Premier League Darts: Michael van Gerwen wins the title in his debut season

Michael van Gerwen claimed the Premier League title at London's O2 with a thrilling 10-8 triumph over Phil Taylor.

The Dutchman - who had finished the round-robin stage of his debut season on top of the table and then defeated James Wade 8-4 in his semi-final - rallied from 5-2 down to see off the 16-time world champion.

Victory was sealed in style with a 132 finish on the bull as Van Gerwen became just the fourth different champion in the event, as well as £150,000 richer.

The 24-year-old from Boxtel admitted the title was the biggest of his career so far, telling Sky Sports: "After the Grand Prix this is my second one (major tournament win) and I'm so pleased with this one.

"For me it was a very difficult beginning to the game. Phil played very well and didn't miss a thing. After the break I felt a bit better and started to up my game."
Superb start

It looked like Taylor - who had beaten Raymond van Barneveld 8-4 in the opening semi-final - was on course to lift the trophy for a seventh time when he made a superb start.

An 11-darter that ended with double 12 in the seventh leg gave him a commanding lead just before the break, only for 'Mighty Mike' to reel off five legs in a row to turn the contest around.

Taylor stopped the rot in the 13th and then levelled in stunning fashion when taking out 160 after his rival had opted to not go for the bull with his last dart.

Yet Van Gerwen didn't panic and took the next two legs to move to the brink of victory.

Despite missing a pair of match darts going for double eight to allow Taylor to pull a leg behind, the Dutchman was right on target with his third attempt when 'The Power' was waiting to pounce on 40 to force a decider.

"I'm a little bit disappointed, but then I'm not disappointed really," Taylor said afterwards. "I wanted to go to nine each and see if he'd got the bottle on the 10th leg, which he probably would have done.

"I've done well to qualify. The standard this year has been fantastic. It's a gruelling schedule and just to get through to the last four is an achievement in itself."