Jose de Sousa took victory on the opening day of PDC Super Series 3 with an astonishing 8-1 defeat of Luke Humphries in Saturday's final in Niedernhausen.
The Grand Slam of Darts champion produced one of the most dominant performances ever seen in a final as he averaged 114 to scoop the £10,000 title.
That display came at the end of an untouchable day of darts at the H+ Hotel, as De Sousa averaged over 96 in all six matches on his way to the win.
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"This is a special moment," said De Sousa. "I played well but I think my doubles were the reason I got to the final, they helped me a lot today so I'm happy.
"Right now I'm feeling in great shape, and my triple 20s are easy to make, and when you make so many triples you come to the final.
"I'm very happy for my doubles today, it was so important for me to make my doubles. I came up in my percentage in my doubles so it's amazing for me.
"Today, the feeling was so good. This doesn't stop here and tomorrow I have another day, and I hope I can do the same."
He opened the day with a 101 average against Maik Kuivenhoven and saw off Ciaran Teehan, Max Hopp and Gabriel Clemens to reach the quarter-finals before posting a 111 average in a 6-2 defeat of Brendan Dolan.
The Portuguese star then averaged almost 104 in his 7-2 semi-final win over Krzysztof Kciuk, and left Humphries with little chance in the final.
De Sousa opened the final with 180s in the opening two legs before Humphries broke back in leg three - a blow which seemed to spur on the Premier League ace.
He took leg four in 10 darts to move 3-1 up, then fired in back-to-back 11-darters to pull clear before legs of 14 and 12 darts pushed him to the brink of a victory which was sealed on double 10 in the next leg.
World No 2 Michael van Gerwen, five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld and World Grand Prix finalist Dirk van Duijvenbode were amongst the first-round casualties.
2021 Players Championship Nine - PDC Super Series 3 Day One
Last 16
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena
Jamie Hughes 6-4 Ross Smith
Luke Humphries 6-1 Mervyn King
Jason Lowe 6-0 Ryan Meikle
Jose de Sousa 6-3 Gabriel Clemens
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
Alan Tabern 6-1 Steve Lennon
Krzysztof Kciuk 6-3 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Quarter-Finals
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-0 Jamie Hughes
Luke Humphries 6-4 Jason Lowe
Jose de Sousa 6-2 Brendan Dolan
Krzysztof Kciuk 6-5 Alan Tabern
Semi-Finals
Luke Humphries 7-6 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Jose de Sousa 7-2 Krzysztof Kciuk
Final
Jose de Sousa 8-1 Luke Humphries
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