Emphatic Taylor Retains Sydney Title

PHIL TAYLOR retained the TAB.com.au Sydney Darts Masters in unstoppable fashion on Saturday as he swept aside Stephen Bunting 11-3 in the final at the Hordern Pavilion, on a night which also saw James Wade and Kyle Anderson knocked out in the semi-finals.

Taylor completed back-to-back World Series of Darts wins as he followed up last Sunday's triumph in the Perth Darts Masters by picking up his second successive title in Sydney.

He initially averaged 106.76 in a 10-4 triumph over Australia's Kyle Anderson in the semi-finals as he ended home hopes in the $200,000 tournament, before punishing Bunting for a string of missed doubles in the final as he cruised to victory.

Bunting had overcame world number six Wade 10-4 in their semi-final as he reached the decider in his first World Series of Darts appearance, but paid the price for misses as he settled for the runner-up trophy.

Taylor began the decisive final night with an ominous statement of his intentions against Australia's emerging star Anderson, who took out a 167 finish in the second leg of their semi-final - only to be denied another dart at a double in the next five legs!

Taylor's surge into a 6-1 lead included a ten-dart finish, a 13-darter and back-to-back 14-dart legs before Anderson hit a 14-darter of his own, including a 180, to win the eighth.

He also took the ninth with a 70 checkout, after four missed doubles from Taylor, but the reigning champion took the next three in 14, 15 and 14 darts to move to the brink of victory at 9-3.

Anderson finished 72 on double 12 to reply, but Taylor landed his fourth 180 of the game in leg 14 before finishing 81 for an 11-darter to book his place in the final.

The decider actually saw Bunting move a leg up - scoring 162 in the leg before finishing double ten to lead - before Taylor levelled with a 12-darter and capitalised on five missed doubles to break and move 2-1 up.

That pattern was repeated in the next four legs as Taylor punished the Lakeside Champion for at least one off-target double in each leg in taking a 6-1 advantage.

He then finished 71, a 13-darter and double ten to lead 9-1 before Bunting hit back on double nine.

Double eight put Taylor a leg away from the title at 10-2, and though Bunting produced his best leg of the game with an 11-darter to win his third, the fightback was short-lived as the Stoke ace traded 180s with his opponent before posting double six to continue his unbeaten record in Sydney.

"I've loved it in Australia and I'm over the moon," said Taylor, whose wins in Perth and Sydney earned two TAB customers $33,000 and $16,800 richer respectively after they backed him to do the double.

"To have won in Perth and Sydney back-to-back means a lot to me and it's been another great week in Sydney, like last year.

"The scoreline in the final didn't reflect the game really. Stephen didn't play like he can do, and if he had he'd have put me under pressure and made it a lot closer game.

"He was having a few darts at doubles and I kept thinking that if I put him under pressure he might start missing. You do feed off players and the way they behave, and I just wanted to keep matching him and put him under pressure.

"He's a great player and he's got a lot more potential than he showed. He's done absolutely marvellously this week.

"It was a bit of a struggle in the final and there were a few tired darts. I felt that my energy levels were dropping during the final, so I've got to improve on that.

"The crowd were fantastic and I fed off it. You can't get any better than this - they were like a Premier League [Darts] crowd back home, it was brilliant."

Bunting's performance in the final came after he had earlier punished missed doubles from Wade throughout their semi-final contest, which he won 10-4.

After the pair traded the first two legs, Bunting won the next three as he stepped in to take advantage of misses from Wade, who hit back to 4-2 only to see the St Helens ace hit three 180s in the next two legs as he took a 7-2 cushion.

Wade finished double top and double ten to pull back to 7-4, but Bunting won the next three legs to celebrate his debut in the World Series of Darts by reaching the decider.

Bunting admitted: "You've got to hit your doubles against Phil or he'll punish you, and that's what he did tonight, but it's my first time over in Australia and to be in the final is great.

"To be the runner-up in my first World Series event is a great achievement for me and I want to take this form into the rest of the year."

Of Anderson, Taylor added: "Kyle is reaching the heights now and he's realising what it's like to be a pro, but I think he's got to move on from that now.

"He's stepped up to the mark and now he's got to move up another level, which I think he can do. I've watched him in the practice room and he does everything right, and I think he's one to watch in the future."

Anderson - the sport's first indigenous professional player - had knocked out Raymond van Barneveld and Simon Whitlock to thrill the Sydney crowd and continue his emergence, before seeing his hopes in Sydney ended by Taylor for a second successive year.

"I played okay, but not well enough," said Anderson. "I'm not really disappointed because you know if you're not on your game against Phil that he'll punish you.

"I wasn't in awe of Phil but he was just too good. Phil's the best player ever and he was on fire, but as the game wore on and I got more comfortable, Phil found ways of making me uncomfortable again!

"It felt brilliant. I got trounced by Phil last year but I played well today, just that Phil was better."

Wade's defeat means that he suffered a semi-final exit in all three World Series of Darts events during August, with Michael van Gerwen having denied him in Singapore and Perth before Bunting capitalised on his missed doubles in Sydney.

"My first two games, against Shane Tichowitsch and Warren Parry, were pretty comfortable but Stephen was the better player tonight," admitted Wade. "I missed too many doubles.

"I tried so hard but it wasn't good enough on the night; my darts were dropping just short of the treble and I was missing easy doubles.

"It just wasn't my night but it's been an amazing experience to play in front of these fans. They've made it a great three days and it was a really good event."

The TAB.com.au Sydney Darts Masters completed the PDC's four-event 2014 World Series of Darts, with Taylor's successes in Perth and Sydney coming after wins for Michael van Gerwen in Dubai and Singapore.

The PDC's 2015 calendar is expected to be announced during September, and following three sell-out nights at the Hordern Pavilion and live coverage through FOX SPORTS the future of the TAB.com.au Sydney Darts Masters looks bright.

A LIVE BLOG from the event can be followed via this link.

DELAYED COVERAGE
FANS IN THE UK & IRELAND CAN WATCH COVERAGE AT 10PM ON EACH DAY ON CHALLENGE (SKY CHANNEL 145).
FANS IN THE NETHERLANDS CAN WATCH DELAYED COVERAGE ON RTL7.

TAB.com.au Sydney Darts Masters
Saturday August 30 (8pm local time)

Semi-Finals
James Wade 4-10 Stephen Bunting
Phil Taylor 10-4 Kyle Anderson
Best of 19 legs

Final
Stephen Bunting 3-11 Phil Taylor
Best of 21 legs

A LIVE BLOG from the event can be followed via this link.

Match Stats