PHIL TAYLOR claimed his fourth PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic title with a 13-7 win over James Wade at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.

The 13-time World Champion took the £20,000 title with a clinical display to defeat the world number three.

Taylor kicked off the tournament by averaging almost 109 against Kevin Painter, and romped to an 11-2 semi-final win over Roland Scholten earlier on Sunday, hitting 11 of 13 attempts at a double in a ruthless display.

He then despatched Wade 13-7, taking a 4-0 lead early in the game before Wade pulled back to 5-3, including a 101 finish and a 14-darter to break Taylor's throw.

Taylor, though, took five of the next six to punish a sloppy mid-game display from Wade, who sparked back into life with a 126 checkout, finishing on the bullseye, to reduce the arrears to 10-5.

Legs of 14 and 13 darts from Taylor, including a 100 checkout, put him to the brink of victory before Wade fired in two maximums in an 11-darter just to stay in the game. Wade also took the next leg to pull back to 12-7, but Taylor was in no mood to allow a further comeback, firing in a maximum in an 11-darter to take the victory.

"It's very special for me," said Taylor, who previously won the title in 2002, 2004 and 2005. "I'm delighted with how I've played this week. I've worked hard and my form is reflecting that.

"I was hitting my doubles early in the final but then I started missing and he came back. I think James' semi-final against Peter Manley took a lot of him and I had to put him under pressure as soon as I could."

Taylor's win was his third over Wade in a major final, following his victories in the 2006 Stan James World Matchplay and May's Whyte & Mackay Premier League decider.

"James is a cracking young player and he'll keep getting better and better," added Taylor. "He has a big future ahead of himself, he's a fantastic player and he'll do a lot in this game - after I've retired!"

Taylor will celebrate by spending a week with pop star Robbie Williams in Los Angeles before returning to prepare for the Stan James World Matchplay, which begins on Sunday 20 July.

PHIL TAYLOR survived a scare from Adrian Gray before booking his place in the semi-finals of the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic.

Taylor was knocked out of last year's SkyBet World Grand Prix by Gray, and the youngster threatened another upset when he took a 3-1 lead.

However, Taylor found an extra gear to reel off ten of the next 11 legs and move into the semis.

"I didn't kick into gear early on and wasn't hitting my doubles," said Taylor. "I was a bit on edge but I relaxed and got through."

Taylor meets Roland Scholten on Sunday in his bid for a fourth Desert Classic title, with the Dutchman booking his semi-final place with an 11-2 win over under-par Mervyn King.

World number three James Wade included a 170 checkout in his 11-7 win over Andy Hamilton, and will meet Peter Manley - who overcame Alan Tabern 11-8 - in the last four.

Wade is bidding for a fourth major title and a second successive televised victory, following last month's Blue Square UK Open win.

Sunday's play will see the semi-finals and final played at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, with the winner taking home £20,000.

PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic VII
Quarter-Finals
Roland Scholten 11-2 Mervyn King, Phil Taylor 11-4 Adrian Gray, James Wade 11-7 Andy Hamilton, Peter Manley 11-8 Alan Tabern

DEFENDING champion Raymond van Barneveld crashed out of the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic with an 8-4 defeat to Alan Tabern on Friday.

The Dutchman had whitewashed Matt Clark in the first round at the Mandalay Bay Resort on Thursday, but failed to reproduce that form as the left-hander sent him packing.

Tabern won the final four legs of the match to pull clear from 4-4 to take victory and move into the quarter-finals.

"It's the biggest win of my career on TV, without a doubt," said Tabern. "I feel I got what I deserved today, I didn't throw away any legs and was pretty solid."

Tabern now meets Peter Manley in the last eight, after the 2003 champion knocked out Adrian Lewis 8-6 in a thrilling contest, which featured 11 maximums and saw Manley come from 4-1 down to win.

Three-time Desert Classic champion and world number one Phil Taylor cruised past Dennis Priestley 8-4, and now takes on Adrian Gray on Saturday.

Gray defeated Hampshire qualifier Sam Rooney 8-3, including a 160 finish to set up a repeat of his meeting with Taylor in the 2007 World Grand Prix, which the Sussex-based carpet-fitter won.

World number three James Wade moved into the quarter-finals with an 8-5 defeat of Mark Walsh, and faces Andy Hamilton, with the Stoke player seeing off Jelle Klaasen in a deciding leg after overcoming a 6-3 deficit.

The other quarter-final will see Roland Scholten, who overcame Terry Jenkins 8-6, take on Mervyn King. King landed six 180s and three ton-plus finishes in his 8-6 victory over Darin Young to end American hopes at the tournament.

PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic VII
Second Round
James Wade 8-5 Mark Walsh, Peter Manley 8-6 Adrian Lewis, Andy Hamilton 8-7 Jelle Klaasen, Roland Scholten 8-6 Terry Jenkins, Phil Taylor 8-4 Dennis Priestley, Alan Tabern 8-4 Raymond van Barneveld, Adrian Gray 8-3 Sam Rooney, Mervyn King 8-6 Darin Young

RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD began the defence of his PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic title with a whitewash over Matt Clark at the Mandalay Bay Resort on Thursday night.

The Dutchman claimed the title in Las Vegas 12 months ago, and never looked in trouble in seeing off the Manchester-based qualifier in straight sets.

Van Barneveld included a 118 finish on his way to the win, and praised his finishing following the victory.

"Matt had chances to win two or three legs but you have to hit your doubles and I did that," said van Barneveld. "I can score better than this but my doubles were great and I'm pleased with that.

"It's a year since I've won a major tournament and hopefully this is the start of a good week."

Van Barneveld now faces Alan Tabern for a place in the quarter-finals, after the emerging left-hander came from behind to win 6-4 against Larry Butler his opening game.

Stoke duo Andy Hamilton and Adrian Lewis both booked their places in round two earlier in the day, following contrasting games.

Hamilton averaged over 100 in an excellent 6-1 victory over Canada’s Shawn Brenneman, while Lewis twice came from behind to level before edging out Robert  Thornton 6-5.

Lewis will now take on Peter Manley in the last 16, with the 2003 Desert Classic champion producing some brilliant finishing to defeat Steve Maish 6-3.

World number three James Wade made a strong start to his bid for back-to-back major titles, seeing off Dennis Smith 6-1, while Jelle Klaasen stormed past Canada's Gerry Convery by the same scoreline.

Mark Walsh set up a second round meeting with Wade thanks to his final-leg victory over Bill Davis.

PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic VII
First Round - Thursday Results
Andy Hamilton 6-1 Shawn Brenneman, Mark Walsh 6-5 Bill Davis, Jelle Klaasen 6-1 Gerry Convery, Adrian Lewis 6-5 Robert Thornton, Raymond van Barneveld 6-0 Matt Clark, James Wade 6-1 Dennis Smith, Peter Manley 6-3 Steve Maish, Alan Tabern 6-4 Larry Butler

Second Round Order of Play - Friday 10.30am Start - 6.30pm BST
James Wade v Mark Walsh, Adrian Lewis v Peter Manley, Andy Hamilton v Jelle , Terry Jenkins v Roland Scholten, Phil Taylor v Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld v Alan Tabern, Sam Rooney v Adrian Gray, Mervyn King v Darin Young

Day One report
PHIL TAYLOR made a storming start to his bid for a fourth PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic title with a 6-4 win over Kevin Painter on Wednesday, as John Part, Wayne Mardle (right) and Colin Lloyd crashed out of the event.

Painter battled through the qualifiers to win a place in the main event but was overpowered by Taylor, who averaged 108.8 compared to his opponent's 104.

Taylor lost 6-5 to Mark Dudbridge in last year's first round and admitted that memory helped him to victory this time around, with an early 3-0 lead proving crucial in the final outcome. "Last year's gone but you do think about it," said Taylor. "You can only do something about the future and I'm up for it this year.

"Kevin was superb and won some great legs but I had to try and keep my throw - when he had his back against the wall he hit an 11 or 12-darter.

"At 5-4 I couldn't let him get to five each, especially after what happened last year, and I kicked in.

"It was a cracking average but I've got a toughie against Dennis Priestley next and I'll have to average 110 or so to beat him."

Priestley won the tournament's opening game with a 6-2 demolition of Dutchman Co Stompe, but there was misery for three seeds who crashed out of the tournament on the opening day.

World Champion John Part, the 2006 champion, lost 6-4 to Mervyn King, while 2004 and 2005 finalist Wayne Mardle went down by the same scoreline to qualifier Adrian Gray.

Colin Lloyd suffered a first round exit in Las Vegas for a third successive year with a 6-5 defeat to Sam Rooney, a qualifier from Hampshire.

World number five Terry Jenkins, the 2007 runner-up, made a winning start to his challenge with a 6-4 win over Ireland’s Mick McGowan, and will meet Roland Scholten in round two, after the Dutchman came from 3-0 down to see off Barrie Bates.

American Darin Young defeated Martin Burchell 6-4 in the final game of the day, setting up a clash with King in the second round on Friday.

The first round concludes on Thursday, with Raymond van Barneveld beginning the defence of his title against Matt Clark.

PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic VII
First Round
Wednesday, July 2: Dennis Priestley 6-2 Co Stompe, Terry Jenkins 6-4 Mick McGowan, Wayne Mardle 4-6 Adrian Gray, John Part 4-6 Mervyn King, Phil Taylor 6-4 Kevin Painter, Colin Lloyd 5-6 Sam Rooney, Roland Scholten 6-4 Barrie Bates, Darin Young 6-4 Martin Burchell 

Day Two Qualifying
KEVIN PAINTER, Alan Tabern and Barrie Bates were among the final eight qualifiers for the 2008 PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic.

The trio all lost in the deciding games of Monday's first qualifier, but took their second chance on Tuesday to earn a place in the main event.

Painter (right) defeated Richie Blake 5-1 in his deciding game to win his place in the first round, with Tabern a 5-2 winner against former World Champion Steve Beaton.

Bates, meanwhile, overcame World Championship finalist Kirk Shepherd in his decider to put his name in the hat for the first round draw.

Ronnie Baxter hit a nine-darter during a win over Simon Whatley, but fell at the final hurdle when defeated 5-3 by Holland's Jelle Klaasen.

Irishman Mick McGowan and England's Matt Clark qualified for the second time in three years with their wins over Denis Ovens and Andy Jenkins respectively. Jenkins missed seven darts for a 5-3 win against Clark before losing out in a deciding leg.

Dennis Smith, who reached the quarter-finals last year, won a place in the tournament with a 5-2 win over Andy Beardmore, a hopeful from Stoke who reached the last 16 on Tuesday in his first attempt to qualify for a major PDC tournament.

Hampshire's Sam Rooney, who has starred at the Blue Square UK Open as a Pub Qualifier in the past two years, won the final place in the tournament with a 5-3 win over top American player Chris White.

White had knocked out two-time Desert Classic semi-finalist Wes Newton in the first round, while Greg Lewis knocked out Alex Roy.

Mark Dudbridge and Andy Smith were other big names to fall at the first hurdle, losing to David Fatum and Peter Wright respectively.

Reigning champion Raymond Van Barneveld will meet Matt Clark on Thursday, while Painter's reward is a match against world number one Phil Taylor on Wednesday.

PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic VII
Tuesday Qualifiers
Jelle Klaasen, Barrie Bates, Mick McGowan, Dennis Smith, Kevin Painter, Matt Clark, Sam Rooney, Alan Tabern

Day Two Qualifying selected results
Third Round (losers collect £100)
Ronnie Baxter 5-3 Paul Nicholson, Jelle Klaasen 5-1 Wayne Atwood, Barrie Bates 5-4 John Kuczynski, Kirk Shepherd 5-4 Steven Harbert, Denis Ovens 5-2 Brian Derbyshire, Mick McGowan 5-0 Scott Kirchner, Dennis Smith 5-2 Ben Burton, Andy Beardmore 5-1 Scott Cummings, Kevin Painter 5-1 Tony Eccles, Richie Blake 5-0 Eddie White, Andy Jenkins 5-1 Robbie Newland, Matt Clark 5-3 Dave Honey, Sam Rooney 5-4 David Fatum, Chris White 5-4 Kevin McDine, Alan Tabern 5-2 Michael van Gerwen, Steve Beaton 5-0 Dan Lauby

Fourth Round (losers collect £200, winners qualify for main tournament)
Jelle Klaasen 5-3 Ronnie Baxter, Barrie Bates 5-3 Kirk Shepherd, Mick McGowan 5-2 Denis Ovens, Dennis Smith 5-2 Andy Beardmore, Kevin Painter 5-1 Richie Blake, Matt Clark 5-4 Andy Jenkins, Sam Rooney 5-3 Chris White, Alan Tabern 5-2 Steve Beaton

Day One Qualifying
CO STOMPE earned his debut in a PDC major tournament as one of the first eight qualifiers for the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic VII.

The Dutchman (pictured) moved on to the PDC circuit in mid-June, and made an immediate impression to win a place in the first round of the Desert Classic, which begins on Wednesday.

He defeated Roger Carter 5-2 in his deciding game, was a 5-4 winner against Denis Ovens in the last 32 and had dropped only one leg in opening wins over John Murray and Simon Whatley.

American Carter hit a nine-darter in defeating Wes Newton in the last 32, only to fall at the final hurdle in his bid for a place in the main event.

Scotland's Robert Thornton, another recent mover onto the PDC circuit, was pushed all the way by Joe Slivan before taking a 5-4 win in his deciding game, after the American missed darts for victory in the eighth leg.

Mervyn King qualified for the main tournament for a second successive year, defeating Barrie Bates 5-3 in the decider.

Adrian Gray, who is likely to claim the final qualifying place for the Stan James World Matchplay, overcame Kevin Dowling 5-3 to win his place in the main tournament.

Canadian Shawn Brenneman will make his debut on the televised stage later in the week after he sneaked past Bristol's Steve Brown 5-4, and also defeated Ireland's Mick McGowan and Australian Paul Nicholson during the opening day of qualifiers.

Mark Walsh knocked out Kevin Painter 5-3 to win his place in the first round draw, having followed up his run to the semi-finals of Sunday's Las Vegas Players Championship by dropping only one leg in his three games to reach the decider.

Steve Maish celebrated his third wedding anniversary with a 5-3 win over Alan Tabern to qualify, while former World Championship qualifier Martin Burchell, from Crawley in West Sussex, produced a fine display to whitewash Kit Young and earn his first appearance on the Mandalay Bay stage.

Number one seed Ronnie Baxter was a first round casualty, going down 5-4 to Jelle Klaasen, who was defeated in a deciding leg by Dowling in the last 32.

They will join just under 200 players who return on Tuesday to play off for the final eight places in the Desert Classic.

PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic VII
Day One Qualifiers
Adrian Gray, Mervyn King, Co Stompe, Shawn Brenneman, Mark Walsh, Robert Thornton
Martin Burchell, Steve Maish

Selected results from Day One Qualifiers
Third Round (losers collect £100)
Kevin Dowling 5-4 Jelle Klaasen, Adrian Gray 5-2 Mark Tiller, Mervyn King 5-2 Brian Derbyshire, Barrie Bates 5-3 Michael van Gerwen, Co Stompe 5-4 Denis Ovens, Roger Carter 5-3 Wes Newton, Steve Brown 5-3 Steve Hine, Shawn Brenneman 5-2 Mick McGowan, Kevin Painter 5-4 Ken MacNeill, Mark Walsh 5-1 Ian Jopling, Robert Thornton 5-1 Stephen Panuncialman, Joe Slivan 5-3 John Quantock, Martin Burchell 5-4 Dennis Smith, Kit Young 5-2 Alan Reynolds, Alan Tabern 5-3 John Rutherford, Steve Maish 5-3 Alex Roy

Fourth Round (losers collect £200, winners advance into main competition)
Adrian Gray 5-3 Kevin Dowling, Mervyn King 5-3 Barrie Bates, Co Stompe 5-2 Roger Carter, Shawn Brenneman 5-4 Steve Brown, Mark Walsh 5-3 Kevin Painter, Robert Thornton 5-4 Joe Slivan, Martin Burchell 5-0 Kit Young, Steve Maish 5-3 Alan Tabern.

LIVE coverage of the 2008 PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic is on Sky Sports 1 daily from 7pm.

TO find out about broadcasting any of the PDC events, contact Karen Manzi, Matchroom Sport's Head of Television Sales, on +44 1869 340940.

FOR more information about the PDC and the Las Vegas Desert Classic, visit the official website www.planetdarts.tv

Date updated: July 7, 2008

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