Taylor Rules Europe!

PHIL TAYLOR claimed the PartyPoker.net European Championship title with an 11-5 win over Adrian Lewis.

Taylor produced a majestic weekend of darts in Frankfurt, recording two of the top three highest ever televised averages at over 113 in reaching the final.

He then came from 2-0 down to see off former protégé Lewis in the final and claim the £50,000 title.

"It's one of the hardest tournaments I've ever won and I'm very proud of it," said Taylor, who hit a record tournament average of 108.21.

"I love the feeling of winning and the competition.

"We've both worked very hard to get to the final. Adrian did brilliantly to get to the final and he's in the Grand Slam of Darts now, and I'm proud of him.

"Towards the end both of us tired but I had to try keep the pressure on Adrian and it tolled in the end."

Lewis took the first leg of the game on double top and then broke Taylor's throw to lead 2-0 with a 13-darter.

Two missed darts at double ten from Lewis in the next cost him a 3-0 lead as Taylor hit double ten to get off the mark.

He then landed 180s in the next three legs to hit the front, and took out 136 for a 4-2 cushion.

Lewis took the seventh leg in 14 darts, but there was little more he could do to halt Taylor's charge, with the Stoke legend taking the next three legs to move clear at 7-3.

Double top gave Lewis a fourth leg and hope of a comeback, which was swiftly ended by another three-leg burst from Taylor, which included an 11-darter and a 102 finish as he moved to the brink of victory.

Double five kept Lewis in the contest after three missed match darts from Taylor, who began the next with a 174 score and landed double 16 for a 13-darter.

Big-hearted Taylor dedicated his win to quadriplegic twins Gregor and Florian Keller, who had defeated him earlier in the week using blow-pipe darts and were presented with his trophy after the final.

Lewis' run to the final earned him £25,000 and also a place in the forthcoming PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts.

"Phil did a job on me and he fully deserved the win," said Lewis. "I missed some doubles and if I'd gone 3-0 up it might have been a different game.

"Reaching the final was a bit tiring but I really enjoyed the tournament and it's a great achievement when you look at all the players who were in the event."

Final Match Stats

Phil Taylor	11-5	Adrian Lewis
26	100+	18
10	140+	12
4	180	2
34.78	Ave1	32.19
104.35	Ave3	96.57
136,102	High Finish	68

PartyPoker.net European Championship
Quarter Finals
Robert Thornton 9-5 Ronnie Baxter
Phil Taylor 9-5 Mark Walsh
Adrian Lewis 9-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Peter Manley 9-4 Alan Tabern

Semi-Finals
Phil Taylor 11-7 Robert Thornton
Adrian Lewis 11-7 Peter Manley

Final
Phil Taylor 11-5 Adrian Lewis

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Highlights are available in the Classics section of DartsTV
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ROBERT THORNTON 9-5 RONNIE BAXTER
ROBERT THORNTON reached his first PDC major semi-final with a 9-5 defeat of Ronnie Baxter in the PartyPoker.net European Championship.

The Scottish star followed up wins over World Champion John Part and Austria's Mensur Suljovic by producing another top-drawer display to see off Baxter.

Baxter took the game's opening leg, but Thornton won the next three to take command of the contest, showing early accuracy on double top in two of the legs.

He landed a second maximum of the game in leg five, but Baxter cut the deficit to 3-2 with a classy 100 checkout of single 20 and two double tops.

Thornton won a scrappy sixth leg, and then landed six perfect darts in the next with back-to-back 180s, before taking the leg on double six.

He also opened the next with scores of 180 and 140 before punishing two missed doubles from Baxter to create a 6-2 cushion.

Baxter won the next two, including a second 100 finish of the game, before Thornton took a brace of his own to move to the brink of victory, missing the bullseye for a 170 finish in the latter which would have ensured at least a share of the high checkout prize.

Thornton missed double five for victory in leg 13 as Baxter took out double 18 to stay in the gane, but two missed doubles from the Blackpool man in the next gave the Scot his chance, taking out 62 on double top to move into the semis.

"It was a cracking game of darts," said Thornton. "It was fast and furious and really enjoyable to play in.

"I scored well but missed a few doubles but I'm delighted to be in the semi-finals."

Match Stats

Ronnie Baxter	5-9	Robert Thornton
20	100+	16
9	140+	5
1	180	7
30.34	Ave1	30.75
91.00	Ave3	92.26
100 x2	High Finish	62

PHIL TAYLOR 9-5 MARK WALSH
PHIL TAYLOR continued his march towards the PartyPoker.net European Championship title with a 9-5 defeat of Mark Walsh.

Taylor followed up his majestic display in seeing off Mervyn King with a 113.9 average in the second round with another top-notch performance.

He started well to take leads of 2-0 and 3-1 before Walsh hit back to level, but Taylor found another gear to then reel off four successive legs.

Taylor took out 130 to win leg seven, and stepped in on double eight after Walsh crucially missed double top in the next, and finishes of double 16 and double eight gave him a 7-3 cushion.

Walsh stepped in to win two of the next three following missed doubles by Taylor, who was off-target once on the bullseye for a 164 finish which would have been the highest of the event so far.

However, he claimed victory with a 13-dart leg to set up a semi-final with Robert Thornton.

"Mark played really well and came back strongly after I went 2-0 up," said Taylor.

"He hit some good shots at the right time, but the missed double when I went 5-3 up was very important and I capitalised on that."

Match Stats

Phil Taylor	9-5	Mark Walsh
23	100+	22
10	140+	6
4	180	3
34.42	Ave1	31.83
103.27	Ave3	95.51
130	High Finish	76

ADRIAN LEWIS 9-2 RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD
ADRIAN LEWIS produced arguably his finest televised display to power into the semi-finals of the PartyPoker.net European Championship with a 9-2 win over Raymond van Barneveld.

Lewis averaged 108.62 in a sensational clash, with van Barneveld hitting six maximums and averaging over 102 but unable to stop the Stoke star running away with victory.

Lewis made a brilliant start, taking out 127 for the first leg and then firing in a stunning ten-darter to lead 2-0.

He landed three ton-plus scores to open leg three, only for the Dutchman to match him blow-for-blow and step in on double five after three misses from Lewis.

Lewis took out 106 and 122 to win two of the next three, with van Barneveld landing double top to stay in touch at 4-2.

Double four extended Lewis' advantage, and he then hit five maximums in three legs in pulling clear to 8-2 ahead, taking out 98 in two darts for an 11-darter along the way.

He then wrapped up the win in 14 darts with a neat 83 finish.

"Everyone who knows me knows what I can do on a dartboard and I've done it there," said Lewis. "I put Raymond under pressure from the start and kept it up.

"His form has been really good so I knew I had to bring my top game.

"If I play my best game nobody can beat me, but I'm not consistent enough. I'm still young and learning all the time, and hopefully improving."

Match Stats

Raymond van Barneveld	2-9	Adrian Lewis
8	100+	13
10	140+	9
6	180	6
34.16	Ave1	36.21
102.49	Ave3	108.62
72	High Finish	127,122,106

PETER MANLEY 9-4 ALAN TABERN
PETER MANLEY came from 3-0 down to defeat Alan Tabern 9-4 to win through to the semi-finals of the PartyPoker.net European Championship.

Tabern made a brilliant start to the contest, winning opening leg after missed doubles from Manley and then taking the next two for a 3-0 lead.

Manley fired in a 14-darter to take the fourth, and then took the fifth leg before squaring the game with a crucial break of throw in leg six.

He stepped in after missed doubles from Tabern to win the next three before another 14-darter extended the lead to 7-3.

Double ten put him a leg away from the win, with Tabern taking the 12th leg in 14 darts with a second 180 of the match.

However, two misses at double 16 in the next gave Manley another chance, landing double top to seal his last four place.

The result also means Manley remains in contention, alongside semi-final opponent Lewis, to win a PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts spot by reaching the final in Frankfurt.

With the other semi-final featuring Phil Taylor and Robert Thornton - who have already qualified for Wolverhampton - Tabern now qualifies for the tournament by virtue of finishing third in the ITV Wildcard Qualifier.

Match Stats

Alan Tabern	4-9	Peter Manley
25	100+	22
7	140+	8
2	180	2
28.64	Ave1	28.63
85.92	Ave3	85.91
85	High Finish	80

SEMI-FINALS
PHIL TAYLOR 11-7 ROBERT THORNTON
PHIL TAYLOR battled past Robert Thornton in an epic to reach the final of the PartyPoker.net European Championship.

The duo enjoyed a tremendous contest, with Taylor averaging 113 and Thornton 103 as they traded big scores and heavy finishes throughout.

Taylor led 4-1 early on before Thornton took four in a row to lead and also hold a 7-6 advantage before Taylor took five of his own to seal victory.

Taylor took the game's first two legs to lead 2-0, opening the match with a 177 score, before Thornton landed a maximum and a 98 finish to get off the mark.

Finishes of 125 and 123 from Taylor put him 4-1 up, but misses in the next two allowed Thornton to cut the gap to one leg.

The Scot then landed two maximums in taking leg eight in 11 darts to level, and he then landed double top to move in front for the first time.

The next five legs went with throw in a high-quality burst, with Taylor landing legs of 12, 11 and 12 darts and Thornton taking out finishes of 121 and 100 for 12 and 15 dart legs.

Taylor, though, secured the crucial break in leg 15, taking out double five with his third dart as Thornton waited on a finish, with the world number one moving back into the lead at 8-7.

Double eight gave Taylor the next two legs, and he sealed the win with a third successive 14-darter on double 16.

"Robert put me under a lot of pressure but I didn't panic," said Taylor. "I eventually broke him in that 15th leg and it was the turning point.

"I'm delighted to be in the final and hopefully I can claim the title now."

Thornton's run earns him £12,500 and edges him further towards the world's top 32 only six months after joining the PDC circuit.

"I pushed the master and I'm very proud of that," said Thornton. "I had to be resilient to come back from 4-1 but the 15th leg was crucial.

"Phil's average was brilliant. He raises the bar and we have to live with that, but I'm doing my best to get there."

Match Stats

Phil Taylor	11-7	Robert Thornton
25	100+	21
18	140+	13
5	180	5
37.78	Ave1	34.04
113.33	Ave3	102.12
125,123	High Finish	121,100

ADRIAN LEWIS 11-7 PETER MANLEY
ADRIAN LEWIS reached his first televised final since 2006 with an 11-7 win over Peter Manley in the PartyPoker.net European Championship.

Nothing could separate the pair for much of the match, before Lewis produced a sprint finish to take four successive legs and book his place in the decider.

The win also gives Lewis a place in the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton later this month, and pushes him back into the world's top six.

The youngster, who averaged 108.62 against Raymond van Barneveld in the quarter-finals, made a sluggish start to the semi-final, but a 180 set up a double ten finish as he took the lead.

A missed double eight allowed Manley in for the second leg, and the Carlisle man took the third on double top to lead 2-1.

The duo traded double top finishes in the next two legs, before Lewis took two in a row to lead 4-3.

He also led 5-4 before Manley took out 97 in two darts to break throw and then double ten to lead 6-5.

Double 16 saw Lewis level, and double top put him back in front, only for Manley to take leg 14 with a two-dart 98 finish to square the match.

But Lewis won the next against the draws with a fine 14-darter, and an 11-darter put him 9-7 up to put daylight between the duo.

Double top put him to the brink of victory, which was sealed on double four.

"It's great to be back in a major final," said Lewis. "There was a lot of pressure on us both with the Grand Slam of Darts places up for grabs, and we both showed that a little.

"I was really pleased with my finishing, as I was against Raymond van Barneveld, but my scoring was patchy and it will have to be better in the final."

Manley admitted: "I went in front once or twice but struggled to hold my own throw.

"It wasn't the best game but we were both playing for some massive rewards and the better man won - and Adrian has a great chance to show how good he can be now."

Match Stats