Tuesday 2 January 2018 08:31, UK
Phil Taylor fell one dart short of landing a sensational nine-dart finish in his final ever appearance at the World Darts Championship.
Taylor, appearing in his 21st World Championship final against debutant Rob Cross, almost added a final historic chapter to his astonishing career, but agonisingly wired double 12 for the perfect leg.
'The Power' has registered 11 televised nine-darters throughout his career but incredibly has never produced the feat on the World Championship stage.
This is the second time that double 12 has been missed for the nine-darter in this year's World Championship, after Paul Lim fell one dart short in his second-round clash against Gary Anderson, 28 years on from hitting the first-ever perfect leg at the World Championship.
However, Taylor incredibly went on to lose the leg. He spurned three more darts at a double and Cross ruthlessly dispatched a two-dart 83 combination to punish the 16-time world champion.
Taylor went on to lose 7-2 in his final appearance before retirement, after Cross produced a stunning display to become the first player since Raymond van Barneveld in 2007 to win the PDC world title on debut.
Click on the video above to see Taylor's near nine-dart finish and then watch masterful Taylor nail a 151 finish below...
The 2018 Premier League is the next major darting event on Sky Sports, running from February to May. Dublin's hugely popular 3Arena will open the 2018 season on Thursday, February 1 from 7pm on Sky Sports Action with the season concluding at the Play-Offs on May 17 at The O2 in London.
Keep up to date with the latest darts news, previews, reports, reaction and expert ananysis. Get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts- don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts
