Dom Taylor has been eliminated from the World Darts Championship following a positive drugs test during the tournament at Alexandra Palace.
The player had secured a convincing 3-0 victory against Sweden's Oskar Lukasiak in his opening match and was scheduled to face Jonny Clayton in the subsequent round.
Clayton will now advance directly to the third round without playing, receiving a bye as a consequence of Taylor's removal from the competition.
The Darts Regulation Authority confirmed the suspension on Friday, stating that Taylor is now barred from all DRA-regulated events with immediate effect.
Dom Taylor has failed a drugs test, immediately seeing him kicked out of the World Championship
|PA
The PDC released a statement confirming that anti-doping procedures are being conducted throughout the 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
According to the governing body, the DRA received notification of "an adverse analytical finding in respect of the player Dom Taylor resulting from a test conducted on 14 December" on Friday.
The statement continued: "This matter will now be the subject of a disciplinary process in line with the relevant DRA Anti-Doping Rules."
The authority emphasised that no further comment would be forthcoming whilst the confidential proceedings remain ongoing.
This marks the second time Taylor has been suspended for a doping violation. Earlier this year, he received a ban after testing positive for a prohibited substance at a Players Championship event in 2024.
Dom Taylor has been kicked out of another darts competition in 12 months
|PA
That suspension resulted in a one-month ban following his withdrawal shortly before a scheduled match against Michael Smith at the Players Championship Finals.
The sanction meant Taylor missed what would have been his debut at Alexandra Palace, though he subsequently returned to competition at the World Masters.
His initial punishment could have extended to two years, but this was reduced after Taylor demonstrated the substance was not performance-enhancing and had been consumed outside of competition.
Following his first-round triumph over Lukasiak, Taylor had spoken about the difficulties of overcoming his previous suspension.
"Massively hard. Biggest letdown of my life," he stated. "But I've rebounded, and here we are."
When asked how he coped during that period, Taylor explained: "Not speaking to anyone. Keeping myself to myself and practising."
Those comments came just days before the latest adverse finding was confirmed, cutting short what had appeared to be a promising return to the sport's biggest stage for the talented young player.