By Elliott West
“William Tell could take an apple off your head, Phil Taylor could take out a processed pea”.
Sid Waddell
Introduction
The greatest and most successful darts player in its history has to be Phil Taylor. A man who I would liken to Ronnie O’Sullivan, a sheer genius with a set of darts. Discovered and nurtured by the late Eric Bristow, Taylor would go on to rule the oche for over two decades, winning 214 professional tournaments including a record 85 major titles and a record 16 World Championships.
Background
Born in 1960 in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Philip Douglas Taylor, the son of Doug and Liz, left school at the age of 16 and like many at the time, went out to seek employment. He would go on to hold a number of jobs including being a sheet metal worker, earning £52 a week. Although a lover of darts and football as a child, Phil wouldn’t actually start playing darts for a number of years. It wasn’t until 1986 when Taylor moved to a terrace house in Burslem, not far from a pub that Eric Bristow owned that he would first start actively throwing the arrows that would go on to make him a household name.
His wife Yvonne bought him a set of darts for his birthday and the man who would go on to be nicknamed ‘The Power’, started to play weekly in Eric’s pub. Spotted for his early talent, Taylor was picked for the country team, playing at Super League level and thanks to a loan from Eric Bristow of £10,000 and a stipulation that he gave up his day job, the Crafty Cockney helped him on his quest to become a professional player.
Phil would have a slow burn in darts, performing poorly in an initial trip to Las Vegas, beaten in the first round of the Northern American Open and frankly struggled in his first year as a professional. However they say life is a learning process and it wasn’t long before Taylor would go on to win his first major title in 1988, the Canadian Open, beating the World Champion Bob Anderson 5-1 in the final.
This was the spark that launched his career and after numerous successes, he would become one of 16 players to make the brave decision in 1993 to leave the British Darts Organisation and join a breakaway group that became known as the World Darts Council and later the Professional Darts Council that we all know today. A fallout that was caused by the lack of sponsorship, television coverage and not serving the interests of the game at the top level.
Afterthoughts
Phil Taylor thrived in his time in the PDC and won every title that was available to him. He was relentless as a player and became an unstoppable machine for the best part of 20 years. The audience used to chant ‘There’s only one Phil Taylor’ when he walked on and he soon outstripped the achievements of Bristow and Lowe, putting his own unique stamp on darts. The richest and most successful of all darts players and since his last world championship title in 2013, had lost an impressive five stones in weight, a massive reduction from his original nineteen stone frame. All thanks to a new fitness regime.
Since his retirement after the 2018 World Championship, aged 57, Taylor hasn’t been seen much, popping up in the odd exhibition. However tempted out of retirement by a £30,000 prize for the inaugural JenningsBet.com World Seniors Darts Championship, Taylor is odds on favourite to win the tournament this weekend. Dusting off his dartboard that has been hidden under the sofa during the lockdown, Phil has been putting in the hours of practice required, practising in his garage with his grandson Matthew, kept warm by a portable heater.
In a field of many of the true legends of darts such as Darryl Fitton, John Lowe and Kevin Painter. Taylor will play his first match against Peter Manley who made light work of Deta Hedman in his first match. Played in the infamous Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, a venue that has a long history with darts and is notorious for its low ceiling and high temperature on and off the oche, Taylor has a great chance to rekindle his glory and remains my favourite to lift the title at the end of this tournament.
