PDC World Darts Championship 2015 Final: Taylor vs. Anderson Score and Reaction

Gary Anderson won his first PDC World Darts Championship title on Sunday, edging 16-time world champion Phil Taylor in a 7-6 thriller at the Alexandra Palace.

Anderson took an early lead before Taylor tied things up to force a decider in what will surely be remembered as a final for the ages, but the Scot dominated the final set and deservedly took home the trophy.

He was moved to tears in victory; Live Darts couldn't believe what they had just witnessed:

The Power won the bull but handed the darts to the Flying Scotsman, who started things off with a bang by taking out 120 for the opening leg. Both players traded 180s in the following legs, but Anderson showed his red-hot form with a fantastic checkout of 121 on the bull to grab the first set, via the PDC's official Twitter feed:

He opened the second with another 180, but Taylor didn't back down. Another decider saw the Flying Scotsman miss the chance to move to 2-0 on double 10, and the Power immediately punished that mistake, taking out double 10 himself to level things up.

Taylor struggled finding triple 20 in the third, allowing Anderson to pull away and regain the lead. Taylor appeared to have tickled Anderson after the second set, and BBC Sport's Francis Keogh wondered if the Flying Scotsman would return the favour:

Sky Sports Darts shared an image of the odd interaction:

"

Taylor gives Anderson a tickle after leveling the match. Too much? #lovethedarts http://t.co/taXqXoLf5L pic.twitter.com/zNHLpnRKCZ

— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 4, 2015"

The Power's struggles continued early in the fourth, missing three chances at double eight to take the first leg. Anderson, so often criticised for inconsistencies on the doubles, swept into a 3-1 lead with double 18.

According to Live Darts, the Power had hit just seven of 30 doubles after four sets:

Taylor came out of the break firing, however, averaging well over 100 and riding an 11-darter to sweep the set against the throw. Suddenly, Anderson couldn't get anything done, highlighted when he missed tops and buried his dart on the far edge of double five.

Double eight and double 16 continued to bother the Power, but it didn't matter—Anderson was missing left and right, and Taylor tied things up in the sixth set with another sweep, taking out tops. Taylor's finishing was far from perfect, but his scoring average was strong.

Sportlobster noticed how quickly sets five and six passed:

Taylor needed another eight darts to take out 32 in the third leg of the seventh set, and frustration clearly started to set in. Anderson couldn't find his range—the Power kept missing his doubles on the left side of the board and refused to look elsewhere.

He grabbed his first lead of the match in doing so, however, hitting double eight on his first try.

The eighth set went down to the wire, with both players missing multiple chances in the decisive leg. Anderson eventually pulled through to tie things up, to the disbelief of Taylor. Live Darts predicted it would be a big turning point for the final:

The ninth set was a roller-coaster, with Anderson looking dreadful in the first two legs before completing a fantastic comeback and winning in a decider.

The board didn't help his cause and was duly changed after the Flying Scotsman suffered arguably the most unfortunate moment of the tournament. As shared by Daily Record Sport, this 180-turned-duck was the final drop:

It didn't do Anderson much good, with another dart popping out in the first leg of the 10th set. He didn't let that stop him, however, winning the set to move within one of his first world title.

Taylor answered with a near nine-darter in the opening leg of the next set, missing double 12 to the despair of the Ally Pally crowd. He broke throw on his next try, making it clear this final was far from over. The Power averaged over 110 on his way to another clean sweep, pulling within one.

The fourth leg of the 12th was another stunner, Anderson starting things off with a 180 before missing several darts at the double. Taylor suffered a dropout of his own on double eight, allowing the Flying Scotsman to force a decider.

Taylor came back to take out 16 in the last leg, however, tying things up and forcing a deciding set. Live Darts thought it was only fitting:

Down 1-0, Taylor missed three darts to tie things up before Anderson hit double 13 on his first try, finally breaking his rival's resistance. The Flying Scotsman finished things on double 12 in the next leg, winning his first world title.

As shared by Live Darts, the fact he did it against the great Taylor only made the win sweeter:

The final stats of the final:

Taylor missed a unique opportunity to win his 17th world title, but after the fantastic second half of the season he had, the Power should once again be among the favourites for the Premier League and world title next year.

Anderson finally shook off the label of being the best player in the world never to win a world title on Sunday, and with Ally Pally filled with Scottish fans, it was fitting that he did it in such dramatic fashion.

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