In the 1998–99 season, Yagudin won eleven out of the thirteen competitions in which he participated, which included the defeat of Kurt Browning in the World Professional Championships, and winning the Grand Prix Final. At the 2000 European Championships, he finished ahead of both Plushenko and former Olympic champion Alexei Urmanov to win his second continental title. He successfully defended his world title against Plushenko at the 2000 World Championships in Nice, France.