Video: Raymond van Barneveld's 9-darter

Phil Taylor produced a performance last night that was extraordinary even by his unrivalled standards. “The Power” displayed unerring accuracy to crush Raymond van Barneveld 7-1 and win the Ladbrokes.com PDC World Championship in arguably the most emphatic fashion of any of his 14 title victories.

The bare statistics hardly do justice to the nature of his demolition. His three-dart average of 110.94 set a record for the 16-year history of this tournament, he needed 15 or fewer darts each time to clinch 21 legs and he lost only four sets throughout the fortnight at Alexandra Palace, North London. His only disappointment was his inability to secure a nine-dart finish, the holy grail of the sport that was achieved by his opponent on Friday.

Taylor, 48, from Stoke-on-Trent, clinched victory with double 12 to pick up the £125,000 first prize. He will keep the present trophy, having won it three times, and is looking forward to it adorning his mantelpiece. “I feel fantastic,” Taylor said. “I thought a nine-darter was on. This is the most satisfying world title — now for No 15.”

Importantly, Taylor avenged his defeat by Van Barneveld two years ago, after he had led 3-0, which he put down to his close friendship with the Dutchman. A wounded Taylor is a dangerous one. “I needed to get that out of my system,” Taylor said. “I feel sorry for Raymond. He made me want it. But I can play better.”

The scale of the triumph was shaped by a shock 8-3 defeat by Peter Manley in the Whyte & Mackay Premier League in Coventry in February, which came soon after an early exit in this tournament. Taylor went away, licked his wounds and returned even more determined, taking the game to a new level with a succession of ton-plus averages and winning 19 out of 26 tournaments before last night.

Taylor, likeably cocky, stuck to his psychological ploy of conceding the first throw, which can be as vital in darts as service games are in tennis, throwing down the gauntlet to his opponent, who was cheered on by fellow Dutchman Robin van Persie, the Arsenal and Holland forward.

Many say that Taylor is at his most vulnerable early on, but he was anything but on this occasion as he raced into a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes with an average of more than 111.

Taylor took two legs against the darts in the first set and pounced when Van Barneveld missed doubles in the opening two legs of the next set. It was an imperious and brutal exhibition of finishing, but Van Barneveld found some courage to throw a 110 check-out at the start of the third set.

Taylor later responded in kind with a 126 check-out, and Van Barneveld broke with double five in the final leg.

It was only Van Barneveld’s fighting spirit that allowed him to reduce the deficit to 2-1, and he could easily have drawn level after four sets. With the legs going with the throw, he missed two chances to break and Taylor hit double four to lead 3-1. World titles are won and lost on such moments and there were chances in the fifth set when Van Barneveld could not take advantage of a two-leg lead. Taylor clawed his way back level, struck three consecutive 140s and double 12 and left Van Barneveld shaking his head in disbelief and exasperation.

Taylor’s 4-1 lead soon became 5-1 when legs went with the throw and he coasted the last two sets, ending with an 81 check-out. “He was absolutely brilliant,” Van Barneveld said. “I don’t know what to do to beat this man. I practise ten hours a day and it is not good enough. He is the greatest ever.”

Numbers game

9 Different opponents faced by Phil Taylor in his 17 finals

40mph Speed of a thrown dart

£100 Entry fee for qualifiers; top 32 seeds qualified by right

£16,000 First prize when Dennis Priestley beat Taylor in the first WDC (predecessor to PDC) World Championship in 1994. Taylor won £125,000 last night. The prize fund was £64,000 in 1994, for this tournament it was £740,000

35,000 Fans who attended during the tournament, 2,500 for the final

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