Taylor powers to 16th world darts title
Darts phenomenon Phil 'The Power' Taylor clinched his 16th world title in London this morning with a thrilling 7-4 win over Dutch ace Michael van Gerwen at the Alexandra Palace.
The 52-year-old Englishman trailed 2-0 and 4-2 before reeling off five straight sets to claim the PDC championship and £200,000 ($A310,000) winner's cheque.
"I'm probably the proudest man in the world. Got to give Michael everything, he's phenomenal that kid. Michael is one of the best players I've seen in my career," Taylor said.
"I'm absolutely over the moon - it's the biggest night of my life. I really don't know how long I can keep going at this but I'll be back next year to defend the title at 53."
Taylor went into the match under a cloud, suffering from a cold and admitting he felt "ashamed" after his on-stage spat with Raymond van Barneveld at the end of their semifinal.
And he seemed to have no answer to van Gerwen's flying start, with the the man known as 'MVG' taking the opening set with a 140 finish.
Taylor eventually found his feet and enjoyed a 123 checkout in the fourth set. But after the home favourite had levelled the game at 2-2, van Gerwen re-established his two-set advantage.
But Taylor wasn't finished and after fighting back to level at 4-4, he turned up the heat with an 11-dart finish in set nine.
Taylor's experience then came to the fore and he moved through the gears to chalk up his first world triumph since 2010, when he beat Australian Simon Whitlock in the final.
Phil Taylor celebrates winning the 10th set to go 6-4 up against Michael van Gerwen. Pic: Getty Images
Taylor's win was hailed by English sporting greats on Twitter.
"Phil Taylor is one of our greatest ever sport stars," former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan said, while ex-Liverpool, Real Madrid and England footballer Michael Owen tweeted: "Gutted it's over. Darts is different class."
Van Gerwen, 23, who threw a nine-dart finish in his semifinal victory over James Wade, was just nine months old when Taylor won his first world title in 1990.
"Phil played great tonight. He was awesome," the Dutchman said.
