Phil Taylor went into the 2011 World Matchplay final with James Wade looking to continue his miraculous run in the tournament after stringing together a run of 19 successive wins on the Winter Gardens stage.
Ever since his quarter-final defeat to Terry Jenkins in 2007, 'The Power' had stormed through the following three events in Blackpool to take his collective total of Matchplay triumphs into double figures.
However, after missing out in the Premier League and UK Open, the pressure was on the 15-time world champion to get back on the winning trail, and standing in his way in the opening round was left-hander Mark Hylton.
Hylton, who, like Taylor, was based in Staffordshire, opened up a 3-1 advantage over his more illustrious opponent in the early stages before Taylor took eight of the next 10 legs to open up a 9-5 lead.
'Mile High' looked on the brink of defeat before storming back to take the next three legs, which included a 119 checkout, but after failing to finish 121, Taylor sealed a 10-8 win but he was quick to acknowledge the performance of Hylton, who he later credited with ensuring that he upped the standard of his play in the latter stages.
The second round saw Taylor pitted against another local rival in Wayne Jones, but the defending Matchplay titlist had an easier evening against the former World Championship semi-finalist as he coasted to a 13-7 victory.
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The quarter-finals saw Taylor faced with the challenge of overcoming Blackpool favourite Wes Newton, who had averaged 100 in overcoming Justin Pipe in the last 16, but at this stage, Taylor had started to perform at the highest standard and he dropped just five legs in 21 to his opponent to set up a semi-final showdown with Andy Hamilton.
The two Stoke-on-Trent throwers went toe-to-toe in the first half of the match before Taylor began to get the better of Hamilton, who had pulled off the biggest comeback in the tournament's history in the last eight against Simon Whitlock, and with an average of 105.39, Taylor booked his place in the final against Wade.
The 2007 Matchplay winner had started to find his best form after winning the UK Open during the previous month, and confidence was high after he had dispatched of Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis in the last eight and last four respectively.
The opening two legs of the final were shared before Wade recorded a 135 checkout to lay down a marker to Taylor, but the defending champion capitalised on missed double attempts in the following two legs from Wade to open up a 3-2 advantage at the first break.
Wade appeared to dwell on his missed opportunities, and that allowed Taylor to surge clear in what was turning out to be a one-sided final, with the score reading 12-3 at the third interval.
The lead was extended to double figures, but Wade put together a minor comeback to reduce the deficit to seven legs at 15-8. However, the left-hander's improvement failed to halt Taylor's momentum, and three legs in a row saw the 50-year-old add a 12th Matchplay crown to his collection.
Darren Plant
