Taylor denied 17th world title by dominant Cross

Darts: World No 6 produces stunning display to win 7-2

Former electrician Rob Cross turned off The Power for the final time as he denied the retiring Phil Taylor a 17th world title with a stunning 7-2 victory at Alexandra Palace last night.

The 57-year-old had aspirations of ending his illustrious career in fairytale fashion but would not have envisaged the kind of performance Cross was to produce in his maiden William Hill World Championship final.

Cross, without a tour card this time last year, averaged a remarkable 107.67, hit 11 maximums and had a checkout percentage of 60 to end his first year as a professional on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit in emphatic style.

The world No 6 raced into a 3-0 set lead and, after Taylor was denied a first World Championship nine-darter by the width of the double-12 wire, continued his demolition job to scoop a cheque of £400,000.

Taylor, who appeared to make an offensive gesture to the crowd while walking off stage during an interval, still averaged 102.26 yet had no answer to Cross’ heavy scoring and prolific finishing.

The defeat brought the curtain down on a glittering career which saw Taylor put darts on the sporting map with his domination, winning more than £7 million in prize money and more than 200 career titles.

The 27-year-old Cross showed no signs of nerves on the big stage in taking the first three sets including two superb checkouts of 167 and 151 to leave Taylor shell-shocked.

The veteran, who won his first world title in 1990, briefly rallied with a 151 finish, but, after just missing the ninedarter, Cross pulled away to finish the match with two treble 18s and double 16.