PHIL TAYLOR won his second Regional Final of the 2007 Blue Square UK Open with a 2-0 win over Wayne Mardle.
Taylor took the first prize in the opening Regional Final in Wales last September, and backed that up at The Torch in London to add a further £5,000 to his prize money.
He had to battle past Darren Richardson, Martyn Turner, Andy Jenkins and Alan Tabern to reach the last eight, before heading to Wembley on Sunday.
He whitewashed Dennis Priestley in the quarter-finals, defeated Colin Lloyd in straight sets in the semis and backed that up with a 2-0 win in the final.
Mardle had reached his first final for 51 weeks by winning past Adrian Lewis, James Wade, Roland Scholten, Mervyn King and Vincent van der Voort.
After winning the bull, he held the advantage in the first set, with the opening four legs going with the throw before Taylor kicked off the decider with a maximum.
He set up a finish with Mardle on 148, with the Essex showman narrowly missing double 14 for the set to allow Taylor to sneak ahead with double eight.
Taylor took out a 96 finish in the opening leg of the second set, with Mardle sat on 76, and a 180 set up a 69 finish in the next as his opponent waited on 56.
Mardle began leg three with a 174 and left himself 70 with a 170 score, but Taylor clinically finished 80 in three darts to take the title.
King's progression to the last eight in his first Regional Final earned him enough prize money to qualify for the televised UK Open finals in June, although he has to play in the two remaining events to fulfil the entry criteria.
Van der Voort's impressive run, including a win over his fellow Dutchman Jelle Klaasen on Saturday, saw him reach his first PDC Pro Tour semi-final.
Click here for results and a round-up from Day One
Blue Square UK Open Southern Regional Final - Day Two
Quarter-Finals
Colin Lloyd 5-3 Steve Beaton
Phil Taylor 5-0 Dennis Priestley
Wayne Mardle 5-4 Mervyn King
Vincent van der Voort 5-2 Terry Jenkins
Losers £600
Semi-Finals
Phil Taylor 2-1 Colin Lloyd (3-0, 1-3, 3-1)
Wayne Mardle 2-0 Vincent van der Voort (3-2, 3-1)
Losers £1,250
Final
Phil Taylor 2-0 Wayne Mardle (3-2, 3-0)
Winner £5,000
Runner-Up £2,500
QUARTER-FINALS
COLIN LLOYD 5-3 STEVE BEATON
COLIN LLOYD won a tight opening quarter-final with a 5-3 defeat of Steve Beaton.
The pair shared the first six legs of the match, with neither unable to break despite Beaton landing two maximums against the throw and missing doubles in the opening leg.
Beaton won leg six with a neat 100 finish, before Lloyd landed his first maximum of the match in moving 4-3 up in the seventh.
The former World Matchplay champion then pulled away against the throw in the eighth, with back-to-back scores of 138 setting up double 16 for a 13-darter and the match.
PHIL TAYLOR 5-0 DENNIS PRIESTLEY
PHIL TAYLOR romped past Dennis Priestley with a whitewash of the Yorkshireman in their quarter-final.
Priestley had won the previous Regional Final, in Bristol last month, and the Holsten Premier League leader continued his superb form on Saturday.
However, he could not match a powerful showing from Taylor, who was clinical in his finishing and produced some heavy scoring at crucial moments.
Taylor took out double eight in the first leg to hold his throw, with Priestley waiting on double top, before an excellent 132 left him a one-dart 32 finish to double the advantage.
The 13-time World Champion took out 84 on the bull in the third, and defied a second maximum from Priestley to again break the throw in leg four, with a 72 checkout.
He landed a maximum of his own in the fifth leg, and took out 72 - this time finishing on the bull - to set up a semi-final against Colin Lloyd.
WAYNE MARDLE 5-4 MERVYN KING
WAYNE MARDLE edged out Mervyn King 5-4 to move into the semi-finals of the Southern Regional Final.
The Essex star landed four maximums in a high-quality contest against the PDC Pro Tour debutant.
The match went all the way to the deciding ninth leg, with every leg going with the throw.
Mardle began the contest with a maximum to set up a superb 161 finish, before King replied with an 86 checkout.
King missed the bullseye to break in leg three as Mardle sneaked in double one on his final dart, only to be pegged back by a 13-darter in the next.
Two 140s gave King the cushion in leg five, but he again saw the chance to break go begging with three missed darts before Mardle landed double eight, before the Essex star replied with two missed darts for double 16 in the next.
Mardle was left to thank a maximum in the seventh leg for the cushion to allow him seven missed darts at double 16 before he finally nailed the bed.
Another 180 in the next set up a 121 finish to take the match, but King scrapped to stay in with double ten after three more misses from Mardle and send the game into a decider.
A 140 left Mardle 106 for victory, and he clinically took out double 18 this time to book his semi-final berth.
VINCENT VAN DER VOORT 5-2 TERRY JENKINS
VINCENT VAN DER VOORT reached his first PDC semi-final with a 5-2 win over Terry Jenkins.
The rapid-fire Dutchman made a superb start, racing into a 4-0 lead against the SkyBet World Grand Prix finalist.
He took out 64 in each of the first two legs and landed a key maximum in moving 3-0 up.
The pair then shared double trouble in leg four, with Jenkins missing seven darts to get off the mark before van der Voort finally took out double one with his last dart.
Jenkins broke back to stay in the game at 4-1, and then had three ton-plus scores in leg six as he reduced the gap further on double 16.
But van der Voort wrapped up the win on double eight to ensure a semi-final against Wayne Mardle.
SEMI-FINALS
PHIL TAYLOR 2-1 COLIN LLOYD (3-0, 1-3, 3-1)
PHIL TAYLOR booked his place in the final of the Blue Square UK Open Southern Regional Final with a three-set win over Colin Lloyd.
The two-time UK Open champion raced through the first set 3-0, including two first-dart double tops and double five in the third leg.
Lloyd battled back to win set two 3-1, punishing misses from Taylor in legs three and four to level the match.
Taylor landed maximums in both legs to move 2-0 up in the deciding set, before Lloyd took his chance on double top to stay in the match.
But the former World Matchplay champion was off-target at double ten and five in leg four to allow Taylor the chance to finish the game on double six.
WAYNE MARDLE 2-0 VINCENT VAN DER VOORT (3-2, 3-1)
WAYNE MARDLE danced his way into the final with a straight sets win over Vincent van der Voort.
The Essex star reached his first final for 12 months with the 2-0 win, ending van der Voort's hopes of making the decider against Phil Taylor.
The two quick throwers promised an entertaining match, and delivered in style.
Mardle came from 2-0 down in the first set to win in a decider with a classy 14-darter.
He then took out double 16 with van der Voort sat on 22 in the opener of the second set, and then landed double ten to move 2-0 up.
Van der Voort landed his second 180 of the match and then took out a quality two-dart 64 to stay in the contest.
He opened up with a maximum in leg four, but Mardle responded in kind before taking out double top for victory.