Australia's Paul Nicholson picked up the winner's cheque for �60,000 at Purfleet

Australia's Paul Nicholson shocked world champion Phil Taylor on the way to victory in the Players Championship at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet.

The 30-year-old defeated defending champion Taylor 10-9 in a close semi-final, before beating Mervyn King 13-10 to seal his first major PDC event win.

Nicholson had edged past Stoke-on-Trent's Adrian Lewis 9-7 in the last eight earlier on Sunday afternoon.

The tournament victory lifts him into the top 16 in the world rankings.

It is the first time that Taylor, the 15-time world champion, has been beaten in a PDC ranking event since the UK Open in Bolton in June 2008.

Both Taylor and Lewis will return to action in the Premier League, which gets underway in London on Thursday, 11 February, at the O2 Arena.

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