DAVE CHISNALL won his second Players Championship of 2012 with a superb performance to defeat Ian White 6-2 in Saturday's final at the K2 Centre in Crawley.
The St Helens ace followed up his defeat of Phil Taylor in the decider of a PDC ProTour event in March by seeing off another Stoke ace, White, to claim the £6,000 first prize.
He showed great form throughout the day in Crawley, defeating Arron Monk, Mark Hylton and Darren Webster in the early rounds before enjoying a 6-3 victory over Raymond van Barneveld in the quarter-finals.
Chisnall then saw off Terry Jenkins 6-2 in the semi-finals - sealing victory with a 121 finish - before repeating that scoreline in the decider with White.
He had threatened a whitewash with a blistering start as he won the final's opening five legs without reply without White having a dart at a double, setting the tone with a 180 to set up a 14-darter in the opening leg.
He then hit scores of 134, 121 and 134 before finishing 112 on double 18 to win the second leg in 12 darts, and added legs of 13 and 14 darts to move 4-0 up.
A 174 left him 32 in the fifth, with double eight for another 14-darter moving Chisnall to the brink of victory.
He would miss one dart at a double to win the game in each of the next two legs as White rallied, hitting a 180 and tops for a 78 finish in leg six and a 14-darter in the seventh to threaten a comeback.
Chisnall, though, proved too consistent in the eighth, initially missing the bull for a 124 finish before returning to punish White's five missed doubles by landing double eight for the triumph.
"I'm delighted," said Chisnall, who finished the final with a 106.68 average. "My goal this year was to do better than I did last year, and I'm achieving that.
"I've practised well this week and played well today - putting the hours in helps. Ian started slowly in the final but I played well all day and that got me through."
White's run saw him reach the final of a PDC ProTour event for the second time this year, following April's success in Barnsley, and included wins over world number four Gary Anderson, World Grand Prix finalist Brendan Dolan, Robert Thornton, Ronnie Baxter and Mark Webster.
Webster enjoyed his best display of 2012 on the PDC ProTour by reaching the semi-finals, whitewashing Jelle Klaasen and also defeating in-form Belgian Kim Huybrechts on the day.
Terry Jenkins reached the other semi-final, seeing off rising star Justin Pipe in the quarter-finals as the seven-time major finalist made his first competitive appearance his shaving off his trademark moustache for charity on Friday night.
Pipe, van Barneveld, Huybrechts and Baxter all reached the quarter-finals - with the latter pair aiding their challenge to qualify for July's World Matchplay through the ProTour Order of Merit.
Two-time World Champion Ted Hankey, meanwhile, enjoyed his best performance since joining the PDC in January as he reached the Last 16 courtesy of wins over Colin Lloyd, Kevin Dowling and Steve Farmer, before he lost to van Barneveld.
Sunday sees a second £35,000 Players Championship of the weekend take place in Crawley, in the final PDC ProTour event before June's Speedy Services UK Open.
See video reaction from Dave Chisnall in the LIVEPDC.TV Free Player on the PDC.tv Home Page, or visit our YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/officialpdc.
Players Championship Five
Saturday May 26 - K2 Centre, Crawley
First Round
Justin Pipe (1) Bye
Scott Rand 6-1 Steve Maish
Jamie Lewis 6-4 James Richardson (32)
Wayne Jones 6-2 Steve Hine
Vincent van der Voort (16) 6-5 Richie Howson
Ian Jopling 6-5 Matt Clark
Keegan Brown 6-2 Kevin Painter (17)
Andy Relf 6-2 Stefanie Luck
John Henderson 6-5 Simon Whitlock (8)
Gino Vos 6-5 Dean Winstanley
Terry Jenkins (25) 6-2 Andrew Cornwall
Joe Murnan 6-5 Magnus Caris
Andy Smith (9) 6-4 Mareno Michels
Peter Hudson 6-0 Steve West
Mark Walsh (24) 6-3 Shaun Griffiths
Mark Frost 6-4 Chris Mason
Raymond van Barneveld (5) Bye
Les Wallace 6-3 Antonio Alcinas
John Scott 6-4 Co Stompe (28)
Steve Brown 6-4 Terry Temple
Michael van Gerwen (12) 6-3 Mark Jones
Steve Farmer 6-4 Stuart Kellett
Ted Hankey 6-0 Colin Lloyd (21)
Kevin Dowling 6-4 Chris Aubrey
Dave Chisnall (4) Bye
Arron Monk 6-0 Matthew Edgar
Mark Hylton (29) 6-2 Connie Finnan
Anthony Littleton 6-5 Paddy Meaney
James Hubbard 6-3 Colin Osborne (13)
John Bowles 6-5 Jim Walker
Brian Woods 6-4 Michael Smith (20)
Darren Webster 6-3 Ryan Harrington
Wes Newton (2) Bye
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Barrie Bates
Denis Ovens (31) 6-4 Nick Fullwell
Steve Evans 6-3 Andy Jenkins
Mark Webster (15) 6-3 Michael Mansell
Stephen Hardy 6-3 Daniel Starkey
Peter Wright (18) 6-1 Dennis Smith
Darren Johnson 6-4 Carlos Rodriguez
Paul Nicholson (7) Bye
Steve Grubb 6-5 Alex Roy
Kim Huybrechts (26) 6-4 Alan Tabern
Roland Scholten 6-4 Mick Todd
Gareth Pass 6-3 John Part (10)
Tony West 6-5 William O'Connor
Richie Burnett (23) 6-4 Joe Cullen
Scott Coleman 6-2 Dave Kelly
James Wade (6) Bye
Jimmy Mann 6-1 Darren Whittingham
Andy Hamilton (27) 6-5 Kevin McDine
Prakash Jiwa 6-1 Gaz Cousins
Ronnie Baxter (11) 6-0 Paul Barham
Mark Dudbridge 6-0 Reece Robinson
Jamie Caven (22) 6-2 Devon Petersen
Stuart White 6-4 Sam Hill
Gary Anderson (3) Bye
Ian White 6-1 Keith Stephen
Brendan Dolan (30) 6-5 Michael Barnard
Gary Butcher 6-5 Nigel Heydon
Steve Beaton (14) 6-2 Adam Smith-Neale
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Adrian Gray
Robert Thornton 6-5 Mervyn King (19)
Dave Ladley 6-4 Josh Jones
Second Round
Justin Pipe 6-3 Scott Rand
Jamie Lewis 6-4 Wayne Jones
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Ian Jopling
Keegan Brown 6-2 Andy Relf
John Henderson 6-5 Gino Vos
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Joe Murnan
Peter Hudson 6-5 Andy Smith
Mark Walsh 6-4 Mark Frost
Raymond van Barneveld 6-2 Les Wallace
Steve Brown 6-3 John Scott
Steve Farmer 6-1 Michael van Gerwen
Ted Hankey 6-4 Kevin Dowling
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Arron Monk
Mark Hylton 6-5 Anthony Littleton
James Hubbard 6-1 John Bowles
Darren Webster 6-4 Brian Woods
Jelle Klaasen 6-5 Wes Newton
Denis Ovens 6-5 Steve Evans
Mark Webster 6-5 Stephen Hardy
Peter Wright 6-4 Darren Johnson
Paul Nicholson 6-5 Steve Grubb
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Roland Scholten
Gareth Pass 6-3 Tony West
Richie Burnett 6-3 Scott Coleman
James Wade 6-4 Jimmy Mann
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Prakash Jiwa
Ronnie Baxter 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Jamie Caven 6-2 Stuart White
Ian White 6-4 Gary Anderson
Brendan Dolan 6-4 Gary Butcher
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Steve Beaton
Robert Thornton 6-4 Dave Ladley
Losers £200
Third Round
Justin Pipe 6-5 Jamie Lewis
Keegan Brown 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Terry Jenkins 6-3 John Henderson
Peter Hudson 6-5 Mark Walsh
Raymond van Barneveld 6-2 Steve Brown
Ted Hankey 6-2 Steve Farmer
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Mark Hylton
Darren Webster 6-1 James Hubbard
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Denis Ovens
Mark Webster 6-3 Peter Wright
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Paul Nicholson
Richie Burnett 6-1 Gareth Pass
Andy Hamilton 6-4 James Wade
Ronnie Baxter 6-5 Jamie Caven
Ian White 6-5 Brendan Dolan
Robert Thornton 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Losers £400
Fourth Round
Justin Pipe 6-2 Keegan Brown
Terry Jenkins 6-1 Peter Hudson
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Ted Hankey
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Darren Webster
Mark Webster 6-0 Jelle Klaasen
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Richie Burnett
Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Andy Hamilton
Ian White 6-2 Robert Thornton
Losers £600
Quarter-Finals
Terry Jenkins 6-4 Justin Pipe
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Mark Webster 6-2 Kim Huybrechts
Ian White 6-4 Ronnie Baxter
Losers £1,000
Semi-Finals
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Terry Jenkins
Ian White 6-2 Mark Webster
Losers £2,000
Final
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Ian White
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000
Final - Leg-By-Leg
Dave Chisnall v Ian White
1-0 - Chisnall hits a 180 to leave 61 and finishes double 18 to win the opening leg in 14 darts.
2-0 - Chisnall scores 134, 121 and 134 to leave 112, and finishes the combination on double 18 to break throw in 12 darts.
3-0 - Chisnall finishes a 13-darter to move three legs clear.
4-0 - The St Helens man continnues to dominate and takes out 46 on double 18 to break with another 14-darter.
5-0 - Chisnall hits a 174 to leave 32 after 12, with double eight moving him to the brink of victory with a 14-dart leg.
5-1 - Both players open with 180s, and when Chisnall misses the bull for a 121 finish for victory, White steps in to finish 78 on tops - his first dart at a double - to keep the game alive.
5-2 - White breaks throw with a 14-darter, with Chisnall missing double 18 for a 110 finish before the Stoke ace finishes 86 in two darts.
6-2 - White is first to a finish as he seeks to continue the fightback, but he misses darts at double top and ten before being handed a reprieve by a missed bull for a 124 combination from Chisnall. White, though, misses double ten and two darts at double five, and Chisnall this time seals victory on double eight.
Final Match Averages: Dave Chisnall 106.68, Ian White 92.84