Players championship Finals 2015: MVG wins in Minehead

Lewis held his throw to take the first leg but an 11-darter followed by a break for Van Gerwen saw the Dutchman edge ahead. Lewis hit back with a 118 checkout to restore parity at 2-2 but Van Gerwen took the fifth leg to go into the break in front.

Back-to-back legs saw Van Gerwen open up a 5-2 lead but Lewis fought back to make it 5-4, bringing the crowd to life. But Van Gerwen ramped up the pressure on Lewis, winning three legs on the bounce to open up a four-leg advantage.

A 102 checkout from Lewis saw him make it 8-5 but two straight legs for Van Gerwen left him throwing for the match at 10-5. The Dutchman appeared to be in control but two missed darts at double 16 allowed Lewis to take out 147, giving the Englishman a glimmer of hope.

But Van Gerwen won a scrappy final leg, finishing with a double six to win his second Players Championship title in the last three years and his fourth successive tournament this year.

"I just want to keep performing like this for the rest of the year," van Gerwen said after the win.

"I thought I played really well and if you want to win the World Championships you need to stay focused. I'm going to make sure I have a little bit of rest over the next few weeks so that I am ready for the Worlds. It's going to be a tough tournament and you cannot afford to make any mistakes."

Lewis had earlier qualified for the final in style after thrashing Mensur Suljovic 11-1 in the semi-final while maintaining an average of more than 103.

Lewis broke the Suljovic throw in the first leg and never looked back racing into an 8-0 lead. A checkout of 96 saw the Austrian get on the board to make it 8-1 but Lewis ran away with the next three legs setting up a showdown with the winner of van Gerwen and Daryl Gurney.

Van Gerwen brushed Gurney aside 11-2 in his semi-final but the Northern Irishman had chances against the defending champion early on. Gurney should have broken van Gerwen in the very first leg but the Dutchman held on before taking the second leg against the throw. Gurney managed to win back-to-back legs to make it 2-2 but van Gerwen turned on the style winning nine legs on the trot to reach the final.

Meanwhile, Max Hopp became the first ever German PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion after a thrilling 6-5 victory over Stockport's Nathan Aspinall.

Hopp, who is now the highest ranked German in the sport at the tender age of 19, claimed the winner's cheque of £10,000 and a place at the World Championships. 

Players Championship Finals: Daily Results

Friday November 27
Afternoon Session (1245-1700)
First Round (Best of 11 legs)
Justin Pipe (16) 1-6 Vincent van der Voort (17)
Terry Jenkins (11) 3-6 Alan Norris (22)
Jelle Klaasen (10) 4-6 Gerwyn Price (23)
Benito van de Pas (13) 6-4 Stephen Bunting (20)
Mensur Suljovic (15) 6-1 Mervyn King (18)
Brendan Dolan (14) 2-6 Simon Whitlock (19)
Michael Smith (2) 6-3 Jamie Caven (31)
Kim Huybrechts (5) 2-6 Daryl Gurney (28)

Evening Session (1900-2300)
First Round (Best of 11 legs)
Dave Chisnall (8) 6-0 Joe Murnan (25)
James Wade (4) 6-3 Mark Webster (29)
Adrian Lewis (6) 6-3 John Henderson (27)
Robert Thornton (9) 5-6 Jamie Lewis (24)
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-4 Keegan Brown (32)
Gary Anderson (12) 6-5 Phil Taylor (21)
Ian White (7) 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld (26)
Peter Wright (3) 6-2 Steve Beaton (30)

Saturday November 28
Afternoon Session (1245pm-1800m)
Second Round (Best of 19 legs)
Michael Smith 3-10 Mensur Suljovic
Adrian Lewis 10-3 Alan Norris
James Wade 3-10 Benito van de Pas
Dave Chisnall 10-8 Jamie LewisEvening Session (7pm-11pm)
Second Round (Best of 19 legs)
Ian White 10-9 Gerwyn Price
Peter Wright 9-10 Simon Whitlock
Daryl Gurney 10-4 Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen 10-6 Vincent van der Voort

Sunday November 29
Afternoon Session (12.45pm-5pm)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 11 legs)
Mensur Suljovic 10-6 Ian White
Adrian Lewis 10-7 Simon Whitlock
Michael van Gerwen 10-7 Dave Chisnall
Daryl Gurney 10-5 Benito van de Pas

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Semi-Finals (Best of 19 legs)
Mensur Suljovic 1-11 Adrian Lewis
Michael van Gerwen 11-2 Daryl Gurney

Final (Best of 21 legs)
Adrian Lewis 6-11 Michael van Gerwen

PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship Final
Max Hopp 6-5 Nathan Aspinall