Colin Lloyd ended a run of almost two years without a ranking title by beating Andy Hamilton 6-5 in the final of Sunday's Players Championship.
The former World Matchplay champion secured his place in this month's tournament at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool and returns to the world's top 16 following the £6,000 triumph - which was his first win since taking victory at the same venue in September 2010.
Lloyd picked up three successive 6-3 wins in his early victories over Mareno Michels, Gareth Cousins and Aaron Turner before whitewashing Dean Winstanley in the last 16.
He then saw off Terry Jenkins 6-4 in the quarter-finals and won his semi-final against Ian White by the same scoreline.
Lloyd hit back from 5-3 down in the final against Hamilton with finishes of 130 and 112 before edging the decider by taking out double 12.
"It's been a while but I'm very happy to have won," said Lloyd. "I've played some good stuff today and battled hard.
"I'm over the moon because winning this guarantees that I'll be in the World Matchplay. I love playing in Blackpool and can look forward to that."
Lloyd's triumph denied Hamilton his first ranking title for five years, but he took home £3,000 as runner-up after reaching his second final inside a month.
The World Championship finalist overcame Kurt Van De Rijck, Carlos Rodriguez, Michael van Gerwen, Arron Monk, Mark Hylton and Kim Huybrechts on his way to the final.
Results for Players Championship in Crawley
Quarter-finals:
Ian White (Eng) bt Justin Pipe (Eng) 6-2
Colin Lloyd (Eng) bt Terry Jenkins (Eng) 6-4
Andy Hamilton (Eng) bt Mark Hylton (Eng) 6-4
Kim Huybrechts (Bel) bt Simon Whitlock (Aus) 6-2
Semi-finals:
Colin Lloyd (Eng) bt Ian White (Eng) 6-4
Andy Hamilton (Eng) bt Kim Huybrechts (Bel) 6-4
Final:
Colin Lloyd (Bel) bt Andy Hamilton (Bel) 6-5
