Phil Taylor claimed the PartyPoker.net European Championship title with an 11-5 win over Adrian Lewis on Sunday night.

Taylor produced a majestic weekend of darts in Frankfurt, recording two of the top three highest ever televised averages at over 113 in reaching the final.

He then came from 2-0 down to see off former protégé Lewis in the final and claim the £50,000 title, surging clear by winning seven out of eight legs in mid-game.

"It's one of the hardest tournaments I've ever won and I'm very proud of it," said Taylor, who hit a record tournament average of 108.21.

"I love the feeling of winning and the competition.

"We've both worked very hard to get to the final. Adrian did brilliantly to get to the final and he's in the Grand Slam of Darts now, and I'm proud of him.

"Towards the end both of us tired but I had to try keep the pressure on Adrian and it tolled in the end."

Lewis took the first leg of the game on double top and then broke Taylor's throw to lead 2-0 with a 13-darter.

Two missed darts at double ten from Lewis in the next cost him a 3-0 lead as Taylor hit double ten to get off the mark.

He then landed 180s in the next three legs to hit the front, and took out 136 for a 4-2 cushion.

Lewis took the seventh leg in 14 darts, but there was little more he could do to halt Taylor's charge, with the Stoke legend taking the next three legs to move clear at 7-3.

Double top gave Lewis a fourth leg and hope of a comeback, which was swiftly ended by another three-leg burst from Taylor, which included an 11-darter and a 102 finish as he moved to the brink of victory.

Double five kept Lewis in the contest after three missed match darts from Taylor, who began the next with a 174 score and landed double 16 for a 13-darter.

Big-hearted Taylor dedicated his win to quadriplegic twins Gregor and Florian Keller, who had defeated him earlier in the week using blow-pipe darts and were presented with his trophy after the final.

Lewis' run to the final earned him £25,000 and also a place in the forthcoming PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts.

"Phil did a job on me and he fully deserved the win," said Lewis. "I missed some doubles and if I'd gone 3-0 up it might have been a different game.

"Reaching the final was a bit tiring but I really enjoyed the tournament and it's a great achievement when you look at all the players who were in the event."

Lewis had produced arguably his finest ever display on the televised stage in averaging 108.62 to defeat world number two Raymond van Barneveld 9-2 in the quarter-finals, and defeated Peter Manley 11-7 in the semis.

Taylor followed up a 113.92 average he hit against Mervyn King on Saturday with a 113.33 average in his 11-7 semi-final win over Robert Thornton, performances which were two of the top four in televised history and bettered only by his own 114.52 against Wes Newton in the Blue Square UK Open in May and Darryl Fitton's 113.91 in the 2007 International Darts League.

He also saw off Mark Walsh in the quarter-finals, winning six of eight legs to pull away from three-all to take victory.

Thornton continued his rapid ascent up the world rankings with a run to his first major semi-final since changing to the PDC circuit in May, overcoming Ronnie Baxter in the quarters and averaging 103 against Taylor in a game where he shared the lead at seven-all.

"I pushed the master and I'm very proud of that," said Thornton. "Phil raises the bar for us all and we have to live with that, but I'm doing my best to get there."

Manley also lifted himself back up to 12th in the PDC Order of Merit after reaching the semi-finals.