Taylor was in scintillating form

The 44-year-old, who produced his third televised nine-darter in the semi-final against Roland Scholten, found Walsh in a gutsy mood during the first 11 legs.

Walsh was 6-5 behind and in sight of a famous scalp, but Taylor went on to win seven out of the next nine legs for victory at Bolton's Reebok Stadium.

Earlier, Taylor beat John Part, Chris Mason and Scholten to reach the final.

Taylor came up with his magical nine-dart finish in the sixth leg against the defending champion, which included seven treble 20s, a treble 19 and a double 12.

He first achieved the feat at the Stan James World Matchplay in 2002 and followed that at last year's UK Open.