2001 PDC World Darts Championship Rod Harrington also went through, the home man winning 3–0 against Graeme Stoddart. Jamie Harvey continued his run at the Circus, defeating former champion John Lowe by 3–0. After a day off for New Year's Eve, The World Darts Championships started 2001 at the quarter-final stage. Matches now had been extended to the best of 7 sets (first to 4) for the quarter-finals and this is where the potential champions begin to show their proper darts. Phil Taylor continued his march to his 9th crown with a 4–0 whitewash of 1983 world champion Keith Deller, who played well short of
News of the World Darts Championship never having won the competition and that it was the tournament that everyone wanted to win. Taylor put the record straight by beating Ian White 2–0 in the final in June 1997, collecting the News of the World Big D Trophy, a cheque for £42,000 and a set of Unicorn golden darts. Following his victory, which also saw him take out the then England captain Martin Adams 2–1 in the semi finals, Taylor was quoted as saying "I've won five world titles – but this one means everything". However, the overall response to the competition was disappointing and the News