Phil Taylor threw a 167 checkout to win a dramatic online charity match against Fallon Sherrock - but only after surviving a nine-darter attempt in the deciding leg.
The Queen of the Palace, who averaged 121.61 in a soft-tip showdown that raised a whopping £16,200 for the NHS charity Heroes, looked set to pull of a famous win after back-to-back 180s but she couldn't take out the 141 and was made to pay by the Power.
It was the second time Sherrock came close to the nine-darter after nailing seven perfect darts in the 11th leg only to miss treble 19, but despite losing that one too, she did keep her cool to take the contest all the way.
Both players hit seven maximums apiece which boosted the NHS's battle against the Covid-19 crisis to the tune of £14,000 while a further £2,200 was raised by virtue of their clinical first-attempt doubles on the electronic Target Nexus boards.
This was Taylor's third charity match in conjunction with Target Darts and Paddy Power, having helped raise £15,000 for the NHS during a 7-6 defeat to old foe Raymond van Barneveld in April before bouncing back with a 7-5 victory over Mikuru Suzuki 7-5 last Thursday, which contributed £6,800 to Heroes and £4,400 to the Japanese star's chosen charity Peace Winds.
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The 16-time world champion, who has been entertaining fans with a high standard of play in the Modus Live League events during lockdown, managed a superb average of 116.68 himself although it must be said that the soft tip boards have slightly bigger targets and the outer bullseye can be finished on due to also being worth 50 points.
As well as his last leg heroics, Taylor earlier had to fig fought back from 5-3 down, with the Milton Keynes-based star missing two darts at a double to go 6-4 up and just one away from the victory.
Sherrock's highest finish of stunning 155 in the second leg was applauded by Taylor in his living room in Stoke-on-Trent while another from 110 also moved her 3-1 clear as she showcased the kind of finishing that helped her beat Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljovic at the Alexandra Palace in December as well as earning a draw with Glen Durrant in the Premier League.
In the end her efforts weren't quite enough but she's sure to get more attempts to dethrone the King of the Oche if and when they next meet in the Modus leagues like they have on a couple of occasions in the past few weeks, with Taylor winning both 5-3 and 5-4.
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