Check out skysports.com's highs and lows of 2008 and share your thoughts on the darts year...
Taylor back on form in glorious 2008 for darting superstar
We must have led on Phil Taylor in a darts review year after year, but 2008 has definitely been the year of 'The Power' - with the rebirth of the greatest player ever.
The early part of the year saw Taylor being written off by many after failing to reach the PDC World Championship final for the first time, after he made a host of changes to his game including some controversial new arrows.
John Part was a surprise winner of the world title against an even more surprising finalist in qualifier Kirk Shepherd, who fell just short after a fairytale run at Alexandra Palace.
The knives were out for Taylor and despite the man from Stoke insisting he would come good once his new game took hold, three defeats in four Premier League games saw his darting obituary being written in some places.
That proved too early, though, and from an 8-0 thrashing of Wayne Mardle it all clicked into a top gear that only Taylor could reach.
The Premier league title was retained, and he added wins in Las Vegas, Blackpool and Dublin, with only James Wade's UK Open victory stopping a potential Taylor clean sweep of the major titles.
Wade won his event but could not reproduce that form elsewhere, while Raymond van Barneveld has been way off his best in 2008 as Taylor's two main challengers have struggled.
12 months can make a massive difference in sport, and this year closes in a mirror image of 12 months ago, with now many once again asking: 'who can stop the Power?'
Player of year - Phil Taylor
No apologies for stating the obvious, but it is hard to look anywhere else than in Phil Taylor's direction for Player of the Year - he's been back to his dominant best in 2008.
18 titles in all and every major bar the World Championship and UK Open means Taylor has been right back to his very best - despite being written off as past-it at the start of the year.
The new darts have clicked, the punishing averages are back and, as always, Taylor has been the fiercest of competitors, having seemingly enjoyed sticking it to the critics.
Match of the year - Mardle v Barney
Wayne Mardle is known as the ultimate entertainer on stage, and he proved that yet again with one of his famous comebacks against Raymond van Barneveld in Blackpool.
'Hawaii 501' was trailing 12-7 in the World Matchplay quarter-final and was seemingly on his way home, but as everyone knows he can turn it on in the blink of an eye.
Sure enough, Mardle hit back with eight legs on the spin to move in front, but there was still drama to come as Barney hit back to level at 15-15 and 16-16, before finally the man from Essex got his way, reaching the semis after a breathless finish.
Moment - Wade's perfect leg
With one major title under his belt, it cannot be described as a disappointing year for James Wade, but several performances at major tournaments have fallen below his now lofty standards.
The world number three was famed for his nine-dart finishes in minor tournaments, but he finally stepped up with a perfect leg in the Grand Slam of Darts in November - although it also grabbed him a piece of unwanted history.
Wade hit two maximums followed by treble 20, treble 19 and double 12 to send the Wolverhampton crowd mad, but he then proceeded to lose his match against Gary Anderson 10-8 - becoming the first player to lose after hitting a nine-darter in a major tournament.
Performance - Lewis hits Jackpot
Again not the best year for Adrian Lewis, but one standout display does get him a mention in our review of the year - and it was his breathtaking victory over Raymond van Barneveld at the European Championship.
'Jackpot' showed just what heights he can reach as he dismantled the multiple world champion in Frankfurt with a scorching 108 average in an 11-7 quarter-final victory.
Lewis managed checkouts of 127, 122 and 106 to punish Barney, before going on to the final where he lost against Taylor - but he showed in his quarters that he is capable of producing utter brilliance on the oche.
Shock - Spaniard wins Bull fight
A couple to mention here, starting with a huge upset at the European Championship when Spain's Carlos Rodriguez got the better of established star Terry Jenkins in Frankfurt.
Rodriguez has had a good year and he could be a name to look out for judging on his display against Jenkins - which put Spain well and truly on the darting map.
A second shock came in Dublin with Tony Eccles grabbing his biggest win on stage by knocking out defending champion James Wade in the first round of the World Grand Prix.
Wade was close to a regulation straight-sets victory but, after missing two shots at a double, Eccles, known as 'The Viper', struck back and came through with the win on his debut in the tournament.
Controversy - Player conduct
Unfortunately, the Darts Regulatory Authority had some work to do in 2008 with several players being banned because of their conduct both on and off stage.
As the sport looked to clamp down, Jason Clark was hit with a year-long ban in January, although nine months were suspended, after his conduct at the PDC Awards.
Andy Jenkins was also hit with the same 12-month ban, with nine months suspended, because of his conduct at the German Darts Championship.
Elsewhere, Kevin Painter and Adrian Lewis had an altercation during their quarter-final at the Holland Masters which saw the pair disqualified from the tournament and later handed bans of three and six months respectively.
