Fifth straight win and a £100,000 jackpot for 'The Power'
Phil Taylor lifted the Betfair World Matchplay title for a 13th time after clinching an 18-15 victory over James Wade in a high-quality final in Blackpool.
Wade hit back from 15-11 down as the contest looked set to go to the wire at 15-14, but the imperious Taylor won three of the next four legs to claim his fifth straight win and a £100,000 jackpot.
Taylor was unable to pull away from the left-hander over the first half of a tense contest, moving three legs clear for the first time at 10-7 only for Wade to break twice and level.
The 15-time world champion continued to back up heavy scoring with superb accuracy on double 16 as he won the next four legs before Wade stopped the rot.
Taylor restored his four leg advantage, but Wade responded with consecutive checkouts of 112 and 114 before hitting double six to trim the deficit to one.
But he then missed double 10 for a 140 checkout and Taylor held his nerve to hit double 16 to go 16-14 up.
Wade took out 76 in the next leg, but Taylor held his throw on double top before sealing victory on double 10 to cap a match-winning 13-dart leg.
