PHIL TAYLOR has insisted that Friday's William Hill World Darts Championship defeat to Raymond van Barneveld will not be his final Alexandra Palace appearance.
The 16-time World Champion will scale down his playing commitments in 2017 and is planning only to compete in televised ranking events which he qualifies for or is invited to compete in.
With his ranking on the main PDC Order of Merit set to secure qualification for the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix, Taylor will be set to compete in those events and invitational tournaments such as the Betway Premier League and World Series of Darts during 2017.
And despite the disappointment of his 5-3 quarter-final defeat to van Barneveld on Friday, the 56-year-old is determined to return to the World Championship stage in 12 months' time.
"I'm not quitting," said Taylor. "This has made me determined to work harder and improve and I will be back next year to give it another go.
"I'm disappointed of course because I know I can do better than that, but fair play to Raymond."
Although Taylor has dropped out of the world's top three during 2016, the sport's greatest ever player still won five tournaments, including the inaugural Unibet Champions League of Darts, a fourth successive Ladbrokes Sydney Darts Masters title and the Betway World Cup of Darts alongside Adrian Lewis for a fourth time in five years.