Phil Taylor has hit out at the rival players he claims are jealous of the rewards yielded by his astonishing success.

'The Power' was speaking after his Ladbrokes.com World Championship third-round match against Chris Mason, which he won 4-0, spilled into open hostility after the duo exchanged angry words on stage.

The needle had started when Mason was quoted in a national newspaper expressing his dislike for Taylor and accusing the 13-time world champion of being arrogant and materialistic.

In his post-match interview, Taylor claimed his opponent had sworn at him at the end of the match - describing what was said as "filth" - and threatened to walk away from the sport because he did not want to put up with such behaviour.

The 46-year-old was due to be back in action on Friday though, bidding for a semi-final place against qualifier Darren Webster, and will probably be even more fired up than usual due to the events of the last 24 hours.

As he marched on towards world title number 14, Taylor, who recently splashed out £100,000 on a new Bentley, claimed he has to endure jibes from other players because they envy the spoils of his success.

"I've had it for years off the players, it's silly," said Taylor.

"They don't work hard enough and they don't know how to win tournaments. They are blaming me for their mistakes. It's not my fault. I'm just a working-class man who has done well for myself.

"You've got to put the effort in and make sacrifices. I'm not saying they haven't made sacrifices but they don't know what they are doing wrong.

"This is what I do for a living, what I support my family with. The other players don't realise what to do - they haven't a clue.

"If I want to buy myself a new car I'll buy one, and not because it upsets him (Mason)."

The victory against Mason edged Taylor closer to a potential final against his new arch-rival Raymond van Barneveld - someone for whom he has a great deal of respect.

"Raymond van Barneveld is a total gentleman," said Taylor. "He's a winner, he's professional and he gets on with his job.

"He's the one you've got to worry about, not people like him (Mason), who doesn't put enough of anything in to justify winning a world championship."

But first he must overcome Webster, a surprise package who has not had to beat anyone ranked in the world's top 20 to reach the quarter-finals.

'The Sniper' would be causing one of the biggest shocks of all time if he dethroned the champion, but Taylor is certainly not taking him lightly.

"Darren Webster has been practising with me at a guest house in Blackpool and the lad does more 10-dart legs than anyone," said the Stoke legend.

"He's a brilliant player and I'm not at all surprised he is in the quarter-finals."