Stephen Bunting signed off his Premier League campaign in style as he overcame defending champion Luke Humphries 6-3 in Sheffield to claim his second nightly win of the year.
The Bullet was in fine form throughout the night and, roared on by a South Yorkshire crowd keen to see Leeds United fan Humphries beaten, raced to a dominant victory with seven 180s and a 106.37 average.
At 5-3 up, Bunting started with six perfect darts to raise hopes of a nine-darter to clinch it but had to settle for finishing off a fabulous display in 12.
Despite his defeat in Thursday’s final, Humphries did enough on the night to move up to third overall in the season’s standings and avoid a semi-final against world champion Luke Littler on finals night at London’s O2 Arena next Thursday.
Instead, Humphries will take on Wales’ Jonny Clayton, with the Ferret’s compatriot Gerwyn Price facing Littler.
Victory moves Bunting above Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen to secure a fifth-place finish in the final standings.
“I was probably a bit hard on myself. I’m up to fifth! I’m so happy with that,” Bunting told Sky Sports.
“People wrote me off and said I shouldn’t be in it. I want to be in this Premier League for years to come. That was a massive statement from me.”