On this day in... 2011: Vincent van der Voort wins PDC title with victory over Phil Taylor in final

In this edition of 'On this day in...', Dartsnews looks back at one of the greatest successes of Vincent van der Voort's career. This one took place on May 15, 2011.

It is a day Van der Voort thinks back on with great pleasure. His favourite football club Ajax won the Eredivisie on that day, but he also won his fourth PDC title. Van der Voort won a Players Championship tournament in Austria, where he also won a Euro Tour tournament three years later. The Dutchman started the tournament with a difficult 6-4 victory over Martin Marti, followed by a resounding 6-1 triumph against Dave Chisnall. Next, Fast Vinnie won over Brian Woods (6-4), Paul Nicholson (6-2), Andy Smith (6-5) and Mark Hylton (6-4) for a spot in the final. In it he faced none other than Phil Taylor.

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Van der Voort shot out to a 3-0 lead in the final before Taylor came back to 3-3 thanks to a 151 finish. The Power missed a break opportunity in the seventh leg, as Van der Voort held for 4-3. The next three legs also went with the darts, requiring a deciding leg to determine a winner. Taylor threw a 180 in his first visit, but it was Van der Voort who was first to throw for the match. The Dutchman was on point with his third matchdart via double 10 to ensure a fine triumph against the most successful dart player of all time.

Van der Voort eventually managed to take a total of five PDC ranking titles to his name. He previously won two Players Championship tournaments in 2010, while 'Fast Vinnie' also won a UK Open Qualifier in 2011. However, his biggest success followed in 2014, when Van der Voort took the Austrian Darts Open title.

Ten years later, Van der Voort is fighting to keep his PDC Tour Card. After failing to achieve good results and missing the last World Darts Championship, 'The Dutch Destroyer' has dropped significantly in the world rankings. Van der Voort must be in the top-64 of the PDC Order of Merit after this season to still have a Tour Card next season.

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