gilding
James Wade (7) 6-4 Ted Evetts
Adam Hunt 6-3 Ricky Williams
Chris Quantock 6-5 Ronny Huybrechts (26)
Ross Twell 6-3 Darron Brown
Jelle Klaasen (10) 6-3 Matt Clark
David Pallet 6-3 Matthew Edgar
Mervyn King (23) 6-5 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Richard North 6-4 Andy Hamilton
Ian White (6) 6-5 Mark Webster
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Robbie Green (27) 6-2 Ray Campbell
Stephen Burton 6-2 Sven Groen
Michael Smith (11) 6-5 Lee Bryant
Dennis Smith 6-4 Tony Newell
Adrian Lewis (22) 6-3 John Jnr Norman
Ronnie Baxter 6-3 Max Hopp
Benito van de Pas (3) 6-4 Mark Barilli
William O'Connor 6-4 Ritchie Edhouse
Josh Payne (30) 6-3 Paul Rowley
Peter Jacques 6-2 Paul Nicholson
Gary Anderson (14) 6-4 Brian Woods
Antonio Alcinas 6-4 John Henderson
Chris Dobey (19) 6-5 Steve Lennon
Scott Taylor 6-5 Jamie Lewis
Second Round
Peter Wright 6-0 Vincent Kamphuis
Joe Murnan 6-0 Terry Temple
Kyle Anderson 6-2 Mick McGowan
Peter Hudson 6-3 James Wilson
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Richie Burnett
Keegan Brown 6-5 Justin Pipe
Alan Norris 6-1 Ryan Searle
Mike De Decker 6-5 Robert Thornton
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Andy Boulton
Darren Webster 6-4 Maik Langendorf
Ryan Meikle 6-4 Steve Hine
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Wayne Jones
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Jimmy Hendriks
Jan Dekker 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena
Zoran Lerchbacher 6-1 Wes Newton
Steve West 6-2 John Bowles
Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Matthew Dennant
Aden Kirk 6-3 Christian Kist
Steve Beaton 6-4 Mickey Mansell
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Robert Owen
James Wade 6-2 Adam Hunt
Chris Quantock 6-3 Ross Twell
David Pallett 6-2 Jelle Klaasen
Mervyn King 6-2 Richard North
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Ian White
Stephen Burton 6-5 Robbie Green
Michael Smith 6-3 Dennis Smith
Adrian Lewis 6-4 Ronnie Baxter
William O'Connor 6-5 Benito van de Pas
Peter Jacques 6-3 Josh Payne
Gary Anderson 6-0 Antonio Alcinas
Chris Dobey 6-3 Scott Taylor
Losers £500
Third Round
Peter Wright 6-5 Joe Murnan
Kyle Anderson 6-3 Peter Hudson
Keegan Brown 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Alan Norris 6-2 Mike De Decker
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Darren Webster
Daryl Gurney 6-1 Ryan Meikle
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Jan Dekker
Steve West 6-4 Zoran Lerchbacher
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Aden Kirk
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Steve Beaton
James Wade 6-4 Chris Quantock
Mervyn King 6-4 David Pallet
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Stephen Burton
Michael Smith 6-3 Adrian Lewis
Peter Jacques 6-5 William O'Connor
Gary Anderson 6-0 Chris Dobey
Losers £1,000
Fourth Round
Kyle Anderson 6-3 Peter Wright
Alan Norris 6-1 Keegan Brown
Simon Whitlock 6-5 Daryl Gurney
Steve West 6-1 Dave Chisnall
Cristo Reyes 6-5 Mensur Suljovic
James Wade 6-2 Mervyn King
Michael Smith 6-5 Brendan Dolan
Peter Jacques 6-3 Gary Anderson
Losers £1,500
Quarter-Finals
Alan Norris 6-1 Kyle Anderson
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Steve West
James Wade 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Peter Jacques 6-4 Michael Smith
Losers £2,250
Semi-Finals
Alan Norris 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Peter Jacques 6-4 James Wade
Losers £3,000
Final
Alan Norris 6-1 Peter Jacques
Winner £10,000
Runner-Up £6,000