Taylor suffers power failure

Darts has gone to great lengths over the past few years to shed its pint-and-a-pie-and- another-pie image. But the 10-times world champion Phil Taylor, defeated amazingly 7-6 by John Part in last night's PDC world final, may regret doing his bit for the cause. Having shed three stone in the last four months, Taylor chose this year's tournament to unveil a glamorous new look: a large hoop earring and bottle-blond highlights last seen in public during the glory days of Wham.

But while Taylor's study of early-80s chic went down a storm at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, it did not help his darts. Whispers grew throughout the week that his dramatic weight loss was having an adverse effect on his game. Even his greatest supporter, the commentator Sid Waddell, was convinced Taylor was suffering a "Power" cut, saying: "He's lost muscle weight below the navel and that has affected his balance.

He now often throws a quarter to half an inch below the 60 bed." Taylor disagreed vehemently - "My loss of form has been to do with the fact I've had a tough year" - but Waddell's fears were realised when Taylor missed too many big darts in a dramatic final. Taylor had been 7 to 1 on to beat Part but the Canadian quickly made those odds look ridiculous as he snatched the first leg with a 121 checkout, and roared into a 3-0 set lead.

Part was still in control at 4-1 when Taylor suddenly hit form, winning 11 straight legs on his way to a 5-4 lead. Part then hit back with pressure doubles to take a nip-and-tuck 10th set and break Taylor in the final leg of a pulsating 11th. At 6-5, with Part needing only to hold his darts to win the title, Taylor broke back to force a deciding set. However, when the crunch came, Taylor struggled to find his range and Part stayed calm to break and hold on for victory. "It was all about fighting but I just kept on going," said Part.

"But it's hard to feel like a champion when you're standing next to Phil Taylor."

Part's admiration was reciprocated as Taylor admitted to having been "beaten by the better player. I missed a few doubles but that's because John kept putting me under pressure. He's been the best player all week."

The love-in was a sporting end to a tournament previously filled with rancour. Several of the leading players bickered long and loud about the amount of media coverage Taylor had been getting - or, more to the point, the amount of media coverage the other 39 PDC contestants had not been getting.

The semi-finalist Kevin Painter complained: "If you're not Phil Taylor, you're no one. It's a farce that no one else gets a mention. There are 40 players here and some of them are very angry. I'm not just upset, I'm disgusted."