Wade took two of the next three, despite a 13-darter from van Gerwen, before a missed bulls-eye from the left-hander for a 167 finish allowed the Dutchman to land double 18 for a 12-8 advantage.

Although Wade took the next to punish missed doubles from van Gerwen, the top seed finished 72 to restore his lead and double 16 in successive legs to move 15-9 up.

Wade claimed two of the next three to stay in the hunt, but an eighth 180 of the game helped van Gerwen move 17-11 up, and despite double ten keeping the left-hander's hopes alive, another maximum helped him set up tops for a 14-darter to seal glory.

Wade's defeat saw him lose out for a fifth time in the final in Blackpool, and he conceded: "It's an honored to be in the final but I let myself down a little bit. From start to finish I struggled, and I wasn't good enough.

"I'm devastated, because I know I was good enough to win that final but I laid down and got steamrollered.

"I'm happy to be in the final and to mix it with the best players in the world again, but I'm not happy with how I played. It's almost as if someone cut my arm off, and the most simple shots became hard work.

"I expected Michael to come out all guns blazing and he didn't do it, but he did it when it mattered. He's a true champion and he did a job against me and won quite comfortably.

"I'm really happy with how it's gone this week and I can take positives from the other games this week, but hats off to Michael."

Van Gerwen's victory also means that he has moved, for the second time, beyond £1 million on the PDC Order of Merit after taking his prize money in ranking events for the past two years to £1,059,750.

As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

  Tungsten Dart Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinadart.com/
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2007 World Matchplay winner Wade remains on course to reach his sixth final at the Winter Gardens following his 16-11 win over gutsy Mensur Suljovic, who hit back from a seven-leg deficit to cause the left-hander some nervous moments.

After Wade took out double ten to break in the opening leg, Suljovic hit the same bed to level before finishing 101 to lead 2-1.

Wade, though, levelled before moving back ahead with a 13-darter, and after the Austrian landed two 180s in taking leg six, finishes of 108 and 48 moved the left-hander into a 5-3 lead.

Suljovic posted double 18 to hit back, but Wade landed 180s as he took the next two and finished 64, 86, 74 and 104 in a run which took him out to a 12-5 advantage.

Suljovic, though, responded in a similarly clinical fashion as he took six of the next seven legs - including a 116 finish - to pull back to 13-11, but the Austrian crucially missed one dart to cut the gap to one leg.

Wade stepped in to finish 74, once again in two darts, to take a 14-11 lead and then hit his favoured tops in the next two to book his semi-final place.

"I'm happy to have walked off stage a winner but I couldn't get going enough and it didn't quite come together for me," said Wade. "I couldn't find that extra gear and I thought I was going to, especially when I went 10-5 up.

"He didn't lay down or make it easy and I knew that would be the case. When I went 10-5 up I probably should have done the job done a little bit quicker, but I did enough.

"I was never really worried about losing the game but I eased up. I thought it was going to be really close but I'm happy because I won."

Wade has been defeated in four Blackpool finals by Taylor, but overcame his great rival in the World Grand Prix and The Masters last autumn and is in confident mood ahead of their semi-final.

"I know he will play extraordinary darts so if I beat him I've got to play brilliantly and I think at the moment I've got the game to beat him when he's playing well," Wade added.

"It hasn't come out and we can all talk, but I know I'm good enough to beat him at the moment when he's playing well, and I'm in a better place than I've ever been."

Taylor added: "James was brilliant tonight and he held his nerve and did the business. I'll be giving it everything and I'll fight him to the death.

"I think everybody's in for a treat because it's going to be two cracking semi-finals."

Saturday's other semi-final will see world number one Michael van Gerwen - last year's beaten finalist in Blackpool - take on number five seed Peter Wright, who is bidding to claim his first major title.

Van Gerwen remains the favourite to take the title with sponsors BetVictor, at 4/5, with Taylor now 7/3 to continue his incredible Winter Gardens success, with Wright 10/1 and Wade 11/1 to lift the trophy on Sunday night.

Taylor is a 2/9 favourite going into his semi-final with Wade (10/3), while van Gerwen is 1/6 ahead of his clash with Wright, who is 4/1 to reach the final.

As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

  Tungsten Dart Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinadart.com/
  Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
  Email:  sales@chinatungsten.com
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The Dutch star, 26, erased the memories of last year's tears in defeat to Phil Taylor with a magical display to defeat Wade, the 2007 Matchplay Tungsten Darts winner who was seeking his second Blackpool title.

Wade had ended Taylor's seven-year reign as World Matchplay champion in Saturday's semi-finals, but was unable to repeat the performance against the world number one as van Gerwen scooped the £100,000 first prize.

After sharing the first ten legs, a five-leg burst from van Gerwen - including checkouts of 127 and 144 - saw him pull clear to lead 10-6 and take a cushion which he would never relinquish as he charged to glory.

"This is fantastic, amazing for me and it's a wish come true," said an emotional van Gerwen afterwards. "It means a lot to me because after the World Championship this is the biggest ranking event.

"It's totally different to last year. Everybody could see how emotional I was after that game and it means a lot to me to win this trophy.

"I knew what I had to do but we both struggled a bit and couldn't get going for some reason, maybe the pressure of holding this title. James' scoring power wasn't there and he was hanging in there in the game with his finishing.

"He's a difficult player to play against but my scoring was loads better than James' and I wanted to take advantage of that. It doesn't matter how you win a final, to win a final feels great."

After celebrating in front of a capacity 2,000 fans in Blackpool, he added: "The crowd were fantastic and I'm really glad to have won this trophy in front of a crowd like this."

An edgy opening saw van Gerwen break throw immediately before Wade level with a 68 finish and then took out double six to lead 2-1.

Van Gerwen fired in a 180, the first of four in as many legs, as he took the fourth, but Wade punished missed doubles from the Dutchman to take a 4-2 cushion.

The tables were turned as Wade missed tops in the seventh leg to allow van Gerwen back in on double 16 before tops from the Dutchman level, and the next two were shared before a 107 finish put the 2007 champion 6-5 up.

Van Gerwen's response, though, was clinical as he took out 127 for a 12-darter to level, double eight and double 16 to move 8-6 up, a fabulous 144 finish and 80 on double ten to win five straight legs and open up a 10-6 lead in the blink of an eye.

As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

  Tungsten Dart Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinadart.com/
  Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
  Email:  sales@chinatungsten.com
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Taylor's bid to win an amazing eighth successive World Matchplay, and a 16th triumph in total in Blackpool, continued as he saw off Chisnall 16-8 with his most clinical display of this year's event so far.

Chisnall out-scored his rival with nine 180s to Taylor's six, but four key ton-plus checkouts helped the Stoke great pull clear in mid-game before he went on to seal the win.

Chisnall actually took the game's opening leg with a 13-darter against the throw - but it would prove to be the only time he led during the contest as Taylor levelled and then finished a 14-darter to move 2-1 up.

Chisnall levelled with another 13-darter, but Taylor found another gear to hit an 11-darter - where the players traded 180s - before breaking throw by taking out 130 for a 12-darter to lead 4-2.

Double nine gave Taylor the next before Chisnall traded 12-dart finishes with his rival, only for another 130 checkout to put the world number two 7-3 up.

The next two were shared before Taylor pulled clear with six straight legs, which saw him land a brace of 68 checkouts before finishing 161 and 100 to leave the St Helens man trailing 14-4.

Chisnall rallied to win four of the next five to keep his feint hopes alive, but Taylor was ruthless in sealing victory, scoring a 180 and a 177 in a 12-darter as double 16 secured his spot in the last four.

"I hit my finishes well tonight and I want to kick on now," said Taylor, who is now unbeaten in 38 games on the Winter Gardens stage since 2007.

"Dave makes you nervous and puts you under pressure from the very start. The only way to beat Dave is to try and match him when he hits the big scores, and he's a great player.

"I'm going up there to try my best in every game and it's not about winning a 16th title here or an eighth in a row, it's just about winning this tournament."

As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

  Tungsten Dart Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinadart.com/
  Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
  Email:  sales@chinatungsten.com
  Tungsten & Molybdenum Information Bank: http://i.chinatungsten.com
  Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com
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