Raymond van Barneveld staged a magnificent fightback from three sets down against Phil Taylor on Monday night to win a Ladbrokes.com World Championship final in Purfleet that lived up to all the hype.

The showdown between the two best players on the planet had been billed as the dream final and that was completely justified as the Dutchman prevailed 7-6 to deny Taylor a 14th world title.

But he needed a dramatic sudden death leg to do it, finally hitting double top with his sixth match dart to end Taylor's reign and collect the £100,000 first prize.

No darts match had ever been more eagerly anticipated, with Van Barneveld having been lured to the Professional Darts Corporation to provide a credible challenge to the sport's dominant force.

Taylor, full of respect for his rival, was clearly trying to gain a psychological edge as he walked out to play the Dutchman wearing an orange shirt and immediately seized the advantage in the match.

The 13-time champion had won the right to throw first when nearest the bullseye backstage but, as usual, gave the honour to his opponent in a bid to make an early breakthrough.

It worked, as Van Barneveld threw poorly to lose the opening leg and Taylor then hit a brilliant 164 checkout before pinning double 16 as he claimed the first set with ease.

The second went the same way, Taylor taking out 111, with 'Barney' sitting on 36 in the opener, then notching back-to-back 180s for the decisive break to move two sets clear without dropping a leg.

A scrappy first leg of set three was also won by the title holder against the throw and though Van Barneveld finally stopped the rot by hitting double top, it was not enough to prevent a 3-0 deficit.

But in set four there was finally something for fans of the four-time Lakeside world champion to cheer as he took it with a whitewash, polishing it off with a top-of-the-shop 170 checkout - the first time that had been achieved in the tournament.

It even brought a smile to Taylor's face, but that quickly disappeared as 'Barney' made it 3-2 with the help of a 129 finish which meant the final everyone had hoped for was still possible.

After the next short interval, Taylor re-emerged having changed into a more familiar white shirt and it brought him luck as he re-established his two-set cushion, 4-2 becoming 5-3.

Van Barneveld was far from finished though and, as Taylor's standard dipped slightly, the former postman found superb consistency on the treble 20 and levelled it up at 5-5.

Incredibly, the 39-year-old from The Hague fought back from two legs down to move ahead for the first time at 6-5, and a superb 121 checkout in the third leg of the next set gave him a break of throw that put him only one leg from a famous triumph.

But, as the tension built, Taylor displayed amazing fortitude to win the next two legs and take a thrilling final into a decider, with the champion dancing round the stage after pinning double 16.

With two clear legs needed for victory, the first 10 went with the throw - although Van Barneveld had four darts for the match - which meant a sudden-death shootout for the crown.

Nearest the bullseye threw first and, after Taylor hit the 25, Van Barneveld was right in the middle of the 50 ring to gain the advantage - and made full use of it.

He scored heavier and, after missing double top at his first attempt, returned to the board with Taylor well adrift and finally checked out to end one of the most exciting matches of all time.

"It's an unbelievable start to the new year for me," said Van Barneveld, who beat Taylor for the third time in a ranking event since his switch from the British Darts Organisation.

"In the first three sets I hardly won a leg and I just wanted to get one or two sets. This man (Taylor) was just not missing any doubles.

"I missed darts for the match and Phil was unstoppable in the legs when he threw first, even though I put lots of pressure on him."

Van Barneveld hit 21 maximum scores of 180 in the match and added: "That says a lot about what you need to do to defeat this man. Maybe I was the better player today.

"We are very close friends and I think when Phil stops playing a statue should be made of him because what he has done for the sport is unbelievable."

Taylor admitted it was probably the finest match he had contested in 18 years of World Championship action.

"Of all the finals I've played in, I would probably put this one as the best," said 'The Power'.

"In the last leg, when I kicked in with 180, I thought 'I've got you now, you little bugger' but he hit a 180 back. It was probably the best final leg I've ever played in.

"He has got loads of bottle and came back well. I was cruising at 3-0 up but fair play to him. There's nothing I could do. I tried my hardest but couldn't quite get over the last hurdle."