Phil Taylor beat James Wade 6-4 to take victory in the Virgin Atlantic South African Masters, while Mervyn King hit a nine-darter in the tournament.

Taylor claimed victory at the Emperors Palace Casino for a third successive year with a fine display in Johannesburg.

He defeated South African Christo Meiring 4-1 and then saw off John Part 5-2 to reach the final, before battling from behind to see off Wade.

Wade led 2-1 and had chances to extend that lead, only for Taylor to level and edge 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4 up - despite a 116 checkout from Wade.

He then sealed victory on double top, earning a South African treble to extend his unbeaten record in the country and warm up in style for the forthcoming Skybet World Grand Prix.

"I'm delighted to have won the South African Masters again," said Taylor. "I love coming out here and playing in South Africa and it's a good tournament.

"The South African players were very good and each year they are getting better and better. They are more confident and have been on stage a few times, but they need more competition against the big boys.

"Once they get that, they will become more competitive and start to challenge us."

Wade defied the pain of a cut finger, injured on a saw at home, to reach the final, defeating former South African number on Wynand Havenga 4-1 in the last eight before making a miracle comeback against King in the semis.

King led 3-1 before hitting a nine-darter to move a leg away from victory - only to fail to close out the win as Wade took the next four legs to progress.

"My finger was uncomfortable and I thought about it a bit so I'm pleased to have got through to the final," said Wade.

"I played reasonably well overall and am happy. I probably got away with it in the semi-final because Mervyn should have beaten me, but he let me back in after the nine-darter."

There was consolation for King, who receives a £10,000 bonus from the Emperors Palace Casino for the nine-darter, which is the first live televised perfect leg hit outside Europe.

"I'm obviously delighted to have hit the nine-darter but gutted to have lost the match," said King. "It's a great achievement but I couldn't finish James off."

Part defeated 23-year-old South African Open runner-up Devon Petersen 4-1 in the quarter-finals, before losing to Taylor in the semis in a repeat of the 2008 final.