Phil Taylor produced a brilliant display to thump Raymond van Barneveld 7-1 in the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship and take his 14th world title.

Taylor had not won the title for three years but the result was never in doubt as he racked up a three-dart average of 109.76 - breaking his own record for a major final.

The 48-year-old, who took advantage of some poor finishing from van Barneveld, has now won 12 of the 16 PDC championships.

A focused Taylor began impressively, taking the first leg against the throw, but it was van Barneveld who claimed the first maximum of the match in the second leg.

It was not enough for him to level, however, as Taylor coolly found double eight. 'The Power' lost the last time the pair met in the PDC showpiece in 2007 and he was certainly in no mood for a repeat, taking his first opportunity to seal the set.

Taylor made his first mistake in the opening leg of the second set when he missed two chances at double 14 but van Barneveld could not hit double eight and his rival did not let him off the hook again.

The Dutchman missed another chance to break his duck in the next leg and Taylor made it six in a row to take a two-set lead.

Van Barneveld was starting to look resigned to his fate. He did finally get on the scoreboard with a 110 checkout in the first leg of the third set, but Taylor was soon level.

The third leg was nip and tuck with the second seed eventually prevailing. Taylor forced a decider with a 126 checkout but it was van Barneveld who took the set after both players had missed straightforward chances.

Taylor, who was clearly looking to match van Barneveld's nine-dart finish earlier in the tournament, was back at his best in the fourth-set opener but his opponent checked out well to level.

The Stoke player's heavy scoring was proving impossible for van Barneveld to keep up with, although two 180s helped him force a deciding leg. Taylor gave the Dutchman a chance but he could not take it and the top seed moved 3-1 ahead.

By now it was a much closer contest, however, and van Barneveld took the initiative in set five by winning the opening two legs, but Taylor upped his game again to force another decider.

A dominant leg from Taylor saw him take the set against the darts, and it looked to be a defining point in the match when Taylor opened the next set with a maximum and went on to win the leg.

Van Barneveld showed his fighting spirit in his semi-final against James Wade and he hung in to level twice, but Taylor was not to be denied as he moved to within two sets of another title.

That quickly became one as van Barneveld again missed crucial chances. To his credit, the Dutchman forced a decider in the eighth set but it was merely delaying the inevitable as Taylor finished off the match in fittingly emphatic style.

Taylor admitted the night could not have gone any better. He said: "I feel absolutely fantastic, I really do. It was a great game and obviously that score was great for me.

"Nine darts would have been nice as well. It didn't come off this time, but next time. I feel very sorry for Raymond but one of us has got to lose and I'm glad it's not me."

Taylor looked back to his awesome best, and he revealed a heavy defeat in Newcastle provided the spur for him to rediscover top form.

"Peter Manley gave me a thrashing and I got back on the practice board and figured out what I was doing wrong," he added on Sky Sports. "He turned my career around for me."

Van Barneveld was generous in his praise for Taylor and admitted he had no answers to the maestro's brilliance.

The Dutchman said: "I played a computer. He's absolutely brilliant. All my congratulations to Phil. Practising 10 hours a day is not enough. But I'll be back."