Rob Cross laid down a marker ahead of the World Grand Prix as he thrashed Peter Wright 6-2 in Dublin to win his third Players Championship title of a stunning debut season on the PDC circuit.
The former electrician from Hastings, who also triumphed on the ProTour in March and May, trailed the world number three 2-0 at the Citywest Hotel but three 12-dart legs in succession from the 27-year-old with finishes of 81, 87 and 81 put him into the lead.
A 13-darter then followed to break once more before his fifth and sixth consecutive legs sealed a dominant victory, in which he averaged 113.
Cross is now 33/1 from 50/1 with Sky Bet to win a maiden televised title at the forthcoming World Grand Prix, which gets under way on Sunday, although he is in the same quarter of the draw as top seed and defending champion Michael van Gerwen.
The 27-year-old, who was also so impressive in reaching his first European Tour final three weeks ago only to lose to MVG, started the day with a convincing 6-1 victory over Raymond van Barneveld and he followed that up with wins over Dave Pallett (6-2) and Justin Pipe (6-3).
His toughest test came in the last 16 stage, as he survived missed match darts to squeeze past seven-time TV winner James Wade 6-5 in a deciding leg.
A thumping 6-0 victory over Vincent van der Voort, who beat Michael van Gerwen earlier in the day, was to follow, before producing some superb darts as he averaged over 109 and landed a 167 checkout to beat Mensur Suljovic 6-1 to reach the final.
"At the start of the day I was under achieving and got a bit lucky against James Wade. After that, I woke up and started to play like I can," Cross told the PDC's official website.
"I have a lot to learn when it comes to the TV tournaments, but now I am getting to the point when I am playing my best game on the game board now, not just in the practice room. I think I can get better.
"At the beginning of the year, all I aimed to do was make the top 64 in the world. Nobody could predict, not even me, the way this year has gone. I am now going from strength to strength and I know I can get better. If I keep doing that, then I know I can be in for a shout of winning anything."
Wright has also been in fine form this year, and come into this tournament fresh from winning the HappyBet International Darts Open in Riesa last weekend which saw him become the fourth player in history to win 10 titles in a calendar year.
He started the day a little more slowly than Cross, and registered wins over Joe Murnan, Brendan Dolan, Chris Quantock and Gerwyn Price all by a 6-4 scoreline.
A thumping 6-1 win followed against Andrew Gilding in the quarter-finals before registering a 6-3 victory over surprise package Antonio Alcinas in the final four.
The Spaniard’s great run started with a 6-4 win over Benito van de Pas. He then saw off the likes of Jeffrey de Zwaan, Darren Webster, Richard North and Steve Lennon to post his best finish on the ProTour.
Players Championship action continues on Saturday with event 20, followed by the start of the Unibet World Grand Prix from October 1-7.
Players Championship 19 Results
Last 128
Peter Wright 6-4 Joe Murnan
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Darren Johnson
Andy Boulton 6-3 Jonny Clayton
Chris Quantock 6-5 Keegan Brown
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Callan Rydz
Mark Walsh 6-3 Harry Robinson
Ron Meulenkamp 6-5 Steve Beaton
Josh Payne 6-2 Paul Rowley
Ryan Meikle 6-2 Dave Chisnall
Wayne Jones 6-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Adrian Lewis 6-1 Peter Jacques
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Jamie Lewis
Kirk Shepherd 6-1 Joe Cullen
James Richardson 6-5 Robert Owen
John Henderson 6-5 Aden Kirk
Wes Newton 6-3 Matthew Dennant
Vincent Kamphuis 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Mickey Mansell 6-4 Mick Todd
Steve Lennon 6-4 Steve West
Maik Langendorf 6-4 Madars Razma
John Norman Jnr 6-5 Ian White
Stephen Burton 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Richie Burnett
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-2 Ross Twell
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Richie Corner
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Jamie Bain
Richard North 6-2 Brian Woods
Steve Hine 6-4 Lee Bryant
Antonio Alcinas 6-4 Benito van de Pas
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-1 Sven Groen
Darren Webster 6-2 Ryan Palmer
Jamie Caven 6-5 Andy Hamilton
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Jan Dekker
Dean Forde 6-4 Ritchie Edhouse
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Matt Clark
Simon Stevenson 6-2 Mark Webster
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Callum Loose
Kevin Painter 6-3 Scott Taylor
Kyle Anderson 6-5 Ricky Evans
Devon Petersen 6-5 John Michael
Rob Cross 6-1 Raymond van Barneveld
David Pallett 6-5 John Bowles
Justin Pipe 6-5 Jeffrey de Graaf
Jonathan Worsley 6-4 Diogo Portela
Robbie Green 6-3 Alan Norris
Peter Hudson 6-4 Radoslaw Szaganski
James Wade 6-1 Nathan Aspinall
Haruki Muramatsu 6-3 Dennis Smith
Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Yordi Meeuwisse
Paul Nicholson 6-3 Craig Gilchrist
Ronny Huybrechts 6-3 Warrick Scheffer
Matthew Edgar 6-4 Tony Newell
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Terry Temple
Ryan Searle 6-3 William O'Connor
Berry van Peer 6-4 Christian Kist
Andy Jenkins 6-2 Zoran Lerchbacher
Michael Smith 6-0Paul Harvey
Martin Schindler 6-1 Mick McGowan
Robert Thornton 6-4 Max Hopp
Chris Dobey 6-4 Mike De Decker
Mervyn King 6-3 Simon Preston
Jimmy Hendriks 6-3 John Part
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Ted Evetts
James Wilson 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Last 64
Peter Wright 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Chris Quantock 6-4 Andy Boulton
Gerwyn Price 6-5 Mark Walsh
Ron Meulenkamp 6-3 Josh Payne
Ryan Meikle 6-4 Wayne Jones
Andrew Gilding 6-1 Adrian Lewis
James Richardson 6-3 Kirk Shepherd
John Henderson 6-2 Wes Newton
Mickey Mansell 6-5 Vincent Kamphuis
Steve Lennon 6-2 Maik Langendorf
John Norman Jnr 6-2 Stephen Burton
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena
Richard North 6-1 Steve Hine
Antonio Alcinas 6-5 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Darren Webster 6-5 Jamie Caven
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Dean Forde
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Simon Stevenson
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Kevin Painter
Kyle Anderson 6-3 Devon Petersen
Rob Cross 6-2 David Pallett
Justin Pipe 6-0 Jonathan Worsley
Robbie Green 6-4 Peter Hudson
James Wade 6-4 Haruki Muramatsu
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Paul Nicholson
Ronny Huybrechts 6-3 Matthew Edgar
Ryan Searle 6-1 Jelle Klaasen
Berry van Peer 6-3 Andy Jenkins
Michael Smith 6-3 Martin Schindler
Robert Thornton 6-4 Chris Dobey
Jimmy Hendriks 6-5 Mervyn King
James Wilson 6-4 Cristo Reyes
Last 32
Peter Wright 6-4 Chris Quantock
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Ron Meulenkamp
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Ryan Meikle
John Henderson 6-0 James Richardson
Steve Lennon 6-1 Mickey Mansell
Stephen Bunting 6-2 John Norman Jnr
Richard North 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Antonio Alcinas 6-1 Darren Webster
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Kyle Anderson 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Rob Cross 6-3 Justin Pipe
James Wade 6-1 Robbie Green
Mensur Suljovic 6-0Ronny Huybrechts
Ryan Searle 6-5 Berry van Peer
Robert Thornton 6-4 Michael Smith
Jimmy Hendriks 6-4 James Wilson
Last 16
Peter Wright 6-4 Gerwyn Price
Andrew Gilding 6-5 John Henderson
Steve Lennon 6-5 Stephen Bunting
Antonio Alcinas 6-2 Richard North
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Kyle Anderson
Rob Cross 6-5 James Wade
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Ryan Searle
Jimmy Hendriks 6-4 Robert Thornton
Last Eight
Peter Wright 6-1 Andrew Gilding
Antonio Alcinas 6-5 Steve Lennon
Rob Cross 6-0Vincent van der Voort
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Jimmy Hendriks
Last Four
Peter Wright 6-3 Antonio Alcinas
Rob Cross 6-1 Mensur Suljovic
Final
Rob Cross 6-2 Peter Wright
