GARY ANDERSON 16-11 MARK WALSH

GARY ANDERSON produced a remarkable comeback to defeat Mark Walsh 16-11 and progress to the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts final on Sunday afternoon.

The Scot looked set to suffer semi-final heartbreak at the Wolverhampton Civic for a third time in five years of the event when Walsh punished his misses to take a 10-6 advantage.

But Anderson, who hit 13 maximums in the match to equal the tournament record for 180s in a game, won ten of the game's final 11 legs to set up a tantalising clash with Taylor.

Anderson set the tone for the match in the game's opening leg as he began with a 180 but missed doubles to break as Walsh hit double ten to lead.

The Premier League Darts champion hit back with two more maximums in legs of 13 and 14 darts to move 2-1 up, only for Walsh to finish 80 in the fourth and then punish two misses from the Scot to hit double five to lead 3-2.

Further misses allowed Walsh in to move two legs clear on double five before he traded 180s with Anderson and then finished 102 - with his opponent waiting on 61 - to lead 5-2.

Anderson hit double four to win the eighth leg and then took out 130 to reduce the gap to 5-4 with a fine bullseye checkout as Walsh waited on 24.

Walsh regathered himself to win the tenth with a 95 finish after Anderson missed three darts at double ten, and then moved 7-4 up by hitting double ten.

Anderson landed another 180 and finished 62 to win his fifth leg, and traded maximums with Walsh as the Hertfordshire man took out double 18 for an eighth leg.

The pair both opened the next with 180s as Anderson hit tops to pull back to 8-6, but after posting his tenth maximum the Scot missed the same bed to reduce the gap to one leg as Walsh punished him to move three legs clear.

Further misses from Anderson allowed Walsh to lead 10-6 courtesy of double two, but the Scot's relentless scoring continued as he chipped away at the former UK Open finalist.

Misses at tops allowed Anderson in to win two successive legs before he hit a 75 finish to trail only 10-9 before slotting in another 180 to set up a 103 checkout as he levelled.

Walsh then burst his score on 65 in the 21st leg as Anderson finished 101 to lead for the first time since the opening exchanges.

Anderson could also have led 12-10 but missed five darts at a double before Walsh hit double 15 to level.

Anderson, though, broke with a 13-darter and then took out 85 and 70 in the next two legs as Walsh faltered, putting himself 14-11 up.

Double 16 moved Anderson a leg away from the win, and he sealed the comeback on double four.

"It was a struggle for me but I scraped home at the end," said Anderson. "Mark was hitting 180s at the right time and took his chances, and I began to wonder if it was going to be his day.

"Phil won't exactly have been shaking in his boots after seeing that but I'll have a couple of coffees and get back on the practice board to prepare for the final."

Walsh claims a career-best £25,000 in prize money in his best performance in a major since he reached the 2005 UK Open final.

"It's a disappointing but I'm proud to have shared the stage in the semi-finals with three brilliant players," said Walsh. "I was the dark horse but if I'd hit all my doubles it might have been a different story.

"Gary's a fantastic player and he turned it on at the end there. When he hits his finishes he's a very dangerous player and he deserved the victory.

"I'll take a lot of confidence from this week and it's been a great tournament for me. It's one of the best weeks of my life and I can't wait to come back in 2012."