PHIL TAYLOR claimed glory in the inaugural Coral Masters at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh on Sunday night, sweeping aside Stoke rival Adrian Lewis 10-1 with a stunning performance in the final.
The 16-time World Champion picked up the £50,000 winner's cheque and became the first name on the new Masters trophy as he emerged victorious in the event, which featured the world's top 16.
Taylor followed up his earlier victories this weekend against Terry Jenkins and Wes Newton with a 10-1 rout of James Wade in their disappointing semi-final, with the left-hander unable to recapture the form which had seen him produce an amazing comeback against Simon Whitlock 24 hours earlier.
Taylor's merciless charge to the title continued in the final as he took the first nine legs without reply in a remarkable run, hitting a ten-dart finish and punishing missed doubles from Lewis in four of the legs.
The world number three, who had booked his place in the final with a thrilling 10-9 defeat of Raymond van Barneveld in their last four clash, finally got off the mark in the tenth leg after Taylor missed the bull to complete a whitewash win.
The respite, though, was short-lived as Taylor completed an amazing triumph by hitting a fourth 180 in a 12-darter as double 12 gave him the title with an average of 108.50 for the final.
Lewis took home £20,000 after reaching the final, and despite suffering from a bout of 'flu throughout the weekend, performed superbly to delight the Scottish crowd in wins over Kim Huybrechts, Robert Thornton and van Barneveld.
The semi-final with van Barneveld proved to be arguably the game of the tournament, with Lewis taking an early 3-1 lead with an 11-darter, and a 104 finish put him 4-2 up before van Barneveld hit back to lead 5-4.
The pair shared the next eight legs, with Lewis' 154 checkout cancelled out by a 143 finish from van Barneveld as the Dutchman moved to the brink of victory at 9-8 - only for the Stoke ace to force a decider with a 13-dart leg before claiming victory by finishing 116 for a 12-darter.
But despite Lewis then opening the final with a 180, the 28-year-old ran out of steam as Taylor, who averaged over 110 for the first half of the decider, proved simply too strong to defeat his local rival.
The Coral Masters
Sunday November 3
Semi-Finals
Phil Taylor 10-1 James Wade
Raymond van Barneveld 9-10 Adrian Lewis
Best of 19 legs
Final
Phil Taylor 10-1 Adrian Lewis
Best of 19 legs
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