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Simon Whitlock, Michael van Gerwen and Robert Thornton all won through to the last 16 of the Players Championship finals with well-earned victories on Friday.

The trio, who have each won their first PDC major title this year, all moved a step closer to a second televised triumph with first round wins at Butlins, Minehead.

Whitlock won the last three legs of his contest against Jamie Caven to progress, finishing the match with a brilliant 111 checkout.

van Gerwen ended reigning champion Kevin Painter’s title defence with a 6-3 success, which included three 180s and a 123 finish from the in form Dutchman.

Thornton was particularly impressive as he swept past Mark Walsh with a 6-1 victory.

The Scotsman faces compatriot Gary Anderson in round two on Saturday afternoon.

Whitlock takes on Ronnie Baxter on Saturday evening, when van Gerwen will face Andy Hamilton for a place in the quarter-finals.

Paul Nicholson was unfortunate to miss out on a last 16 spot as ‘The Asset’ was edged out in a last leg decider by Baxter, while James Wade, Vincent van der Voort, Mark Webster and Raymond van Barneveld also suffered first round defeats.

Mervyn King came out on top in a tight encounter against Terry Jenkins, with ‘The King’ sneaking the last leg to set up a second round clash with van Barnveld’s conqueror Steve Beaton.

Saturday sees the second round action take place over two session before the tournament reaches its conclusion on Sunday.

By Chris Murphy

Simon Whitlock 6-3 Jamie Caven

Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Kevin Painter

Robert Thornton 6-1 Mark Walsh

Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC

The draw bracket for the Players Championship Finals, which takes place next weekend in Minehead, has been confirmed after the 32 player field was finalised.

Simon Whitlock, the number two seed for the £250,000 tournament, faces Jamie Caven in the first round.

Third seed Michael van Gerwen, who has picked up seven Pro Tour titles in 2012, takes on defending champion Kevin Painter.

Recently crowned Grand Slam Champion Raymond van Barneveld meets Steve Beaton, while world number three James Wade is up against Brendan Dolan.

UK Open champion Robert Thornton will face Mark Walsh, while Mark Webster has been handed a tough first round tie against world number one Phil Taylor.

Paul Nicholson, who won the £60,000 title in 2010, takes on Ronnie Baxter in the opening round, where Vincent van der Voort will meet Kim Huybrechts and Mervyn King meets Terry Jenkins.

The 2012  Players Championship Finals take place at Butlins resort, Minehead from November 30 to December 2.

The schedule of play will be released in due course.

By Chris Murphy
2012 Players Championship Finals – First round draw and draw bracket

Dave Chisnall (1) v Wayne Jones (32)
Colin Lloyd (16) v Peter Wright (17)
Ian White (8) v Michael Smith (25)
Kim Huybrechts (9) v Vincent van der Voort (24)
Justin Pipe (5) v Colin Osborne (28)
James Wade (12) v Brendan Dolan (21)
Raymond van Barneveld (4) v Steve Beaton (29)
Terry Jenkins (13) v Mervyn King (20)
Simon Whitlock (2) v Jamie Caven (31)
Ronnie Baxter (15) v Paul Nicholson (18)
Wes Newton (7) v Gary Anderson (26)
Robert Thornton (10) v Mark Walsh (23)
Phil Taylor (6) v Mark Webster (27)
Adrian Lewis (11) v Richie Burnett (22)
Michael van Gerwen (3) v Kevin Painter (30)
Andy Hamilton (14) v Andy Smith (19)

Michael van Gerwen won his seventh Pro Tour title of 2012 in sensational style with a 6-5 victory over Phil Taylor in the final of Players Championship 20 in Barnsley on Sunday.

The Dutch star, who rises to number seven in the PDC Order of Merit following his latest triumph, hit finishes of 164 and 124 in the final two legs to come back from 5-4 down against the world number one.

‘Mighty Mike’, who also defeated reigning World Champion Adrian Lewis in the semi-finals, followed up last weeks Grand Slam of Darts quarter-final victory against Taylor with his first success over ‘The Power’ in a final.

“It was a fantastic game and we both played well,”  van Gerwen told the PDC’s official website. “Phil did some great finishing but at the end I hit two amazing big finishes and I’m very happy with that.

“It’s the first time for me where I’ve won a Pro Tour and beaten Phil in the tournament, so it gives me so much confidence. To beat Phil in the final and the World Champion in the semi-final means a lot to me. It was the most special win of the year.”

van Gerwen reached the semi-finals of Saturday’s event, as did in-form Scotsman Robert Thornton, who made it to the same stage on Sunday, losing out to Taylor on both occasions.

The weekend’s final Players Championship events of 2012 also saw Andy Jenkins seal his place in the upcoming Ladbrokes World Championships as one of the top 16 in the Pro Tour of Merit outside of the PDC Order of Merit’s top 32.

By Chris Murphy

Click here for a full report on Michael van Gerwen’s latest triumph on his official website.