The 1 January 2007 PDC World Championship final should have been over fast. Phil Taylor raced out to a 3–0 lead, riding the momentum of his three-time reigning title. Instead, his opponent Raymond van Barneveld clawed the whole way back and won it in a decider, 7–6. Fans and media still call it the greatest final in darts history.
The start: Taylor 3-0 in complete control
At the outset, defending champion Taylor looked every bit the three-time world champion, winning three sets in a row for what looked like a total blowout. Van Barneveld was in his very first year with the PDC after switching over from his old organisation (the BDO), and most people didn't expect him to turn it around from there.
How the score got levelled
From there, van Barneveld clawed a set back at a time. The match went back and forth, the tension in the arena kept climbing, and the score eventually reached 6–6, meaning the whole match came down to the very last set, and even the very last leg.
The deciding leg: 180 for 180, down to double 20
In the final leg before it reached 7–6, Taylor opened with a 180, and van Barneveld answered right back with one of his own, pulling the tension to its absolute peak. In the end, Taylor couldn't convert the checkout chance in front of him, and van Barneveld seized his moment, finishing on double 20 (tops) for the killing blow, taking his fifth world title overall, and his first-ever PDC World Championship.
Why this match is called the greatest ever
The win ended Taylor's three-year reign as champion. Van Barneveld also became the first player ever to reach both a BDO and a PDC World Championship final in back-to-back years: he lost the 2006 BDO final to Jelle Klaasen, then switched to the PDC and won this final the very next year. The match is still regularly named on lists of "the greatest darts final ever played."
Coming back from 3–0 down isn't luck: it's refusing to give up a single leg. Want to know how pros reset when things aren't going their way? See how darts pros adjust; want to understand the scoring logic behind a match like this? See our PPD/MPR training guide. AI DARTS boards run self-service 24 hours, menu here.