Phil Taylor's dominant 16th World Matchplay title proves his age is just a number

Click here for a full report, statistics & reaction from the final

Phil Taylor left the Winter Gardens stage he loves so much for the 107th and final time on Sunday night, carrying the World Matchplay trophy once more.

Only eight players have managed to disrupt the darting legend's Blackpool love affair since the tournament was first held way back in 1994, and there was no way he was going to let Peter Wright be the ninth.

Not even the last man to beat him here in the 2016 final - Michael van Gerwen - had got close in the quarters as the 56-year-old crushed the much younger world number one 16-6 in a remarkably one-sided and highly-unexpected thrashing.

The years had already been firmly rolled back a decade or so a round earlier during an 11-3 demolition of his old Dutch foe Raymond van Barneveld while the ageing process was still stuck in reverse by the time he battered Adrian Lewis 17-9 in the last four, taking 10 of the last 12 legs.

Taylor admitted nerves got the better of him when he last played Wright in the Premier League semi-finals - perhaps due to wanting one more big major too badly before he retires at the end of the season - but on his occasion he remained ice cool and clinical as he stormed to an emphatic 18-8 triumph.

After racing into a 3-0 lead, he was always in front and even when Wright threatened a revival by reducing the deficit to 8-6, he went on the rampage with 10 legs from the next 12 to ensure this sporting "fairytale" of sorts would be realised.

And all this after he was written off as a 20/1 outsider before the tournament began. Little did anyone know how much he'd own it like in his heyday, with his opponents seemingly beaten before the first throw.

Including a routine 10-5 win over Gerwyn Price in the first round, Taylor went through the tournament winning 72 legs and losing just 31 - with four of his opponents clearly among the very best in the world today. And the other is regarded as a rising star.

Yet he's still going to retire!

Sure, form is often temporary and this triumph represents his first major televised title since 2014 - if you ignore the non-ranking - but on this evidence he would have plenty to offer if he decided to make an unlikely U-turn.

I wrote a column back in January - soon after a dramatic quarter-final defeat to Barney at the Ally Pally - effectively questioning whether his hopes of winning a 17th world title were slim to none in this era of MVG and a  plethora of younger, hungry players.

Sure he could still be great on his day but the consistency of old wasn't there while the mental fragilities in his play were becoming more obvious, especially during longer matches.

I even, embarrassingly so in hindsight, compared him to Roger Federer, "as he too battles on well past his peak in pursuit of an elusive 18th Grand Slam title in tennis"!

I must say seven months is a very long time in sport.

Nevertheless both legends of their respective sports have adopted the same strategy to regain their sharpness against their younger rivals; cutting down the number of tournaments they enter in a bid to stay as fresh as possible for the big ones.

It's taken until the middle of a busy global PDC calendar for this plan to pay off to perfection for Taylor, who even missed the recent star-studded US Darts Masters in Las Vegas due to a tummy bug so he could instead focus purely on Blackpool.

The likes of Gary Anderson, Barney, MVG, Dave Chisnall and James Wade looked rather jaded during their disappointing campaigns while Taylor admitted he sensed Wright looked tired in his first World Matchplay final having toiled pretty hard to get there.

Taylor will continue to miss all the Players Championship tournaments and the European Tour events and instead target the Champions League of Darts, World Grand Prix, World Series of Darts Finals and the Grand Slam of Darts before enjoying a month break prior to his final World Championship.

He's now to land the biggest prize of all.

And if this past week is anything to go by, just don't write him off.

How Phil Taylor won his 16th World Matchplay title

Click here for the tournament results in full
Click on each scoreline for a full report from that day

First Round
10-5 v Gerwyn Price
Three-dart average: 94.04
100+ thrown: 27
140+ thrown: 8
180s thrown: 2
Highest checkout: 151
Checkout percentage: 45.45% (10/22)

Second Round
11-3 v Raymond van Barneveld
Three-dart average: 102.27
100+ thrown: 21
140+ thrown: 15
180s thrown: 4
Highest checkout: 96
Checkout percentage: 50% (11/22)

Quarter-Final
16-6 v Michael van Gerwen
Three-dart average: 101.85
100+ thrown: 30
140+ thrown: 13
180s thrown: 10
Highest checkout: 122
Checkout percentage: 57.14% (16/28)

Semi-Final
17-9 v Adrian Lewis
Three-dart average: 102.74
100+ thrown: 28
140+ thrown: 27
180s thrown: 8
Highest checkout: 86
Checkout percentage: 34.69% (17/49)

Final
18-8 v Peter Wright
Three-dart average: 104.24
100+ thrown: 30
140+ thrown: 30
180s thrown: 7
Highest checkout: 82
Checkout percentage: 54.55% (18/33)

Taylor's overall tournament statistics

Three-dart average: 101.46
Legs won: 72
Legs lost: 31
180s thrown: 31
Finishing percentage: 46.75% (72/154)
Ton + checkouts: (3) 151, 121, 106

Phil Taylor’s World Matchplay titles

1995 - Phil Taylor 16-11 Dennis Priestley
1997 - Phil Taylor 16-11 Alan Warriner
2000 - Phil Taylor 18-12 Alan Warriner
2001 - Phil Taylor 18-10 Richie Burnett
2002 - Phil Taylor 18-16 John Part
2003 - Phil Taylor 18-12 Wayne Mardle
2004 - Phil Taylor 18-8 Mark Dudbridge
2006 - Phil Taylor 18-9 James Wade
2008 - Phil Taylor 18-11 James Wade
2009 - Phil Taylor 18-4 Terry Jenkins
2010 - Phil Taylor 18-12 Raymond van Barneveld
2011 - Phil Taylor 18-8 James Wade
2012 - Phil Taylor 18-15 James Wade
2013 - Phil Taylor 18-13 Adrian Lewis
2014 - Phil Taylor 18-9 Michael van Gerwen
2017 - Phil Taylor 18-8 Peter Wright

Phil Taylor’s World Matchplay defeats

Phil Taylor won 99 of his 107 appearances on the Winter Gardens stages so who were the eight players to beat him?

1994 – Bob Anderson 11-9 Phil Taylor (last 16)
1996 – Peter Evison 8-1 Phil Taylor (last 16)
1998 – Ronnie Baxter 13-10 Phil Taylor (QFs)
1999 – Peter Manley 17-14 Phil Taylor (SFs)
2005 – John Part 16-11 Phil Taylor (QFs)
2007 – Terry Jenkins 17-11 Phil Taylor (SFs)
2015 – James Wade 17-14 Phil Taylor (SFs)
2016 – Michael van Gerwen 18-10 Phil Taylor (Final)

Phil Taylor’s career highlights

14 x PDC World Champion (1995-2002, 2004-2006, 2009, 2010, 2013)

2 x BDO World Champion (1990, 1992)

16 x World Matchplay champion (1995, 1997, 2000-2004, 2006, 2008-2014, 2017)

11 x World Grand Prix champion (1998-2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013)

5 x UK Open champion (2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013)

6 x Grand Slam of Darts champion (2007-2009, 2011, 2013, 2014)

6 x Premier League champion (2005-2008, 2010, 2012)

4 x European Champion (2008-2011)

3 x Players Championship Finals champion (2009, 2011, 2012)

Masters champion (2013)

Champions League of Darts winner (2016)

4x World Cup winner (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016)

Over 100 other PDC titles