getting beaten 6–0, as the world's greatest player went on to win his eighth consecutive world championship and his tenth world championship in all. However, Part gave Taylor a serious test in the 2002 World Matchplay final. Part, in superb form and with great belief, matched Taylor throughout the match. In a first to 18 legs contest, Part led 16–15. But Taylor stunned the Canadian by winning three legs in a row to emerge an 18–16 winner in what is now regarded as a classic final. Part's wait for a first PDC major went on while Taylor's dominance continued. In October 2002, Part again reached a major final at the 2002 World Grand Prix, but the result was a similar story. This time Taylor comfortably defeated Part 7–3 in sets, although Part recovered from a slow start and a 1–5 deficit to give Taylor a challenge in the last 4 sets. Taylor and Part were now considered the two best players in the world, but there were serious doubts over whether Part could beat 'The Power' having already suffered five televised defeats, including two whitewashes in the World Championship and the painfully close loss in the 2002 World Matchplay. Going into the 2003 PDC World Championship, Taylor was the heavy favourite. However, Taylor showed more vulnerabilities during the tournament than at the previous few world championships, with both Wayne Mardle and Dennis Smith managing to win 3 sets off of Taylor. Taylor also comfortably won an anticlimactic grudge match in the semi-final against Alan Warriner by 6–1. Part, as the number two seed, reached the final as well, with a 5–3 win over Jamie Harvey in the second round, with Part hitting a vital 161 checkout when it was 3–3 in sets and 2–2 in legs with Harvey waiting on 40. Part then crushed Chris Mason 5–0 in the quarter-finals, though Part's semi-final was considerably more difficult. In a testing game, Part defeated Essex-born Kevin Painter 6–4 in a match not unlike his 2001 semi-final with Rod Harrington. Prior to the final, the odds seemed against Part. He had lost 13 straight world championship sets to Taylor in the two years prior; and had lost all five of his televised matches against Taylor. Part had just come through a tiring semi-final against Painter, while Taylor had cruised through against Warriner. Finally, Taylor had won eight consecutive world championships and was