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Results - Day 9

Taylor showed some of his finest form in a brilliant display in the
final, crucially taking nine successive legs in the middle of the game
to establish a 14-5 lead.

Hamilton, in his first major final, battled superbly against his Stoke
rival and hit back to 16-9 at one stage before Taylor sealed the
victory.

Both players began in sensational style, landing maximums in the opening
leg as Taylor kicked off with a 13-darter.

The first ten legs all went with the throw, with the duo trading
ton-plus scores - hitting nine 180s in total - and Taylor hitting legs
of 11 and 13 darts in response to legs of 11 darts and two 13-darters
from Hamilton.

The 11th leg saw the first potential break of throw after Hamilton
opened with scores of 180 and 134, but back-to-back 140s helped Taylor
hold his throw with a 76 finish for a 15-darter, with his opponent
waiting on 32.

The next saw Taylor power in three 140s, and he took out the 81 for a
12-darter to secure the first break of throw himself and earn a 7-5
cushion.

He then slammed home a 143 finish to put daylight between the
Stoke-based duo, and three further breaks of throw helped him to nine
successive legs and a commanding 14-5 lead.

Hamilton was averaging 103 at that stage despite the deficit, but a fine
14-darter - including his ninth 180 of the game - helped him back into
the contest.

Taylor responded, and a 104 finish put him 16-7 up before Hamilton
landed back-to-back maximums in the next for a 13-darter and took his
first break of throw in the game to pull back to 16-9.

Taylor took the 26th leg on double one to move one leg away from the
title, only for Hamilton to hit back with back-to-back legs to stay in
the game at 17-11.

But three ton-plus scores from Taylor punished a slow start from
Hamilton in the next, and the 13-time World Champion nailed double top
to claim yet another major championship victory.

"It means so much to me and I'm absolutely delighted," said Taylor.
"They can't take it away from me - I'm the first name on the trophy and
if I never win it again I'm still there, the first.

"It means a lot to me. It's not the money, it's the winning, the
prestige, and it shuts a few of the doubters up who have been knocking
me over the past few months.

"It's nice to win again, and I thought the first ten or 15 legs of the
final were some of the best ever in such a big game.

"This is one of the biggest tournaments we've got. There was the best
players in the world, who have qualified through being the best.

"The standard has been fantastic and some new players have emerged to
the general public and are coming through now."

Meanwhile, the Professional Darts Corporation, who staged the 2007
PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts, are also delighted to confirm that
the Grand Slam of Darts will take place in 2008.

The inaugural tournament, screened live by ITV Sport, was a huge
success.

The finalists of the World Masters, Robert Thornton and Darryl Fitton,
will be invited to compete next year, along with the semi-finalists from
the 2007 Grand Slam of Darts - ensuring a return for Taylor, Hamilton,
Gary Anderson and Kevin McDine.

"We're delighted with the how successful the first PartyBets.com Grand
Slam of Darts has been," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.

"The event has produced some great memories; the likes of Kevin McDine
reaching the semis as an ITV Wildcard Qualifier, Australia's Pat Orreal
reaching the second round and the fantastic matches we had throughout
the tournament.

"It was a pleasure welcoming players from the WDF system to compete
alongside stars from the PDC, and hopefully all 32 players enjoyed the
tournament as much as myself, ITV and the darting public did."

The dates and venue for the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts will be confirmed
in due course.

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