Pipe's Top Seed

JUSTIN PIPE will be the number one seed for the Cash Converters Players Championship in Doncaster, but Simon Whitlock has withdrawn as he continues to recover from his ankle injury.

Pipe's success in recent weeks on the PDC ProTour saw him finish top of the final Players Championship Order of Merit ahead of Gary Anderson on a four-event count-back after the pair accumulated £44,800 in the 31 Players Championship events held this year.

Pipe will now be the top seed for the ITV4-televised Cash Converters Players Championship at the Doncaster Dome from December 8-11.

The Taunton ace, who reached the final in six of the last ten Players Championship and picked up his first three ranking titles in the process, will now play John Henderson in the first round of the big-money Players Championship Finals.

Henderson comes in as the number 32 seed following the withdrawal of Simon Whitlock, who finished 15th in the final Players Championship Order of Merit but misses the Doncaster event as he recovers from a broken bone in his ankle.

Anderson, who has won five Players Championships during 2011, will play Holland's Michael van Gerwen, while number three seed Paul Nicholson meets Steve Brown.

Wes Newton, who finished fourth in the rankings, plays Richie Burnett, John Part meets Wayne Jones and Ronnie Baxter plays Raymond van Barneveld.

Phil Taylor's double victory in Wigan last weekend in the final two Players Championships saw him move up to seventh in the final Order of Merit, and he takes on Terry Jenkins in his opener in Doncaster.

Number eight seed Vincent van der Voort plays Co Stompe in an all-Dutch clash, while newcomer Dave Chisnall plays St Helens rival Alan Tabern after celebrating a successful first year on the PDC circuit by finishing ninth in the Order of merit.

Mervyn King plays Colin Lloyd, Jamie Caven faces Scott Rand, Mark Walsh plays Mark Hylton and Peter Wright faces Denis Ovens, while world number three James Wade - seeded 14th for this event - takes on Andy Smith.

Colin Osborne will face Kevin Painter, and Mark Webster plays Steve Beaton in the other first round game.

World Champion Adrian Lewis' late bid to qualify saw him fall one place short when he suffered a semi-final loss to Justin Pipe in Sunday's last Players Championship, as finished in 34th place in the final Order of Merit.

Play in the Cash Converters Players Championship begins on Thursday December 8, with the first round split across that session and Friday night's session.

The second round will be played in two sessions on Saturday December 10, with the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon and the semi-finals and final being played on Sunday night.