Damon Heta has won Players Championship 13 in Rosmalen with an 8-6 victory over Nathan Aspinall in the final.
The Australian is looking to advance into the world's top four by the end of the year to earn a Premier League place, something that narrowly evaded him earlier in the year.
However, the current world number seven boosted his hopes with an impressive showing on Monday, controlling his matches en route to a clash with Aspinall.
That is how the showpiece panned out, with Heta taking four of the opening five legs as he averaged in excess of 105 for the majority of their tussle.
To Aspinall's credit, he won five out of seven legs later in the contest, levelling the final at 6-6, but failure to take a chance in leg 13 gave Heta the chance to get over the line with a 15-darter, even though his average plummeted to 94.91 come the end of the match.
While Heta would beat Andrew Gilding in the semi-finals, it was Aspinall who enjoyed the more eye-catching run to the final, beating Cameron Menzies, Dirk van Duivjenbode and Jonny Clayton along the way.
Damon Heta wins Players Championship 13! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/BXj9NCwYRG
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 14, 2025
More woes for Van Gerwen
Not for the first time in recent floor tournaments, Michael van Gerwen suffered a first-round exit, this time by a 6-4 scoreline to Mario Vandenbogaerde.
Van Gerwen averaged just 85.73 and has now earned just £4,500 from competitions away from the television cameras in 2025, leaving him 110th in the Players Championship Finals rankings.
James Wade, Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld were also among the last-128 losers in a tournament which the likes of Luke Humphries and Luke Littler did not enter.
Darren Plant
