PHIL TAYLOR smashed apart the record books with TWO nine-dart finishes in claiming glory in the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts, defeating James Wade 10-8 to reclaim the £125,000 title.
Taylor became the first player in darting history to hit two nine-dart finishes in one game with a scintillating performance in the final of the tournament, as he won back the Premier League trophy.
Having avenged last season's semi-final loss to Mervyn King with a thumping 8-1 triumph, Taylor took to the stage in the final and hit his first Premier League nine-darter in the second leg against Wade.
He went on to achieve the feat again in the 15th leg of the final, halting Wade's comeback in its tracks with his second nine-darter.
Taylor also hit seven perfect darts in the next leg, settling for a ten-darter which edged him to the brink of victory before eventually sealing a 10-8 triumph.
The night was a joyous one for Taylor, whose bid to reclaim the title had been delayed by 24 hours due to a power cut on Sunday in the north London area.
However, he showed few signs of that affecting him by producing the season's highest average so far in seeing off King 8-1 in the semis.
King was restricted to only four darts at a double in the game, with Taylor's accuracy on double top in the first five legs effectively ending any chance of a repeat of his victory at the same stage last year.
King did take the sixth leg of the game, but Taylor replied with a 164 finish and swept to victory with an average of 107.98.
That was bettered in the final, as Taylor overcame Wade's brave challenge to retain the title in a thriller.
Wade won through to the final with an 8-6 defeat of Australian Simon Whitlock, and kicked off the final with a 180, taking the opening leg in 12 darts with a fine 136 checkout.
Taylor replied in style, opening leg two with a 174 score, which he followed up with a 180 and then a 147 finish of treble 20, treble 17 and double 18 to record the first nine-dart finish in a televised final.
A classy 110, of single 20, bullseye and double top, put him 2-1 up before Wade levelled on double top after the World Champion missed the bullseye for a 132 checkout.
Taylor found an extra gear to take the next three legs, taking out 86 for the fifth leg, an 11-darter which featured scores of 177 and 180 to break throw and then double top for a 5-2 cushion.
Wade left double top with a 171 score in hitting back, only for double 16 to give Taylor a sixth leg.
Wade hit a 180 and a 121 bullseye finish to take the tenth, only for Taylor to reply in kind with a maximum and an 82 checkout of bullseye and double 16 for a 7-4 lead.
Wade took a key 12th leg on double ten before edging a scrappy 13th as the tension rose, with Taylor missing the bull and two darts at double eight before Wade landed double two to cut the gap to one leg.
The pair then traded maximums in the next, with Wade first to a finish and posting double top to square the match at seven-all.
Taylor, rattled by Wade's revival, kicked off the 15th leg with a 180, which he repeated on his second visit to the oche before landing a 141 finish to create history with his second nine-darter of the game - raising the Wembley Arena roof.
Taylor also set up a potential third nine-darter of the game when he opened the next with scores of 174 and 180, only to miss his eighth dart, at treble 17, with double eight for a ten-dart finish putting him into a 9-7 lead.
However, three missed darts at double top for the match in the next allowed Wade to finish 64 on double top.
Taylor, though, found a tenth 180 of the game to open the next leg and finished 88 on double 14 for a 12-darter in taking back the coveted trophy.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment