FLAWLESS TAYLOR RETAINS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE DARTS TITLE

FLAWLESS TAYLOR RETAINS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE DARTS TITLE

PHIL TAYLOR retained the Championship League Darts title with a brilliant 6-4 win over Simon Whitlock to crown a flawless Winners Group at Crondon Park GC on Thursday.

Taylor scooped the £10,000 first prize amongst £26,600 prize money he has claimed during the course of the internet-streamed tournament this year.

Taylor had uncharacteristically failed to win through in the first three groups before claiming glory in Group Four in mid-October, and returned to Crondon Park GC in Essex for Thursday^s big-money Winners Group.

He won all seven league matches, whitewashing Wednesday^s Group Eight winner Mark Walsh in one game, before seeing off Dave Chisnall 6-0 in the semi-finals with a stunning 112.73 average.

He then led 2-0 in the final against Whitlock, hitting two 180s in the second leg, before the Australian star finished 61 for a 14-darter to reply.

Taylor hit an 11-dart finish to move 3-1 up, and after Whitlock took the fifth leg on double ten, he finished legs of 13 and 11 darts to move to the brink of glory.

Whitlock finished an 11-darter to keep the match alive in the next after Taylor missed double five for a 130 finish to claim the title, and he continued the fightback on double ten after the world number one missed two more match darts, this time at double eight.

Whitlock then had a chance to force a decider in the tenth leg, but missed the double 16 for a showpiece 132 checkout after hitting two bullseyes, and Taylor stepped in to seal the win on double four.

"I^m absolutely delighted to have won this title again," said Taylor, who was the winner in 2008 and 2011 and the runner-up in the other two years.

"This is the hardest Championship League Darts title I^ve won but I^m so chuffed to have beaten Simon.

"I made it harder for myself than in previous years because it took me four groups to qualify, and to be in the Winners Group is an achievement in itself.

"I^m very proud to have come through such a tough group because all the players have produced some superb performances today. In the final Simon really pushed me and it was a huge relief to hit the double four."

Whitlock picked up £5,000 as the runner-up in addition to £15,200 prize money he has won this year, having been the Group Five winner.

He finished third in the Winners Group league phase with four wins from his seven matches and saw off Jamie Caven 6-4 in a high-quality semi-final where both players averaged over 100.

"I^m pleased to have reached the final and it^s been a great tournament," said the Australian, September^s European Championship winner.

"I^m a little bit disappointed that I missed the double 16 in the final leg there because it would have been interesting to see how the decider would have gone, but overall I^m really happy with how I played.

"Phil was fantastic in the final and I was really happy to push him all the way there."

Caven had won Tuesday^s Group Seven and continued his return to form this autumn by winning five of his league games to finish second to Taylor in the table, averaging a huge 108.18 in a 6-4 win over Dave Chisnall in the round-robin phase.

Chisnall claimed the other top-four place, although he was left to sweat in the final round of games, with Mark Walsh^s 6-4 defeat of Justin Pipe seeing the St Helens ace qualify for the Play-Offs.

Pipe, the Group Two winner in his debut year of the tournament, agonisingly missed out on the semi-finals on Leg Difference to Chisnall, as did Ronnie Baxter as the Blackpool star also won three games on the day.

Group One winner Wes Newton picked up two victories on the day, while Walsh - Wednesday^s Group Eight champion - won only one of his seven matches.

The Championship League Darts paid out a total of £176,750 across nine days of play, with 29 players competing in the tournament which was streamed live on the internet through LIVEPDC.TV and a series of bookmakers^ websites worldwide.

Championship League Darts
Winners Group Results

League Table & Prize Money

Overall Prize Money Table