Part's other major results in 2006 were indifferent however, including Phil Taylor defeating Part 13–2 in the second round of the 2006 World Matchplay. The match was heavily hyped up beforehand with Part and Taylor having played many classic matches before and Part having beaten Taylor four times on television. However, their match at the 2006 World Matchplay was in complete contrast to their classic matches from the past, being a flat anti-climax throughout as Taylor played below average and Part played very poor throughout. Part also had another disappointing World Championship in 2007. This time he was eliminated tamely in the second round by Chris Mason. The defeat meant that Part had not reached the quarter-finals of the PDC World Championship since his epic world title victory in 2003, while van Barneveld went on to defeat Phil Taylor 7–6 in a similarly momentous final. But for the rest of 2007, Part returned to some of his best form. He reached three semi-finals of televised majors: US Open; the World Grand Prix, and the Las Vegas Desert Classic (though he could not defend his title in the latter). These consistent performances meant he entered the 2008 PDC World Championship as the 11th seed, though he was not considered one of the favourites for the event. Nevertheless, Part advanced steadily through the tournament, setting the tournament's highest average in the second round against Mensur Suljović. He then came through a tight quarter-final against the 2007 PDC Player of the Year and third seed James Wade, winning in a deciding set 5–4. In the semi-final he faced Kevin Painter, reminiscent of his 2003 triumph; Part once again emerged victorious, 6–2 this time, and found himself in his fourth world championship final.