They then met in the final of the 2007 PDC World Championship at the Circus Tavern. The match has been described as the greatest game in the history of darts. Despite being up three sets to nil at one point, Taylor was defeated by van Barneveld seven sets to six in a sudden-death leg. Taylor responded to his loss by defeating van Barneveld on two occasions in the 2007 Premier League Darts and beating him in the final of the inaugural US Open. Van Barneveld later defeated Taylor in the quarter-finals of the UK Open by 11 legs to four. Taylor lost his top spot in the PDC World Rankings to van Barneveld in January 2008, but regained it in June.