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Taylor is aiming to claim an incredible 14th World Championship crown – and he has revealed that he is “buzzing” after his experience at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards.

“It was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life,” he said. “And it has put me firmly in the mood for the Circus Tavern. I was in awe at the whole occasion and to have sports stars like Zara Phillips, Mike Tindall, Peter Schmeichel and Darren Clarke go out of their way to talk to you, was just amazing.”

‘The Power’ is odds-on favourite to illuminate Purfleet once again but the tournament sponsors are offering just 2/1 on a Taylor/Barneveld final.

“Raymond is great,” said Taylor. “He is a winner, just like me and it would be fantastic if we lined up against each other in the final. He is certainly very dedicated and that is my motto too!”

It is an amazing statistic that since the ‘big split’ in the early 1990s, Taylor has never failed to reach the final at the Circus Tavern. That is 13 consecutive World Finals, with just those two defeats against Dennis Priestley and John Part.

The Team Unicorn star opens his bid on the first evening of the tournament against Austrian qualifier Anton Pein. If he comes through that, he may face Irishman Mick McGowan, who beat him only last month….and there is the potential of a mouth-watering 3rd Round meeting with old adversary John Part!

But Taylor admitted that he is feeling the weight of expectation: “I have never felt so nervous before the World Championships. But that is a good thing, because it means that I am ready for the off!”

He added: “I am just determined to enjoy the experience. I watched some of the Chelsea v Arsenal match on TV recently and they all looked so miserable. I would hate to feel like that playing the sport I love. I pride myself in my performance and that is so important.”

Unicorn’s World No.1 Colin Lloyd needs a big tournament. He has suffered a nightmare in the ‘Major’ TV tournaments during 2006, after his shock 1st Round defeat to Gary Welding at Purfleet 12 months ago.

Despite some encouraging displays on the circuit, Lloyd saw his confidence shot to pieces by a series of early exits in the big events. He scraped into the semi-finals of the Holsten Premier League, only to suffer at the hands of Taylor yet again. He was beaten by Adrian Lewis in the 2nd Round of the World Series of Darts in Connecticut, then came defeat to Taylor in the last 16 at the UK Open in Bolton. Lloyd then suffered three stunning 1st Round exits at the Las Vegas Desert Classic, the World Matchplay Championships and the World Grand Prix – losing to Chris Mason, Steve Maish and Bob Anderson.

‘Jaws’ enters the fray on Tuesday against German Tomas Seyler and then faces that prospect of a blockbuster 2nd Round showdown against Raymond Van Barneveld. He knows he has to deliver at the Circus Tavern but there is no doubt that Lloyd has the talent to prove the doubters wrong.

Unicorn’s two-times World Champion John Part has been walking at least three miles a day for the last few weeks, as he tries to build up his fitness for Purfleet. He is also in action on opening night against Liverpudlian qualifier Alan Green.

Part certainly still has the game to win another World Title but if he gets past Green, it’s a big ask for the Canadian. His next two matches could be against Chris Mason and Taylor.

You never write off Peter Manley! Despite the 7 sets to nil thrashing at the hands of Taylor 12 months ago, the fact that he has reached three World Finals tells its own story and ‘One Dart’ could well pose a threat again this year. He should be too strong for qualifier Dave Jowett on Monday night.

What about Unicorn contender Adrian Lewis? He looked on course to reach the final on his Circus Tavern debut, before he lost the battle of the mind games to Manley in that dramatic quarter-final. Lewis has enjoyed a steady year but he knows that it is time to deliver. His 1st Round opponent is Australian Champion Anthony Fleet.

Bob Anderson may be classed in the ‘veteran’ category these days but he can still throw a mean dart. On his day, ‘The Limestone Cowboy’ can be a real danger. He comes into the tournament on Tuesday afternoon against Darren Webster.

Unicorn new-boy Andrew Hamilton features in one of the top matches in the 1st Round. ‘The Hammer’ has made terrific progress during 2006 but he will have to be at his very best against Gary Welding on Wednesday afternoon. Hamilton reached the last 16 of the World Championships in 2006, only to lose to Taylor – despite a 97 average.

And maybe, just maybe Hamilton will feature in an all-Unicorn quarter-final, because he could take on James Wade in the last eight. Wade has been one of the players of the year and who can forget his outstanding run to the final in Blackpool, where he gave Taylor a real run for his money. Wade has to wait until Wednesday night for his 1st Round tie against Kiwi Warren French.
Wes Newton should have a comfortable passage through to the 2nd Round. He takes on Japan’s Tetsuya Wada on Thursday afternoon…..and in round two, he may come up against Team Unicorn stablemate Kevin Painter.

It is only three years ago that Painter ran Taylor mighty close in that epic World Final but ‘The Artist’ will admit that he needs a big World Championships. And Painter has been handed a really tough 1st Round draw against the highly-rated Colin Osborne.

So, who will be crowned the 2007 World Champion on New Year’s Day?

Make sure you stay in touch with the Unicorn website throughout the tournament. We will bring you daily news reports, plus comment in the shape of Sid Waddell’s Purfleet Diary and Stuart Pyke will be giving his opinions in his PYKE SPEAK column.

Team Unicorn has it all wrapped up for Christmas! Join the biggest names in darts for all the action and comprehensive coverage from the Circus Tavern.

If you can’t get down to The Circus, every dart is live on Sky Sports. The action gets under way at 1pm on Monday on Sky Sports 1.

BY STUART PYKE