This time last year his power was fading, but Phil Taylor is back to his best and that is worrying news for anyone in his way. Thirteen times he has been crowned world champion, but his failure to reach the final last year, for the first time since 1994, was taken by some as a sign that age had caught up with him. How wrong they were.

He licked his wounds, assessed his mistakes, changed to heavier darts and returned to throw some untouchable arrows on the way to winning nearly every significant trophy on offer. He pulverised his main rivals, throwing an impressive average of about 110 against James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld in the Whyte & Mackay Premier League and Players Championship. Co Stompe showed the size of the task facing the other players when the Dutchman required an average of more than 107 to defeat Taylor in the German Darts Championship final last month.

Taylor, 48, claims that his recent form has surpassed his imperious efforts of the previous decade, so the young pretenders, such as Michael van Gerwen, should be very afraid. The Dutchman, 19, pounded Taylor into near submission in the first round a year ago, but like so many who have smelt victory against “The Power”, he lost his nerve when it counted.

Taking an early lead will be vital for Van Gerwen if he is to go a stage farther when he renews rivalries with Taylor in the second round of Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship, at Alexandra Palace, North London, this evening.

“He is young enough to be my son, which tells you how good I am - even better than you thought I was,” Taylor said. “It is a different Phil now, it is going to be a cracking game and you might see a couple of nine-darters.”

Over the years, Taylor has shed weight and adopted strenuous fitness regimes to keep ahead of the chasing pack, but nowadays it is also important for him to ensure that he has 40 winks after practising. “I can always tell if I have had a good workout because I usually sit down in a chair and fall asleep,” Taylor said. “I have a cup of tea, sit on the settee, put my head on the arm and I know if I nod off straightaway, things have been going well.”

He spent most of Christmas Day practising against his son at his home in Stoke-on-Trent, before returning to London yesterday. “If I took a day off after working every day for six months, my parents would throw a bucket of water over me and tell me to get up and get to work,” Taylor said. “It's my mentality. I feel relaxed. Only a few players know how to win a world title and maybe only three players can win this year. Fourteen titles is a massive possibility for me and the players know it.”

Explore More Sport

• Athletics

• Boxing

• Cycling

• Sailing

• US Sport