PHIL TAYLOR has warned his challengers to improve if they want to end his winning streak.
Taylor claimed victory in the stanjames.com World Matchplay for a tenth time on Sunday night, overcoming Terry Jenkins 18-4 at Blackpool's Winter Gardens.
The victory means Taylor continued his winning run in the major ranking tournaments, which has seen him pick up every trophy since the 2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic.
His £100,000 first prize also means he now stands £450,000 clear at the top of the PDC Order of Merit after taking his ranking prize money in the past two years to £755,513.
And he has laid down the challenge to his rivals to improve their game to match the performances which saw him produce four 105-plus averages during the World Matchplay.
"I can remember two years ago people betting on me to never win another tournament again," said Taylor. "They lost their money!
"I'm going to be back, I'm going to keep trying and I'm going to raise the bar.
"These players are going to have to raise the bar as well because they have no choice.
"Darts now is going to get dragged out of the gutter, where everybody thinks we are, and it's going to make the sport bigger.
"If they don't, I'm going to be richer than Tiger Woods because they have got to start doing what they should do.
"I know what Adrian Lewis does, I know what Andy Hamilton does and I know what most of them do, and believe me it's not enough.
"Terry isn't 100 percent dedicated and he has to do more than 15 minutes a day practice. He has to start buckling down now because he's a good player but he has to start working.
"They have all got to start working at it now because I think I can raise my average another ten points."
Whilst Taylor will not be in competitive action until September, he insists he will not be putting his darts away in a drawer.
"I'll be back on the practice board this week and I'm also going to get back in the gym," he said.
"I'm not fit enough and towards the latter end of the final my energy levels dropped. It's not good enough, I've got to get fitter."
Taylor's victory completed a clean sweep of the summer's majors, after previously claiming victory in the UK Open and Las Vegas Desert Classic since June.
"I'm over the moon I've won it," said Taylor. "All year you plan for the World Matchplay and World Championship - it's what I've been aiming for because it's the second biggest tournament.
"It's not all about the money, there's nothing like winning. I absolutely love winning, you can't beat the feeling."
He overcame Robert Thornton, Kevin Painter, Adrian Lewis and Mervyn King to reach the Blackpool final, twice averaging 109.4 before ruthlessly seeing off Jenkins to drop only 20 legs in the entire event.
"I'm a little bit disappointed for Terry and I said to him on stage that he's a better player than that," he added.
"But he didn't seem to hit form, his head dropped and I took advantage of that.
"I sensed a weakness in Terry and put him massively under pressure, but I knew going into the final that he wasn't producing the averages I know he can do and I had to take advantage of that.
"The fans probably wanted to see a final a bit like a Nigel Benn-Chris Eubank fight but unfortunately boxers get knocked out in the first or second round."
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