Players Championship Finals- Match Reports Semifinals and Final

Semifinals
Gary Anderson 10:7 Steve Farmer
Gary Anderson won through to a second successive major final with a 10-7 defeat of Steve Farmer, who hit back from 4-0 down to threaten a huge upset in their Players Championship Finals semi-final.
Anderson, the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship runner-up a month ago, looked on course to coast into the final when he dominated the early stages. But Farmer, appearing in his first major semi-final since joining the PDC a year ago, hit back to level at six-all - only for the Scot to win four of the final five legs to progress.

Anderson made a clinical start, hitting double top to win the opening four legs and landing two maximums in the process. He also took out 128 for a 12-darter in the sixth leg, but that came amidst a brilliant response from Telford's Farmer, who took out finishes of 106, 80, 126 and double top in cutting the gap to 5-4.
Anderson landed tops to win the tenth leg, but Farmer followed up a double nine checkout with a 148 finish in levelling. Anderson regained the advantage in the 13th, hitting a 171 score to set up a double 16 finish, and he hit the same bed for an 8-6 lead before Farmer hit back with a 180 and double eight. Both players hit maximums in the next as Farmer looked to level, but Anderson converted a 72 finish in two darts to take a crucial 9-7 advantage and then completed a remarkable win on tops.



Phil Taylor 10:8 Mervyn King
Phil Taylor produced an incredible comeback from 5-0 down to win his semi-final with Mervyn King at the Players Championship Finals 10-8 and remain on course for a second victory in the tournament.
Taylor found himself in huge trouble when King, despite suffering from a migraine, made a brilliant start to lead 5-0 and 6-1. But Taylor, aided by a change of barrel from a new set of darts to the set he used during his quarter-final victory over Wes Newton, stormed back and hit five 180s in winning six of the final seven legs to claim victory.

Taylor was all at sea in the early legs, with King checking out legs of 14 and 12 darts against the throw in moving 3-0 up, while double four in the fourth pushed him further clear. Taylor had his first dart at a double in the fifth, but was off-target on double six and King hit the same bed for a 5-0 cushion.
The pair both hit 180s in the sixth, which Taylor won in 11 darts to get off the mark. King replied in 12 darts with a 180 and an 81 finish to lead 6-1, but paid for a miss in the next leg as Taylor hit double eight to capitalise. He also took out 81, double eight and double ten to win the next three in reducing the gap to 6-5 before King finished 100 for a 7-5 lead.
Taylor then returned from the break having reverted back to the barrels with which he had seen off Wes Newton 9-3 earlier in the day, and hit a 180 with his first three darts. He won the 13th leg in 11 darts and also took the next in 12, while he hit two more 180s in the next two legs plus finishes of 111 and 95 to incredibly take a 9-7 lead. King kept the match alive when Taylor missed two darts at double 16 for victory in the next, following a 180 of his own with double six.
However, the world number one landed a fifth maximum in six legs during the next to lead 135, which he coolly finished on the bullseye to complete a remarkable fightback.



Final
Phil Taylor 13:12 Gary Anderson
Phil Taylor took out 128 to defeat Gary Anderson 13-12 and claim his first major title since August at the Players Championship Finals at the Doncaster Dome on Sunday.
The 15-time World Champion has endured a dip in form since claiming the European Championship title last summer, but bounced back from his quarter-final defeat to Mark Webster in the World Championship to win the £60,000 first prize in Doncaster.
Having come from 5-0 down to defeat Mervyn King 10-8 in an amazing semi-final, he backed that up with a resilient display to defeat Anderson - repeating last year's UK Open triumph against the Scot. Taylor led 6-3 during the final before Anderson hit back to lead 11-9, only for the world number one to prevail in a decider by taking out a 128 checkout.

"I thought I might never win a title again after the World Championship but I've gone away, changed darts and worked really hard recently," said Taylor. "It means a massive amount to me to win this and the work has paid off for me. Gary played brilliantly throughout the tournament and was great in the final, and I'm sure we'll have plenty more battles."

Taylor won the opening two legs with checkouts of 79 and 80 after the Scot missed doubles, only for Anderson to take out 121 on the bull to get off the mark. Another 80 finished saw Taylor punish further Anderson misses before the World Championship runner-up finished an 11-darter to win the fifth leg, hitting a 180 for the first of four successive legs.
Taylor won the next two despite Anderson's heavy scoring, before Anderson posted double four to pull back to 5-3. A missed double top from Anderson allowed Taylor to take the ninth, but the Scot followed up double one to take the next by finishing a brilliant 141 for a 12-darter.
Taylor's 86 finish put him 7-5 up, but he missed doubles in the next two as Anderson finished 90 and double top to level the game. He then went on to lead after Taylor had taken the 15th, turning an 8-7 deficit into a 10-8 advantage by taking three legs in a row, following up an 82 finish with back-to-back 14-darters where he also added a pair of maximums.
Anderson then missed darts for a three-leg lead as Taylor hit double 19, before the Scot edged the next for an 11-9 cushion. Taylor found another gear to win the next three, moving himself 12-11 up and within a leg of the title - only to miss double 16 for victory in the next as Anderson scrambled in double 19 at the sixth time of asking to force a deciding leg.
Taylor refused to buckle, and his scores of 140, 134 and 99 to lead 128, and he checked out the finish on double four to claim glory.

"Full credit to Phil for his performance because he was the better man and deserved to win," said Anderson, who was appearing in his second successive major final. "I gave it my best shot but was shattered. To play three big games in a day is tough and I'll need to get fitter, but I'm proud to have reached another big final and I'm going to do everything I can to turn the tables on Phil one day."





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