SIMON WHITLOCK whitewashed Andy Hamilton to win his third Players Championship title inside a month at Wigan on Saturday.
The Australian had picked up tournament victories in Barnsley and Derby recently, and claimed a further £6,000 title in style at the Robin Park Tennis Centre.
Whitlock is currently aiming to clinch a Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts play-off place, and claimed a victory over his opponent in Thursday's crucial clash, Mervyn King, when they met in a dress rehearsal during Saturday's event.
Whitlock defeated King 6-4 at the last 32 stage, following up earlier wins over Anthony Urmston-Toft and Nick Fullwell, before then edging out John Part in a deciding leg to reach the quarter-finals.
He then defeated Jamie Caven 6-4 in the last eight, powered past Gary Mawson 6-1 before finishing superbly to whitewash Hamilton in the final.
Whitlock hit a nerve-settling 180 in the opening leg, which he won on double 16 to break throw immediately.
A 14-darter doubled his lead, following another maximum, while he punished a missed bullseye from Hamilton to take the third on double ten.
A third 180 of the game helped him to a 4-0 lead, and he took the fifth on double one after Hamilton had seen three darts at double 16 and double eight miss the target.
Whitlock then completed the rout with double top for a 13-dart finish to pick up his third PDC ProTour title.
Hamilton enjoyed a run to his second final of the year before running out of steam against Whitlock, but he hit a superb nine-dart finish - his second of 2010 - in reaching the decider.
He opened the day with 6-1 wins over Dave Smith and Sam Allen before landing his perfect leg in a 6-4 win over Dennis Priestley at the last 32 stage.
Further tight wins over Kevin Painter and Mark Walsh were followed by a 6-2 defeat of Welshman Mark Webster which put him into the final, earning him £3,000 to add to the £3,200 nine-dart bonus he received.
Former Lakeside Champion Webster's run to the semi-final was his best display of the year, and only his second since joining the PDC in 2009, and increases his chances of qualifying for the summer's StanJames.com World Matchplay.
The Welshman enjoyed wins over Colin Lloyd, Paul Nicholson and world number three James Wade on the day, while he was joined in the semi-finals by American ace Gary Mawson.
Mawson, the 2008 UK Open runner-up in nearby Bolton, reached his first semi-final since August 2008, defeating Premier League star Adrian Lewis 6-3 in the last eight as well as Jelle Klaasen and Colin Osborne on the day.
Gary Welding and newcomer Scott Rand were amongst the last 16 losers, while Wade missed double 12 for a nine-dart finish during his win over Richie Burnett en route to the quarters.
Play continues on Sunday with the eighth and final UK Open Qualifier of the year, after which the top 96 players, and ties, from the UK Open Order of Merit qualify to compete in June's UK Open Finals at the Reebok Stadium.
Players Championship 12
Preliminary Round
Ian White 6-5 Matt Draper
Terry Temple 6-0 Harry Robinson
Joe Cullen 6-2 Jason Clark
Nick Fullwell 6-1 Robbie Newland
William O'Connor 6-0 Jimmy Dunlop
Gary Mawson 6-1 Steven Pearson
First Round
Mark Walsh (1) 6-1 Aodhagan O'Neill
Steve Grubb 6-4 Martyn Bevan
Stuart Bousfield 6-5 Co Stompe (32)
Jimmy Mann 6-3 Andy Fordham
Mark Frost 6-5 Denis Ovens (16)
Jamie Atkins 6-0 Mike Roberts
Ronnie Baxter (17) 6-2 Andy Hutchings
Ian White 6-2 Brian Startin
Andy Hamilton (8) 6-1 Dave Smith
Sam Allen 6-5 Mark Hylton
Dennis Priestley (25) 6-1 Andy Pearson
Kirk Shepherd 6-3 Kevin Dowling
Wayne Jones (9) 6-1 Kevin Harris
Steve Evans 6-2 Wayne Mardle
Kevin Painter (24) 6-1 Alex Roy
Colin Monk 6-5 Matt Clark
Gary Anderson (5) 6-4 Chris Thompson
Paul Williams 6-1 Sean White
Peter Wright (28) 6-5 Tony Martin
Daz Mawer 6-3 Anton Liscsey
James Wade (12) 6-4 Mick McGowan
Patrick Pace 6-5 Stephen Hardy
Richie Burnett 6-3 Robert Thornton (21)
Terry Temple 6-1 Jimmy O'Regan
Colin Lloyd (4) 6-1 Ian Lever
Darren Weaver 6-2 Trevor Frost
Mark Webster (29) 6-4 Steve Hine
Tony Ayres 6-0 Jon Archer
Paul Nicholson (13) 6-0 Andy Relf
Mark Cox 6-1 Geoff Whitworth
Barrie Bates (20) 6-1 Alex Tinsley
Joe Cullen 6-3 Mareno Michels
Wes Newton (2) 6-1 Gary Eastwood
Darren Webster 6-4 Michael Smith
Steve Brown (31) 6-5 Ian McFarlane
John Part 6-0 Nigel Birch
Mervyn King (15) 6-0 Jim McKevitt
Lee White 6-1 Tony Blundell
Simon Whitlock (18) 6-0 Anthony Urmston-Toft
Nick Fullwell 6-2 Shaun Dring
Jamie Caven (7) 6-1 Lionel Sams
Mark Stephenson 6-4 Ian Jopling
Brendan Dolan (26) 6-4 Dennis Smith
Peter Hudson 6-0 Steve Maish
Steve Beaton (10) 6-3 Peter Manley
Nigel Heydon 6-4 Par Riihonen
Terry Jenkins (23) 6-2 Martyn Turner
Scott Rand 6-4 Jyhan Artut
Adrian Lewis (6) 6-0 Adrian Gray
Tony Eccles 6-2 Ron Atwill
Dave Honey 6-5 Michael van Gerwen (27)
Louis Blundell 6-4 Michael Barnard
Vincent van der Voort (11) 6-1 Arron Monk
Darren Johnson 6-3 Roland Scholten
Alan Tabern (22) 6-0 Nicholas Ogier
William O'Connor 6-1 Dave Ladley
Colin Osborne (3) 6-1 Chris Loudon
Andy Pearce 6-2 Anastasia Dobromyslova
Jelle Klaasen (30) 6-2 Andy Jenkins
Gary Welding 6-1 Matt Padgett
Andy Smith (14) 6-2 Mark Jones
Tony Randell 6-5 Wayne Atwood
Mark Dudbridge (19) 6-3 Paul Rowley
Gary Mawson 6-3 Dean Allsopp
Second Round
Mark Walsh 6-5 Steve Grubb
Stuart Bousfield 6-4 Jimmy Mann
Mark Frost 6-5 Jamie Atkins
Ronnie Baxter 6-5 Ian White
Andy Hamilton 6-1 Sam Allen
Dennis Priestley 6-2 Kirk Shepherd
Steve Evans 6-5 Wayne Jones
Kevin Painter 6-5 Colin Monk
Gary Anderson 6-2 Paul Williams
Peter Wright 6-0 Daz Mawer
James Wade 6-1 Patrick Pace
Richie Burnett 6-4 Terry Temple
Colin Lloyd 6-0 Darren Weaver
Mark Webster 6-5 Tony Ayres
Paul Nicholson 6-3 Mark Cox
Barrie Bates 6-5 Joe Cullen
Wes Newton 6-3 Darren Webster
John Part 6-3 Steve Brown
Mervyn King 6-1 Lee White
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Nick Fullwell
Jamie Caven 6-1 Mark Stephenson
Brendan Dolan 6-0 Peter Hudson
Steve Beaton 6-5 Nigel Heydon
Scott Rand 6-3 Terry Jenkins
Adrian Lewis 6-2 Tony Eccles
Louis Blundell 6-2 Dave Honey
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Darren Johnson
Alan Tabern 6-3 William O'Connor
Colin Osborne 6-3 Andy Pearce
Gary Welding 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Andy Smith 6-5 Tony Randell
Gary Mawson 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Losers £200
Third Round
Mark Walsh 6-0 Stuart Bousfield
Ronnie Baxter 6-0 Mark Frost
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Dennis Priestley - Andy Hamilton hits Nine-Dart Finish
Kevin Painter 6-4 Steve Evans
Gary Anderson 6-1 Peter Wright
James Wade 6-0 Richie Burnett
Mark Webster 6-3 Colin Lloyd
Paul Nicholson 6-1 Barrie Bates
John Part 6-4 Wes Newton
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Mervyn King
Jamie Caven 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Scott Rand 6-4 Steve Beaton
Adrian Lewis 6-2 Louis Blundell
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Alan Tabern
Gary Welding 6-4 Colin Osborne
Gary Mawson 6-5 Andy Smith
Losers £300
Fourth Round
Mark Walsh 6-3 Ronnie Baxter
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Kevin Painter
James Wade 6-4 Gary Anderson
Mark Webster 6-5 Paul Nicholson
Simon Whitlock 6-5 John Part
Jamie Caven 6-1 Scott Rand
Adrian Lewis 6-4 Vincent van der Voort
Gary Mawson 6-5 Gary Welding
Losers £500
Quarter-Finals
Andy Hamilton 6-5 Mark Walsh
Mark Webster 6-2 James Wade
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Jamie Caven
Gary Mawson 6-3 Adrian Lewis
Losers £1,000
Semi-Finals
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Mark Webster
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Gary Mawson
Losers £1,500
Final
Simon Whitlock 6-0 Andy Hamilton
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000
Final - Leg By Leg
0-1 - Whitlock hits a 180 and double 16 to break throw, after both players previously missed a single 20 which would have left a double
0-2 - Whitlock hits scores of 131, 140 and 180 before finishing a 14-darter on double four
0-3 - Hamilton misses the bull for an 86 finish and Whitlock lands double ten
0-4 - Whitlock hits a 180 to set up a finsh and takes out double four to lead by four legs
0-5 - Double one puts Whitlock to the brink of victory, after Hamilton missed three darts at double 16 and eight to steal the leg
0-6 - Whitlock seals a third Players Championship of the year with a 13-darter, finishing on double top