Luke Littler has won his second successive week in the Premier League to move to the top of the standings.
Up until last week, the 17-year-old had not prevailed in any of the Thursday night events, but success in Manchester has moved him ahead of Luke Humphries.
While Littler was not at his best throughout the evening, victories were posted over Michael van Gerwen and Nathan Aspinall to set up a final with Gerwyn Price.
From the perspective of the Welshman, he had produced his best form of the entire campaign, firstly averaging 107.88 to see off Peter Wright by a 6-4 scoreline.
That was bettered in the semi-finals, Price hitting the first nine-darter of this year's Premier League on the way to a 6-3 triumph over Michael Smith with a 102.88 average.
However, Price's level dropped off in the final as Littler came through with a 6-3 win, averaging 100.48 in the process moments after watching Manchester United - the club that he supports - concede 100th and 101st-minute goals to lose 4-3 to Chelsea.
In seeing off Price, Littler now sits one point clear of Humphries and a massive eight points ahead of fifth position, putting him on the brink of securing a top-four-spot.
Smith beat Humphries 6-3 to leave the world champion in second, yet he still holds a four and five-point lead over Aspinall and Van Gerwen.
Meanwhile, Price's run to the final has moved him to within seven points of the playoffs. body check tags ::
