Phil Taylor has won his 11th World Matchplay title with a 18-12 win over Dutchman Raymond Van Barneveld at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool on Sunday.

15 times world darts champion Taylor picked up a winning cheque for £100,000, taking his total earnings to 1.2 million pounds

It was a thrilling final, with both the players averaging over 100, Taylor hitting 72 over 100 scores.

World no 2 Van Barneveld stayed with Taylor for much of the match, but Taylor pulled from 11-9 to lead by four legs and that was an advantage he maintained for the rest of the match.

"I'm absolutely ecstatic," said Taylor. "I love this tournament and no matter how many times I win it it's a tremendous feeling to get hold of this trophy.

"The final had a bit of everything. I was a brilliant game and there were times when I had to dig in and times when I was cruising.”

Taylor will now head out to Dinslaken, Germany to play in the European Darts Championship which starts on Thursday. He will be defending the title which he won in both 2008 and 2009