PHIL TAYLOR ended an almost nine-month wait for a PDC ranking title with a stunning final victory against Michael van Gerwen at Coral UK Open Qualifier Three in Wigan on Sunday.
The legendary 16-time World Champion, whose last ranking success had been in May 2015, averaged 109.6 in a 6-2 defeat of world number one van Gerwen to clinch the £10,000 winner's cheque at Robin Park Tennis Centre.
Having lost out to Adrian Lewis in the decider of Friday's UK Open Qualifier One, Taylor's run to his second final of the weekend began with a 6-1 win against Ian Walters before deciding-leg victories against Steve West and Jamie Caven.
He then defeated Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney 6-2 to reach the last eight, where he saw off Peter Hudson 6-3.
Taylor defeated Welsh ace Mark Webster 6-3 in the semi-finals to set up a showdown with van Gerwen, where he claimed a dominant triumph.
Saturday's champion van Gerwen continued his winning streak with early victories against Shaun Griffiths, Sven Groen and James Wilson for the loss of just a single leg.
He then defeated quick-fire Ricky Evans 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals, where he survived four match darts from John Henderson before sealing a 6-5 success.
Van Gerwen then whitewashed fellow Dutchman Benito van de Pas 6-0 for the second day in a row to reach the decider once again but was unable to complete a double triumph.
Van de Pas' run to the last four included victories over Dave Chisnall and Joe Cullen, while fellow semi-finalist Webster claimed impressive wins against Premier League tars James Wade and Michael Smith before losing out to Taylor.
Scottish star Henderson, a semi-finalist on Friday, had beaten the likes of Brendan Dolan and Kim Huybrechts to reach the last eight.
Lancashire's Hudson reached a PDC ProTour quarter-final for the second time in his career after a last 16 win against German prospect Rene Eidams, who claimed an impressive victory against Stephen Bunting earlier in the day.
World Champion Gary Anderson was forced to miss all three of the weekend's treble-header of UK Open Qualifying events through illness, with the titles being shared between the three highest ranked players on the PDC Order of Merit in the world number two's absence.
The remaining three qualifying events for March's UK Open will take place in Wigan from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 February.
Coral UK Open Qualifier Three
Sunday February 7, Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan
Preliminary Round
Adam Hunt 6-2 Ben Davies
Michael Burgoine 6-5 Jon Jukes
Mark Dudbridge 6-2 Jim Walker
Johnny Haines 6-2 Marc Dewsbury
Rhys Jackson 6-5 Ron Atwill
First Round
Andy Hamilton Bye
Josh Payne 6-5 Mike De Decker
Tony Newell 6-5 Coni Singh Nagi
Paul Milford 6-5 Dave Johnston
Kevin Painter Bye
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Gary Stone
Peter Hudson 6-4 Michael Barnard
Adam Hunt 6-3 Matthew Dennant
Peter Wright Bye
Devon Petersen 6-3 John Bowles
Roxy-James Rodriguez 6-2 BJ Fairhurst
Rene Eidams 6-4 Matthew Edgar
Stephen Bunting Bye
Kurt Parry 6-3 Craig Lewis
Ricky Sudale 6-2 Mareno Michels
Jerry Hendriks 6-1 Dylan Duo
Simon Whitlock Bye
Andy Jenkins 6-2 Jonny Clayton
Adam Huckvale 6-3 James Hubbard
Christian Kist 6-4 Darren Latham
Daryl Gurney Bye
Kirk Shepherd 6-4 Darren Webster
William O'Connor 6-2 Paul Nicholson
Michael Burgoine 6-4 Joshua Clements
Jamie Caven Bye
Ryan Harrington 6-3 Alan Tabern
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-1 Stephen McNally
Colin Osborne 6-1 Bernd Roith
Phil Taylor Bye
Ian Walters 6-0 Harry Robinson
Steve West 6-3 Harry Ward
Nick Fullwell 6-3 Darron Brown
Robert Thornton Bye
Dick van Dijk 6-5 Aden Kirk
Steve Hine 6-5 Ron Meulenkamp
John Newland 6-3 Mark Hylton
Adrian Lewis Bye
Matt Clark 6-3 Ray Campbell
Cristo Reyes 6-3 Par Riihonen
Andy Boulton 6-5 Jamie Robinson
Michael Smith Bye
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 John Part
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-5 Karl Merchant
Ken MacNeil 6-3 Prakash Jiwa
Ian White Bye
Arron Monk 6-3 Kevin Simm
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-0 Richard Calvert
Michael Rasztovits 6-3 Ronny Huybrechts
Raymond van Barneveld Bye
Michael Dawson 6-5 Ryan de Vreede
Jason Marriott 6-0 Derek Brand
Simon Stevenson 6-1 Rohit Rabadia
James Wade Bye
Kyle Anderson 6-5 Colin Fowler
Joey Palfreyman 6-3 Paul Carr
Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Ashley Hykin
Vincent van der Voort Bye
Curtis Hammond 6-2 Chris Dobey
Nathan Derry 6-2 Callum Loose
Ted Evetts 6-3 Steven Smith
Mark Webster Bye
Luke Woodhouse 6-0 John Court
Brian Woods 6-4 Lee Palfreyman
Chris Hill 6-1 Lee Moffat
Wes Newton Bye
Ross Smith 6-4 Antonio Alcinas
Jan Dekker 6-1 Mark Oosterhuis
Mark Dudbridge 6-4 Garry Spedding
Jelle Klaasen Bye
Mark Barilli 6-2 Stuart Kellett
Wayne Jones 6-3 Keegan Brown
Brett Claydon 6-2 Justin Broton
Steve Beaton Bye
Mark Frost 6-0 Stuart Stubbs
Robbie Green 6-2 Michel van der Horst
Nigel Daniels 6-3 Karsten Kornath
Mensur Suljovic Bye
Eddie Dootson 6-5 Berry van Peer
Joe Cullen 6-3 Jack Todd
Nigel Heydon 6-2 Ian Lever
Dave Chisnall Bye
Rocco Maes 6-5 Rob Modra
Matt Padgett 6-3 Mick Hasse
Pete Dyos 6-0 Jamie Hingston
Dean Winstanley Bye
Jay Foreman 6-4 Yordi Meeuwisse
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Tony Richardson
Steve Brown 6-2 Jeff Batham
Terry Jenkins Bye
Mark Walsh 6-2 Kevin Dowling
Ritchie Edhouse 6-5 Darren Johnson
Lee Evans 6-1 Ben Ward
Benito van de Pas Bye
Tomas Seyler 6-2 Tommy Legius
Dennis Smith 6-5 Robert Owen
Lee Whitworth 6-5 Simon Preston
Kim Huybrechts Bye
Kevin Thomas 6-1 James Hajdar
Scott Taylor 6-3 Martin Thomas
Joe Murnan 6-5 Richard Corner
Andrew Gilding Bye
Mike Zuydwijk 6-1 John Power
Scott Dale 6-2 Magnus Caris
Alan Norris 6-2 Jyhan Artut
John Henderson Bye
Jonathan Worsley 6-4 Sean Ryan
Jamie Guilfoyle 6-4 Mick Todd
Johnny Haines 6-1 Jason Lovett
Brendan Dolan Bye
Ricky Williams 6-0 David Wilson
Robert Marijanovic 6-4 James Young
Terry Temple 6-2 Vincent Kamphuis
Mervyn King Bye
James Wilson 6-2 Joshua Richardson
Ryan Short 6-5 Jason Wilson
Barrie Bates 6-4 Ryan Meikle
Michael van Gerwen Bye
Shaun Griffiths 6-4 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Sven Groen 6-3 Richie Howson
James Richardson 6-3 Andy Smith
Justin Pipe Bye
Joey Ten Berge 6-0 John Crossley
David Pallett 6-2 Andy Parson
Ryan Palmer 6-5 Max Hopp
Jamie Lewis Bye
Dave Ladley 6-2 Stephen Willard
Sam Head 6-1 Mick McGowan
Ricky Evans 6-0 Rhys Jackson
Second Round
Josh Payne 6-3 Andy Hamilton
Tony Newell 6-3 Paul Milford
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Kevin Painter
Peter Hudson 6-3 Adam Hunt
Devon Petersen 6-4 Peter Wright
Rene Eidams 6-2 Roxy-James Rodriguez
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Kurt Parry
Ricky Sudale 6-5 Jerry Hendriks
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Andy Jenkins
Christian Kist 6-2 Adam Huckvale
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Kirk Shepherd
William O'Connor 6-0 Michael Burgoine
Jamie Caven 6-0 Ryan Harrington
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3 Colin Osborne
Phil Taylor 6-1 Ian Walters
Steve West 6-4 Nick Fullwell
Dick van Dijk 6-5 Robert Thornton
Steve Hine 6-2 John Newland
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Matt Clark
Andy Boulton 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Michael Smith 6-0 Jermaine Wattimena
Ken MacNeil 6-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Ian White 6-1 Arron Monk
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-2 Michael Rasztovits
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Michael Dawson
Jason Marriott 6-3 Simon Stevenson
James Wade 6-2 Kyle Anderson
Ronnie Baxter 6-0 Joey Palfreyman
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Curtis Hammond
Nathan Derry 6-5 Ted Evetts
Mark Webster 6-4 Luke Woodhouse
Brian Woods 6-2 Chris Hill
Ross Smith 6-4 Wes Newton
Mark Dudbridge 6-4 Jan Dekker
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Mark Barilli
Brett Claydon 6-5 Wayne Jones
Mark Frost 6-3 Steve Beaton
Robbie Green 6-3 Nigel Daniels
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Eddie Dootson
Joe Cullen 6-0 Nigel Heydon
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Rocco Maes
Pete Dyos 6-2 Matt Padgett
Jay Foreman 6-2 Dean Winstanley
Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Steve Brown
Terry Jenkins 6-1 Mark Walsh
Ritchie Edhouse 6-5 Lee Evans
Benito van de Pas 6-0 Tomas Seyler
Dennis Smith 6-0 Lee Whitworth
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Kevin Thomas
Scott Taylor 6-1 Joe Murnan
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Mike Zuydwijk
Alan Norris 6-3 Scott Dale
John Henderson 6-0 Jonathan Worsley
Johnny Haines 6-3 Jamie Guilfoyle
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Ricky Williams
Robert Marijanovic 6-3 Terry Temple
James Wilson 6-3 Mervyn King
Barrie Bates 6-1 Ryan Short
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Shaun Griffiths
Sven Groen 6-5 James Richardson
Justin Pipe 6-3 Joey Ten Berge
David Pallett 6-4 Ryan Palmer
Jamie Lewis 6-3 Dave Ladley
Ricky Evans 6-4 Sam Head
Third Round
Tony Newell 6-3 Josh Payne
Peter Hudson 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Rene Eidams 6-3 Devon Petersen
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Ricky Sudale
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Christian Kist
Daryl Gurney 6-1 William O'Connor
Jamie Caven 6-2 Jeffrey de Graaf
Phil Taylor 6-5 Steve West
Dick van Dijk 6-3 Steve Hine
Adrian Lewis 6-4 Andy Boulton
Michael Smith 6-1 Ken MacNeil
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-3 Ian White
Raymond van Barneveld 6-0 Jason Marriot
James Wade 6-2 Ronnie Baxter
Nathan Derry 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Mark Webster 6-0 Brian Woods
Mark Dudbridge 6-3 Ross Smith
Brett Claydon 6-1 Jelle Klaasen
Robbie Green 6-5 Mark Frost
Joe Cullen 6-5 Mensur Suljovic
Dave Chisnall 6-0 Pete Dyos
Jay Foreman 6-5 Nathan Aspinall
Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 Terry Jenkins
Benito van de Pas 6-2 Dennis Smith
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Scott Taylor
Alan Norris 6-1 Andrew Gilding
John Henderson 6-2 Johnny Haines
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Robert Marijanovic
James Wilson 6-2 Barrie Bates
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Sven Groen
David Pallett 6-5 Justin Pipe
Ricky Evans 6-1 Jamie Lewis
Last 32
Peter Hudson 6-3 Tony Newell
Rene Eidams 6-5 Stephen Bunting
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Simon Whitlock
Phil Taylor 6-5 Jamie Caven
Adrian Lewis 6-2 Dick van Dijk
Michael Smith 6-3 Jeffrey de Zwaan
James Wade 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Mark Webster 6-1 Nathan Derry
Brett Claydon 6-4 Mark Dudbridge
Joe Cullen 6-2 Robbie Green
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Jay Foreman
Benito van de Pas 6-3 Ritchie Edhouse
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Alan Norris
John Henderson 6-1 Brendan Dolan
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 James Wilson
Ricky Evans 6-3 David Pallett
Last 16
Peter Hudson 6-2 Rene Eidams
Phil Taylor 6-2 Daryl Gurney
Michael Smith 6-4 Adrian Lewis
Mark Webster 6-3 James Wade
Joe Cullen 6-2 Brett Claydon
Benito van de Pas 6-5 Dave Chisnall
John Henderson 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Ricky Evans
Quarter-Finals
Phil Taylor 6-3 Peter Hudson
Mark Webster 6-4 Michael Smith
Benito van de Pas 6-4 Joe Cullen
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 John Henderson
Semi-Finals
Phil Taylor 6-3 Mark Webster
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Benito van de Pas
Final
Phil Taylor 6-2 Michael van Gerwen
Prize Money
Winner £10,000
Runner-Up £5,000
Semi-Finalists £2,500
Quarter-Finalists £2,000
Last 16 £1,500
Last 32 £750
Last 64 £250
Total £60,000