Phil Taylor paid a glowing tribute to his conqueror Raymond van Barneveld after losing a sudden-death shootout in a dramatic Ladbrokes.com World Championship final.

'The Power' relinquished a three-set lead at Purfleet's Circus Tavern as van Barneveld held his nerve at the end of a thrilling duel to claim a fifth world title and the £100,000 first prize.

The match had been hyped up like no other in darts history and fully justified its billing, going all the way to the 11th leg of the final set before van Barneveld hit the decisive double top.

It was the Dutchman's sixth match dart as the tension clearly got to both protagonists, but 13-time world champion Taylor commended his opponent for the way he had recovered from being 3-0 down.

"Raymond has loads of bottle and came back well," said the Stoke legend, for whom this was only the fifth defeat in 18 appearances at a World Championship.

"I was cruising at 3-0 up but fair play to him. There's nothing I could do. I tried my hardest but I couldn't quite get over the last hurdle.

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

"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."

Van Barneveld beat Taylor for the third time in a ranking event since his switch from the British Darts Organisation.

The 39-year-old former postman from The Hague was lured to the Professional Darts Corporation in February to test himself against the world's best player, who had been without a credible challenger to his dominance for so long.

But such has been the impact van Barneveld has made that he now holds legitimate claims to have usurped Taylor - who is seven years his senior - from his status as being the number one force.

"It's an unbelievable start to the new year for me," said van Barneveld, who had won 4-3 after also being 3-0 down in his second-round match against official world number one Colin Lloyd.

"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 this time.

"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."