The 2018 PDC World Darts Championship was Taylor's 29th world championship appearance, surpassing the record he held jointly with John Lowe. He had previously announced that he would retire after the tournament. He entered the tournament ranked 6th in the PDC Order of Merit. Wins over Chris Dobey, Justin Pipe, Keegan Brown, Gary Anderson and Jamie Lewis took him to his 21st world final, extending his own record. However, he was beaten 7–2 in the final by Rob Cross, who was making his first appearance in the tournament. During the match, Taylor also missed a double for a nine-dart finish, which would have been his first in a world championship match. Taylor said afterwards: "I tried my best but he was like me 25 years ago, he was relentless and didn't stop putting me under pressure." He added: "It was like an old man against a young man, it was a mis-match. That's it for me because I haven't got the energy or interest to beat Michael van Gerwen or him (Cross)."