Date of birth: 13.08.60
Home town: Stoke-on-Trent
Nickname: The Power

As recently as November, people were preparing darting obituaries for the greatest player the game has ever known.

It is fair to say 2007 has not been not a vintage year for Taylor; indeed he heads into the World Championship holding none of the five major televised trophies.

Yet he did still pick up two of the biggest prizes of the year as he won the Holsten Premier League (once again) and the inaugural code-unifying Grand Slam of Darts.

The latter came between two Players' Championship wins in Holland and victory in the German Darts Championship as he finished the year in style.

A 13-time world champion, Taylor has dominated this PDC event since its inception, winning it 11 of the 14 times it has been staged to add to the two titles he had claimed before the game split into its two rival factions in 1992.

Raymond van Barneveld, of course, beat him in a classic 2007 final at the Circus Tavern and you can be sure revenge is fuelling The Power's attempts this year.