Darts: Taylor sets up Wade showdown

Taylor saw off Ronnie Baxter 17-10 at the Winter Gardens, but Wade was pushed all the way by Terry Jenkins before securing a 17-15 success.

Taylor started like a train and swept into an 8-1 lead in his semi-final clash.

But Baxter showed plenty of character to win six legs in a row and give renewed hope to his supporters.

However, 'The Power' used all of his experience to see off the challenge and pulled clear once again before sealing the match with a 118 checkout.

Earlier, Wade had made the final for the fifth time in seven years after a thrilling victory over a tenacious Jenkins.

'The Bull', conquerer of world champion Adrian Lewis in the last eight, got off to a bright start as he punished several missed doubles from Wade to open up a 4-1 lead.

But the left-hander started to back up his high scoring with better finishing as he won eight of the next 10 legs, nailing a superb 164 checkout as well as further finishes of 103, 127 and 107.

However, Jenkins roared back to take the next five legs before Wade responded with his fifth ton-plus checkout, finishing 130 on double five.

Wade levelled at 11-11 and thrilled the Winter Gardens crowd again with a 144 checkout before a topsy-turvy encounter took another twist when Jenkins took out 98 to level at 13-13.

Wade pulled two legs clear again only for Jenkins to take the next two , but The Bull missed six darts at a double in a pivotal 31st leg and Wade stepped in to snatch the leg on double top.

And the 2007 champion opened the next with a 180 and held his nerve to seal a hard-fought victory on double six.