For the fifth successive year Phil Taylor stamped his dominance on the World Matchplay tournament in Blackpool. A 'reinspired' Taylor seemed to have his hunger back and no one was able to give him a close game during the week long tournament.

However Taylor wasn't the only player to make headlines. Bristolian Mark Dudbridge had a world class opponent every step of the way through to his final against Taylor.

It was a great week and surely one of the best World Matchplay tournaments to date...

ROUND ONE

The opening match of the tournament was a good one as veteran Bob Anderson took on the young and up and coming Liverpudlian Robbie Green. Anderson used all his experience to win 10-7 but Green made an accomplished debut on television.

Dennis Smith against Keith Deller was a little more straightforward and after Deller had the early lead of 3-2, Smith took control and won 10-4. Spotted in the crowd during this match were top BDO players Tony O'Shea and Darryl Fitton.

I'm sure Colin Monk would rather forget his 10-0 drubbing at the hands of John Part but it has to be said that it was the worst performance I've ever seen in a televised professional darts match. Monk was literally reeling around the stage and his preparation for the match has to be seriously questioned.

Monday afternoon and despite missing some early doubles Steve Beaton had no real trouble despatching Paul Williams 10-7 who admittedly improved after a poor start.

Three times world champion John Lowe barely threw a wayward dart in the early stages of his match against Andy Jenkins. At 4-1, Lowe was averaging 97.62 to Jenkins' 93.0. However the tide turned particularly after Jenkins checked out 116 to go into the lead 6-5. The match ended 10-6 with Jenkins hopes high. Indeed, according to commentator Stuart Pyke, Jenkins had been promised free beer for a year by the landlord of his local should he reach his first major final.

Colin Lloyd's 'Jaws' image has really taken off. Hilariously with each walk on he was preceded by a man dressed as a shark with a person's legs hanging out of its mouth! It could have been Dave Smith, who though of obvious talent was too inconsistent in his performance and Lloyd never looked troubled as he took the match 10-6.

Jamie Harvey is a great showman and his walk-ons are something else. The whole crowd was fired up and singing along with 'Bravedart'. His match against Dave Askew started poorly but Harvey soon took control and his early 4-1 lead was enough of a cushion to lead him to victory 10-7.

Monday evening's session began with arguably the tie of the first round - Wayne Mardle against Mark Dudbridge. The first five legs went with throw before Dudbridge crucially broke through and went ahead 4-2. From there on there was only one winner and by 8-2, Dudbridge was averaging 95.1 to Mardle's 92.3. 10-5 to 'Flash' and a spectacular 132 (T20, T20, DBL 6) to win the game. Dudbridge was keen not to overplay the victory and said afterwards, "Its only one match and I hope I can learn from it."

Roland Scholten against Richie Burnett started poorly and at 4-3 to the Dutchman all legs had gone with throw. Scholten took the next two and then went on to win the match 10-7.

Phil Taylor's first round match was against "the mouth from the south" Alex Roy. Really it was no contest and Taylor stormed through to a 10-1 win averaging 109.52. (At 8-0 Taylor's average was 111.0!). Complete with a new 'powercut' hairdo, Taylor said afterwards, "Darts is buzzing at the moment. Money is not my motivation - it's the winning."

Peter Manley's match against Dave Jowett was only going one way and 'One Dart' took the match 10-4 with a solid if unexceptional performance.

Onto Tuesday afternoon and Denis Ovens against Mark Walsh was a quality game. Ovens though played the best and won 10-5 with an impressive 136 finish for the match.

Ronnie Baxter against Peter Evison was one way traffic and a second whitewash as 'The Rocket' won 10-0. Baxter confirmed afterwards that his back problem had cleared up and that he'd got his old style back.

Dennis Priestley took out Alan Caves 10-5 and although scoring well Caves seem to rush some crucial doubles. Alan Warriner was then on stage and he had little trouble disposing of a disappointing Simon Whatley 10-3.

Tuesday evening saw perhaps the best match (and the last) of round one. Kevin Painter was firmly tested by Lionel Sams who slipped behind 6-4 after an early lead. At 7-4 many would have fancied 'The Artist' to wrap things up but Sams staged a brilliant comeback to tie at 7-7. 'The Lion' once again tied the match at 9-9 with a 121 checkout and at 10-10 it was tiebreak time. Painter won the two crucial legs and some heated words were exchanged by the players. Painter later said that "Some things happened that shouldn't happen on an Oche." However from an independent's point of view it seems that Painter's perhaps overly harsh words distracted Sams and it's questionable just who put who off.

ROUND TWO

Bob Anderson put up the fight of his life against John Part and he almost won. A slowish start by both players, each averaging only 82 by 5-5. Anderson took the initiative to lead 8-6 before Part fought back to level the game and then take the next three legs. Anderson came back with the next three legs and a 98 checkout to tie the match again at 11-11. Anderson took the next leg and had darts for the match in the 24th leg before Part once again levelled the game. Anderson again went ahead 13-12 to Sid Waddell's cries of "Bobby baby - you are amazing!", with John Gwynne echoing the praise and adding "...and at 57 years of age." Part again levelled the game and then Anderson took the 29th leg. Then Part dug in and took three crucial legs to win 17-15. An amazing start to the second round. Part said afterwards that it was indeed "a hard day at the office."

Phil Taylor against Steve Beaton was a bit of a comedown after that with 'The Power' dominant but without much fightback from Beaton. Taylor shot off to a 9-3 lead before wrapping the match up 11-4 with an average of around 97.0. Highlight of the game was an 11 darter from Taylor to take the 9th leg.

Wednesday afternoon's session on paper didn't look that exciting but the six players that turned up to do battle produced one of the most entertaining afternoon sessions in Matchplay history. First up were Dennis Smith and Andy Jenkins. Things started as expected with Jenkins cruising to a 10-5 lead. 'Smiffy' had a surge though and brought the match back to within a leg at 11-12. Jenkins missed doubles for the match and Smith tied the game 12-12. Another tiebreak and Jenkins missed a further dart for the match 13-13. Jenkins missed two more for the match in the 28th leg and Smith tied it up again 14-14! Finally Jenkins capitalised and took the match 17-15 in a game which incredibly Smith never led.

Colin Lloyd meant business and kicked off his match against Denis Ovens with a 158 checkout. He shot to a 7-1 lead before Ovens made a bit of a comeback bringing the game to 7-4 with a 14 dart leg. At 10-4 Lloyd was averaging 90.48 to Ovens 85.97 and he went further in front before Ovens hit a 170 highest checkout to make it 12-6. A little too late though and Lloyd won 13-7.

No one would have fancied Jamie Harvey against Roland Scholten but again it didn't stop the Blackpool crowd giving him a fantastic reception. At 7-3 to Scholten it seemed like it was going to be reasonably straightforward for the Dutchman. However Harvey hung in there at came back to only 7-10 behind. The Scotsman seemed inspired and took two of the next three legs to now be down only 11-9. Was he running out of time though, as Scholten only needed two more for the match? At 12-10 and potentially the last leg Scholten fired in a 180 only for Harvey to reply with a maximum of his own and he took the leg and the next to make it 12-12 and another tiebreak. Scholten continually held his throw in the tiebreak session and Harvey stayed in the game to 16-16 with an amazing series of checkouts. 'Bravedart' earned his nickname by finishing legs with 121, 104, 119 and 97 checkouts. In the 33rd leg Harvey took the lead for the first time breaking Scholten's throw. It was too much for Scholten and Harvey held his darts to win 18-16. Sid Waddell said that he had never seen a comeback like it during his commentating life. The Geordie commentator was right, it was fantastic and the best performance of the week in my opinion.

Could Wednesday evening's session come close to the drama of the afternoon? You bet it could. A fast and furious start to proceedings as Kevin Painter took on Ronnie Baxter. Baxter took an early 7-3 lead averaging 102.20. Painter clawed back to within 3 legs at 7-10 down but his average was only 89.74 compared to 'The Rocket's 97.73. Painter then won a crucial 21st leg against the darts and held his throw to make it 11-11. With another break following Painter appeared to be heading for the home straight leading 12-11 and needing just one more leg. Baxter dug deep and the match continued to and fro with Painter on the higher average (92.09) by the 30th leg. It wasn't enough though and Baxter squeezed through 19-17.

Next came first round conquering hero Mark Dudbridge against Alan Warriner. A match with more than a degree of needle according to the commentators as in their last 32 match in Vegas, Dudbridge was convinced that Warriner was using unfair gamesmanship against him and even refused to shake his hand when leaving the stage the loser. 'Flash' started in style winning the first leg with a 108 checkout. Warriner clawed back to 3-3 with Dudbridge averaging 93.24 and Warriner back on 85.58. Dudbridge surged with a brilliant performance to lead 7-4 with a 94.0 average before Warriner brought himself back to within two legs at 8-10 down. At 12-10 Dudbridge had 5 darts for the match but couldn't get the winner and the pattern followed in future decisive moments. Ultimately Dudbridge took the match 15-13 but only after missing a total of 14 darts for the match.

The last match of the night didn't quite meet the drama of the first two and although Dennis Priestley put up a good fight, Manley was too much for him and 'One Dart' went through 13-9.

QUARTER FINALS

Thursday afternoon and an incredible atmosphere greeted Jamie Harvey and Ronnie Baxter for their quarter final. "An atmosphere befitting the final itself," said commentator Stuart Pyke. Unfortunately the Scotsman couldn't replicate his form of the previous day and ironically after his previous big checkouts, his doubles let him down. Baxter made light work of the match and won 16 legs to 4 but Harvey's impact on the World Matchplay 2004 will linger long in darts fans minds.

Next up for Mark Dudbridge was Peter Manley who hadn't had the best of darting seasons thus far. All games went with throw until the sixth leg when Dudbridge crucially took the darts to lead 4-2. That was what 'Flash' needed and he raced to 7-2 with a 160 checkout and 8-2 with a 118 finish. Reportedly during the interval Manley quipped, "I don't need a drink, I need two more darts." Dudbridge continued his charge to 10-3 and caused Sid Waddell to exclaim, "Its like watching Taylor!" Manley clawed back to 10-5 with Dudbridge averaging 93.67. At 15-6 the match was Dudbridge's for the taking but once again a few missed darts for the match allowed Manley to make the final score a more respectable 16-9. Afterwards Dudbridge admitted that his darts life was a busy one as he had to work full time. "I'm lucky if I can practice for an hour a day," said the Bristolian.

John Part of course clashed against Andy Jenkins in the UK Open and their Matchplay quarter final was to be another close encounter. Jenkins maintained an early lead and hit a 153 checkout to be 4-3 in front. 'Rocky' went further in front with a 146 finish to lead 7-4. Part though not at his best hung onto the game but as Jenkins went to 11-7 surely this must be his moment. Part would not let go and after trailing by two legs at 13-11 the Canadian produced a terrific 11 dart leg. This seemed to give him the impetus he needed and he subsequently took the lead for the first time since the 5th leg 14-13. Final result Part 16, Jenkins 14.

Interestingly Phil Taylor had never played Colin Lloyd before their quarter final and 'Jaws' kept the match close in the early stages despite Taylor maintaining an average of over 100. At 10-7 Taylor had begun to break away and by 15-8 'The Power' had an amazing 80% checkout percentage (15 out of 18). Lloyd took the next leg and he and Taylor shared a smile and an embrace. Taylor wrapped up the match in style with the first 10 dart leg of the tournament. 16-10 and an average of 105.7. Afterwards Colin Lloyd admitted to Sky Sports that "Taylor is the best there has ever been."

SEMI FINALS

'Flash' again started off like his moniker in his semi-final against Ronnie Baxter with an 11 dart opening leg. 'The Rocket' replied with a 14 dart finish. Dudbridge took the next two to lead 3-1 with an amazing average of 112.39., Baxter on 98.83. A 12 dart leg followed and Dudbridge had a 3 leg cushion. Baxter though fought back and tied the match at 5-5. Once again spectacular darts from Dudbridge and a 121 checkout to lead 6-5 and the next two legs also went the way of the man from Bristol. Dudbridge maintained a lead throughout and at 13-9 had an average of 95.91 to Baxter's 94.60. The match finished in style by Dudbridge finishing on 119 for a 17-13 win. Great stuff from both players with each hitting half a dozen 180s. A well deserved final place though for 'Flash'.

Phil Taylor against John Part didn't quite live up to the billing and hype of their previous encounters. Perhaps Phil Taylor's consistently saying "I'm going to beat him" all week got to Part or perhaps the Canadian was still suffering from his hit and miss form. Either way it wasn't a classic and Taylor comfortably led 8-0 with an average of just 96.0 (Part 82.0). The rout continued to 10-0 before Part made a 'too little, too late' comeback. The Canadian clawed back to 11-4 and brought his average up to 89.23 (Taylor 99.79). Taylor remained consistent however and the match was taken by 17 legs to 8.

THE FINAL

Perhaps one match too many for Mark Dudbridge in the week or perhaps his first experience of playing 'The Power' overawed him slightly. Early doors it was fun with at 2-2 both players averaging 102. Taylor broke Dudbridge's throw to go 5-3 and really there was no way back for Dudbridge whose average declined throughout the match. By 15-6, Taylor needed just three more legs and his average of 101.5 was clearly leaving Dudbridge (now averaging 87.0) in the wilderness. 18-8 was the final score to Taylor who took the Matchplay crown for an incredible fifth consecutive time.

All in all a terrific week of darts with some outstanding performances particularly from Taylor against Roy and Lloyd, Dudbridge on his run through to the final and of course the ultimate showman of the PDC, Jamie Harvey.