Top five World Championship finals

Raymond van Barneveld, Phil Taylor (Lawrence Lustig, PDC)

We continue the countdown to the 2019/2020 William Hill World Championship by looking back at five of the best finals.

5. Phil Taylor 7-6 Kevin Painter (2004)

Phil Taylor (PDC)

This classic between Phil Taylor and Kevin Painter was the first PDC World Championship final to go to a sudden-death leg.

At 4-1 up, Painter looked to be on course for a huge upset and a first world title.

But Taylor, whose eight-year winning streak was ended by John Part the previous year, fought back and held his nerve in the deciding leg to claim his 11th world title.

4. Adrian Lewis 7-5 Gary Anderson (2011)

Adrian Lewis (Lawrence Lustig, PDC)

Adrian Lewis remains the only player to have landed a nine-dart finish in a PDC World Championship Final after his stunning effort in the third leg of his 2011 triumph over Gary Anderson.

Then aged just 25, Lewis came of age at the 2011 World Championship and shared a memorable opening set with Anderson which set the tone for a thrilling final.

The Scot trailed 5-3 but dug in to stick with a rampant Lewis, reducing the deficit to 6-5 to set up a grand stand finish but Lewis was not to be stopped as he lifted his first world title in style.

3. Gary Anderson 7-6 Phil Taylor (2015)

Gary Anderson lifts 2016 World Championship title (PDC)

Four years on from his heartbreaking loss to Lewis, Anderson claimed his first world title, coming through a thriller to defeat Taylor.

A dramatic final saw Anderson recover from all three darts falling out of the treble 20 bed in one visit at 4-4, while Taylor missed a dart at double for what would have been his first World Championship nine-dart finish.

Despite missing 55 doubles in the contest, Taylor never gave up in his pursuit of a 17th world title, taking the match all the way to a deciding set but Anderson came strong in the deciding set to become the first Scottish winner of the title.

2. John Part 7-6 Phil Taylor (2003)

John Part celebrates defeating Phil Taylor in 2003 World Championship Final (PDC)

Some 12 years earlier, the first ever deciding set took place in a PDC World Championship final between John Part and Taylor.

Underdog Part raced out of the traps into a 4-1 lead, before Taylor found his form, winning 11 straight legs on his way to a 5-4 lead only for Part to battle back to 6-6.

With Taylor struggling to find his range in the decider, Part stayed calm to fire his way to a first PDC world title and in doing so ended Taylor's sensational eight-year winning streak.

1. Raymond van Barneveld 7-6 Phil Taylor (2007)

Raymond van Barneveld, Phil Taylor (Lawrence Lustig, PDC)

The 2007 World Championship Final between Van Barneveld and Taylor will live long in the memory as one of the greatest darts matches ever seen.

A four-time Lakeside champion, Van Barneveld came to the PDC with a big reputation and soon found himself doing battle with then 13-time world champion Taylor on the biggest stage of all.

A truly gripping encounter in the cauldron-like atmosphere of the Circus Tavern saw Van Barneveld trail Taylor 3-0 in the early stages, before an incredible comeback from the Dutchman saw him level it up at 5-5 and then took a 6-5 lead.

In typical Taylor style, the Stoke legend made sure the thrilling final would go all the way, with Van Barneveld winning a crucial bull-up to throw first in the deciding leg.

The pair shared maximums and, after Taylor failed to take out a 148 checkout, Van Barneveld hit double 20 to win one of the greatest matches in televised history and become PDC World Champion for the first time.