Phil Taylor

Phil Taylor
Personal information
Full name	Philip Douglas Taylor
Nickname	The Power
Date of birth	13 August 1960 (1960-08-13) (age 49)
Place of birth	Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Home town	Stoke-on-Trent, England
Darts information
Playing darts since	1988
Darts	26g Unicorn The Power Phase 5 Black Titanium
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	The Power by Snap!
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	1988 to 1993
PDC	founder member (1992/93)
Current world ranking	1
BDO majors - best performances
World Ch'ship	Winner (2) 1990, 1992
World Masters	Winner (1) 1990
World Darts Trophy	Winner (1) 2006
Int. Darts League	QF (1) 2006
PDC premier events - best performances
World Ch'ship	Winner (12) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009
World Matchplay	Winner (10) 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009
World Grand Prix	Winner (9) 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009
Grand Slam	Winner (3) 2007, 2008, 2009
Premier League	Winner (4) 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Ch'ship League	Winner (1) 2008
Desert Classic	Winner (5) 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009
European Ch'ship	Winner (2) 2008, 2009
UK Open	Winner (3) 2003, 2005, 2009
US Open/WSoD	Winner (3) 2006, 2007, 2008
Players Ch'ship Finals	Winner (1) 2009
Other tournament wins
Tournament	Years
News of the World Greene King Masters PDC World Pairs PDC UK Matchplay Masters of Darts Europe Cup Singles UK Open Regional UK Open Regional UK Open Regional UK Open Regional (NW) UK Open Regional (Mid) UK Open Regional (SE) UK Open Regional (WM) UK Open Regional (SW) Players Ch'ship Players Ch'ship Players Ch (Sat) Players Ch (Sun) Players Ch (Sat) Players Ch (Sun) Eddie Cox Memorial Players Ch'ship Masters Players Ch (Brentwood) Players Ch'ship (Bristol) Players Ch'ship (South) Players Ch'ship (Midlands) Players Ch'ship (Vegas) Bobby Bourn Memorial Antwerp Darts Trophy German Darts Ch'ship Denmark Open Finland Open	1997 2007 1994 1996 2005 1990, 1992 2002, 2004, 2006 2002, 2004 2003, 2007 2008 2008 2009 2009 2009 2005, 2006 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 2007 (Lis), 2008 (Vel), 2009 (Nul) 2007 (Lis), 2008 (Vel), 2009 (Nul) 2008 (BS), 2009 (Gl) 2008 (BS), 2009 (Gl) 2009 2009 2007, 2008 2009 2008 2008 2008 2008 2003-2008 2008 2007 1990 1990
Other achievements
1999 - Wins "Match of the Century" v BDO World Champion, Raymond van Barneveld 2002 Achieves his first televised nine dart finish (and the first live televised nine-darter in the UK) at World Matchplay 2004 Becomes first player to hit a second televised nine-dart finish 2004 Wins second Champion v Champion challenge v BDO World Champion, Andy Fordham 2005 Hits third televised nine-dart finish 2006 PDC Player of the Year[1] 2007 Fourth televised nine-darter in IDL in the Netherlands 2007 Fifth televised nine-darter in 2007 UK Open at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton 2007 PDC Fans' Player of the Year 2008 Sixth televised nine-darter in 2008 UK Open 2008 PDC Fans' Player of the Year, PDC Player of the Year and PDPA Player's Player of the Year. 2009 Scored world record telelvised average of 116.01 against John Part in Premier League. 2009 Hits seventh televised 9 darter in Championship League Darts against John Part which he won 6-1 7 spells as PDC World Number 1 (Aug to Sep 1996, Aug to Sep 2000, May 2002 to Jan 2003, Jul 2003 to Feb 2005, Mar to May 2006, Jan 2007 to Jan 2008 and currently from Jun 2008)

Philip Douglas "Phil" Taylor (born 13 August 1960) is an English darts player. Nicknamed The Power, he has won 52 major tournaments, which includes 14 world championships, more than any other player in the history of the sport. He has been ranked World Number One since June 2008 and has had eight different spells at Number One, a record fifty-six months overall. To date, he has won over 130 professional tournaments, over twice as many as anyone else in the history of the game.^[2]

Early career

Born to Margaret and Sefton Taylor in in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, he left school at the age of 16 and entered work at JF Sale and Co. in Burslem. His early working career consisted of him making ceramic toilet roll handles - earning no more than £52 a week at the time. Between jobs there were spells of unemployment, but Taylor indulged in his favourite hobby - darts. It was his playing in the pubs of Stoke-on-Trent that brought him to the attention of Eric Bristow, one of the most popular and well known figures in the game in the 1980s. Bristow decided to sponsor Phil to the tune of £10,000 on the condition that it had to be repaid. With this money Taylor could practise full-time and enter low-level tournaments.

By 1990, he qualified to play in the World Championships for the first time - and beat Russell Stewart, Dennis Hickling, Ronnie Sharp and Cliff Lazarenko on his way to the final. In the final he met his mentor Bristow and beat him 6 sets to 1 to claim the first of his world titles at odds of 125/1.

The defence of his title in 1991 ended at the quarter-final stage to Dennis Priestley who went on to win his first world title and that would be the first of many clashes between the two players. Taylor went on to win the other major in the game - the Winmau World Masters in 1990 to become only the third player to hold both titles at the same time.

Taylor regained the World Championship in 1992 after a final which Taylor still lists as the favourite of his career.^[3] This encounter against Mike Gregory was decided by a tie-break leg in the final set of the match.

Split in the game

Taylor lost in the second round of the 1993 World Championship to Kevin Spiolek in the year that darts would suffer a devastating split in the game. The sport had lost many sponsors and almost all television coverage and Taylor was amongst the top 16 players that would lead to the creation of a new organisation to run its tournaments - the World Darts Council which later became the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).

Taylor lost to Priestley in the first ever PDC World Championship in 1994 - but would then go on to dominate the event for next decade and beyond.

Awards

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After losing the first final of the PDC World Championship in 1994, Taylor was unbeaten for the next eight years in the tournament including the 2001 defeat of John Part. Taylor averaged 107 with each visit to the board and 72.5% checkout rate, statistically one of the best performances ever seen. Part gained revenge in the 2003 final, but Taylor added another four titles to bring his PDC haul to 12, and 14 World Championships in all.

There were still two versions of the World Championship in operation each year, but Taylor has faced the incumbent BDO World Champion in challenge matches on two occasions. In 1999, he beat Raymond van Barneveld by 21 legs to 10 in a one-hour challenge dubbed "The Match of the Century" at the Wembley Conference Centre. In 2004, he beat Andy Fordham having led 5-2 (sets) when the match was abandoned due to Fordham feeling unwell.

As well as 14 World Championships, he has won ten World Matchplays, eight World Grand Prix, five Las Vegas Desert Classics, three UK Opens, four Premier Leagues (remaining unbeaten for 44 matches during the first 3 tournaments), one World Series Of Darts title and three Grand Slam of Darts titles. He won a BDO title in 2006, the World Darts Trophy, when the Dutch organisers invited PDC players for the first time. Away from the television cameras, Taylor has claimed 46 PDC Pro Tour titles (as of October 18th 2009).

Taylor also holds records for high scoring in darts, his three-dart average per match records are higher than anyone else in the history of the game.^{[citation needed]} He has also achieved more televised nine-dart finishes than anyone and the most overall in major events.^{[citation needed]}

Taylor has won a record 57 PDC/BDO Major titles; 4 BDO Majors (though three of these came before the split) and 53 PDC ones.

Taylor is the first darts player to win more than £1 million in prize money.^[4]

Averages

Highest 3-dart averages on TV in History

116.01 Phil Taylor 8-3 John Part, PL 2009
115.62 Phil Taylor 10-0 Mark Lawrence,UK Open
115.51 Phil Taylor 9-3 Ken Mather, UK Open 2009
114.54 Phil Taylor 9-3 Wes Newton, UK Open 2008
114.15 Darryl Fitton 6-0 Davy Richardson, IDL 2004
113.92 Phil Taylor 9-3 Mervyn King, EDC 2008
113.43 Phil Taylor 8-0 Gary Mawson, Matchplay 1997
113.33 Phil Taylor 11-7 Robert Thornton, EDC 2008
112.68 Phil Taylor 11-1 Adrian Lewis, PL 2008
112.56 Chris Mason 11-8 Adrian Lewis, UK Open 2005
112.17 Phil Taylor 16-7 Chris Mason, World Matchplay
111.74 Phil Taylor 8-3 John Part, PL 2008
111.35 Phil Taylor 3-0 Dennis Priestley, US Open 2008
111.21 Phil Taylor 6-1 Shayne Burgess, PDC WC 2002
111.14 Phil Taylor 8-3 Raymond van Barneveld, PL 2008
111.03 James Wade 5-3 Denis Ovens, GSOD 2008
110.94 Phil Taylor 7-1 Raymond van Barneveld, PDC WC 2009

On 23 April at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, Aberdeen during round 12 of the Whyte and Mackay Premier League, he recorded the highest ever 3-dart average on television, 116.01.

On 6 June, during round 4 of the UK Open, he recorded the 2nd highest ever 3-dart average on television with 115.51 in his match against Ken Mather.

He followed this up, on 7 June, with an average of 115,62 (now second best) in the Quarter-Final against Mark Lawrence.

Nine-dart finishes

Taylor has often talked in interviews and his autobiography about his quests to achieve the perfect leg of darts - a nine dart finish.

He finally made television history by achieving the feat for the first time on live British television in 2002, at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, Lancashire, during his quarter-final match against Chris Mason in the World Matchplay Championship. He hit 7 consecutive treble 20s, followed by treble 19 and double 12.

In 2004, he repeated the feat in Bolton again live on television during a match in the UK Open against Matt Chapman, making him one of only two players (the other being Raymond van Barneveld) in the game's history ever to have achieved the feat more than once on television.

On 12 June 2005 he achieved his third nine-darter on television, during a semi-final clash in the 2005 UK Open against Roland Scholten. He hit seven treble twenties followed by treble 19 and double 12. He went on to win the competition beating Mark Walsh in the final.

Taylor also managed to achieve a nine-darter on Dutch television on 8 May 2007 at the 2007 International Darts League against van Barneveld. His prize for this achievement was an Opel Tigra Twin Top valued at €26,000. Taylor then donated the prize to a friend, Raymond Penninkhof from Pendon Darts who had been involved in an accident the previous weekend and had his van written off.^[5]

On 9 June 2007 at the UK Open, Taylor achieved a nine dart finish in his fifth round match against Wes Newton. It was his fifth televised perfect game and the third time he had achieved it at the UK Open in Bolton. He hit seven treble twenties followed by treble 19 and double 12. He earned a £20,000 bonus for his achievement, which was given to him by the PDC. Taylor went on to win the game 11-5.

On 20 March 2008 in the Premier League at the Brighton Centre, Taylor hit his 6th televised 9-dart finish. This was televised on Sky Sports as a replay on the latter stages of the live show. This was because the 9-darter he hit was not during his match with James Wade, but was hit during his 9-dart warm up. He successfully hit a maximum of 180 (3 x T20), a 174 (T20, 2 x T19), and to finish he hit 147 (T20, T17, D18). Although it is his 6th televised 9-darter it was only truly seen live by the people surrounding the playing area, and as previously stated, was only seen publicly live on television as a replay later in the show. It was declared as an unofficial 9-dart finish. Taylor won the match 8-4.

On 7 June 2008, Taylor hit his fourth nine-dart finish at the UK Open at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton against Jamie Harvey, his sixth live televised nine-darter in all. Taylor achieved the feat by hitting a 180, followed by a 177 (2 x T20, T19) and then finishing with a checkout of 144 (2 x T20, D12). He earned £25,000 for his achievement, given by the PDC and tournament sponsors Blue Square refunded all losing bets, paying out around £50,000 in the process. Taylor went on to win the match by 9 legs to 1.

• Video of Phil Taylor's 9 dart finish v Chris Mason - World Matchplay 2002 at the 2002 World Matchplay Darts
• Video of Phil Taylor's 9 dart finish v Roland Scholten - UK Open 2005 at the 2005 UK Open
• Video of Phil Taylor's 4th televised 9 dart finish v Raymond van Barneveld at the 2007 International Darts League

On 15th September 2009 Phil hit a seventh nine dart finish against John Part in the Championship League Darts for which he won 6-1 the match

Records

Phil Taylor holds many records in darts. Some are as follows:

• Most overall World Championship titles with 14
• Most consecutive World Championship titles with 8 (1995-2002)
• Most overall World Championship final appearances with 17
• Most consecutive World Championship final appearances with 14 (1994-2007)
• Longest unbeaten run at the World Championships with 44 matches (1995-2003)
• Most overall major tournament wins (BDO/PDC) with 54
• Most major PDC tournament wins with 50
• Most PDC Pro Tour titles (October 18th, 2009) with 46
• Most televised nine-dart finishes with 7
• Highest ever three-dart average on television with 116.01
• Highest ever three-dart average in a World Championship final with 110.94
• Highest ever three-dart average for a whole tournament with 111.51
• Highest ever three-dart average on a broadcast (Internet) with 121.79
• Biggest win in a major PDC final: 18-4 vs Terry Jenkins (2009 World Matchplay)
• Most overall months at World Number 1 with 57 months
• Most major tournament wins in a single calendar year with 8 (2008)
• Most World Matchplay titles with 10
• Most consecutive World Matchplay titles with 5 (2000-2004)
• Longest unbeaten run at the World Matchplay with 28 matches (2000-2005)
• Biggest win at the World Matchplay: 16-1 vs Roland Scholten (2007)
• Most World Grand Prix titles with 9
• Most Las Vegas Desert Classic titles with 5
• Most Premier League titles with 4
• Most UK Open titles with 3
• Most money won in a calendar year
• Most money won during career
• Sole holder of the Grand Slam

Recent form

2006

After winning his 13th World Championship title in January, the first signs of him losing an "invincibility" status began to appear as he lost four matches in televised tournaments during the first half of 2006. This was unique for Taylor's record, who had not lost two major events in a row in 13 years. He lost to Jelle Klaasen and Simon Whitlock in the International Darts League tournament in Holland and twice in a row to van Barneveld in the UK Open and the Las Vegas Desert Classic. But he came back strongly to win the World Matchplay and World Darts Trophy (a BDO affiliated event) and the World Grand Prix in the second half of the year.

2007

His 7-6 defeat to van Barneveld at the 2007 World Championship Final came after losing a sudden-death tie-break. Taylor had many opportunities to win this match having led 3-0, 4-2 and 5-3. After the tournament, Taylor believed that he lacked the stamina necessary for him to have won and began a new health and fitness regime.

2007 proved to be Taylor's most barren run for major title success. Having lost his World Championship title on New Year's Day, he also suffered defeats at the IDL and WDT in Holland, the UK Open in Bolton, Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay in Blackpool, and the World Grand Prix in Dublin. A heavy 4-11 loss in Bolton to van Barneveld and shock defeats by Mark Dudbridge in Las Vegas and then to Gray in Dublin led to Taylor saying that he would have to "think about his career",^[6] before later vowing he would continue until 2012.^[7]

He ended 2007 without holding any of the five Sky televised major trophies for the first time since the PDC started in 1994 - although he did clinch two of the biggest tournaments and pay cheques of the year by clinching the 2007 Premier League in May and the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts in November. He also won the US Open and the Emperors Palace South African Masters.

2008

Taylor went out of the 2008 World Championships at the quarter-final stage to Mardle, which is the first time since the inauguration of the PDC World Darts Championship that he had not reached the final stage.

Throughout the tournament he was taken to the final set in each of his first three rounds before losing to Mardle 5 sets to 4, even though at one stage he was 3-0 up in sets. Following his defeat, Taylor repeated a similar vow after his 2007 final loss to van Barneveld that he would have to improve his fitness, saying that his energy levels dipped during the end of the match.

He enlisted the help of a new set of darts to begin his "comeback". Despite a poor start to his Premier League Darts camapign, with 3 defeats in his first four matches, Taylor finished top of the Premier League table with a string of some of the finest play of his career. He set a Premier League record by beating Adrian Lewis 11-1 with a 112.68 average in the semi-final and went on to take his fourth consecutive title with a 16-8 victory over Wade (average 108.36).

During the year to-date, has won a record thirteen non-televised PDC Pro Tour events and his second US Open title in May 2008, defeating Colin Lloyd in the final. However, he was defeated (10-9) in the quarter-finals of the UK Open by rival Raymond van Barneveld, despite having recorded the highest ever 3-dart average on television, 114.53. in his previous match against Newton (along with a 9 dart leg earlier in the tournament).

In July, Taylor claimed a major televised tournament victory for the first time since the World Grand Prix in 2006, winning his fourth Las Vegas Desert Classic title. Taylor advanced through the semi-finals, taking out 11 out of 13 doubles in defeating Scholten 11-2. He then prevailed against Wade in the final, winning 13 legs to 7 with a 105.53 three-dart average.

On 26 July, Taylor claimed his 9th World Matchplay title, defeating Wade 18-9, and averaging 109.47 in the final. During the 25th leg of the match, both players set themselves up for 9 dart finish, although Wade missed the T19 and Taylor failed to hit the T20. Taylor ended the match with a 132 checkout, hitting the bull even though it was covered by another dart, by moving to the far side of the oche. Commentator Sid Waddell later claimed it was the best shot he had ever seen.

In October 2008, he retained his Emperors Palace South African Masters darts title by defeating Part in the final by 5 legs to 2. Taylor also won his eighth World Grand Prix final in October with a 6-2 victory over van Barneveld.

On 1 November, in a second round match of the 2008 European Darts Championship, Taylor recorded the second-highest three-dart average in the history of televised darts. In the 9-3 win over Mervyn King, Taylor recorded an average of 113.92 with fifteen 100s, ten 140s and five maximums.^[8] Taylor went on to record a similar average of 113.33 against Robert Thornton in the semi-finals of the tournament, before defeating Lewis in the final by 11 legs to 5, to become the inaugural winner of the European Darts Championship. Later that month he successfully defended his Grand Slam of Darts title. Despite an early setback with a group stage defeat to Andy Jenkins, Taylor progressed to the final, where he defeated Terry Jenkins by 18 legs to 9.

In 2008 Taylor achieved another record, earning £547,368 in a calendar year, the most ever by a darts player. Over these 12 months he won 23 tournaments out of 31.

2009

Taylor won back the World Championship title for the first time in three years by beating van Barneveld 7-1 in the final on 4 January. His 110.94 three-dart average is the highest ever recorded in a PDC final. His average over the course of the tournament was also above 105.^[9][10]

He won his third UK Open title on June 7. This is his first win at this tournament since 2005. In the final he beat Colin Osborne 11-6. His tournament average was 106,66.

On 5 July Phil Taylor won the Las Vegas Desert Classic for the 5th time. In the final he defeated Raymond van Barneveld with 13-11.

On 26 July he won the PDC World Matchplay for a staggering 10th time by defeating Terry Jenkins with
18-4 in the final. During the tournament he had 4 matches with an average of over 106, dropping just 20 legs in the process. Use of a new black dart from sponsors Unicorn improved his 180 scoring, and he destroyed a quality field.

On October 11th he won the PDC World Grand Prix for the 9th time. In the final he defeated Raymond van Barneveld 6-3. This triumph follows on from successes in the World Championship, the Las Vegas Desert Classic, the UK Open and the World Matchplay - no other player has held all five trophies at the same time in the history of the sport.

In the Winners Group of the Championship League Darts (only seen via Internet) on October 22nd he recorded the highest ever broadcasted 3dart average. During his 6-2 win against Wayne Mardle he reached an average of 121,71. He won all of his 7 group games and his semi-final against James Wade. In the final, with both players averaging over 100, he lost against an inspired Colin Osborne with 4-6.

On November 1st he won the European Darts Championship for the second time. In the final he defeated Steve Beaton 11-3. In the last leg Taylor had 8 perfect darts just missing d12 for the perfect leg. He finished the tournament with an overall 3dart average of 111,51. Needless to say, another world record.

On November 22nd he won the Grand Slam of Darts for the third time. In the final he defeated Scott Waites (BDO number 2) with an astounding score of 16-2. During that final he had the highest possible checkout (170), missed another marginally and finished the match after 8 perfect darts with a 10-darter. In the semi-final he won against Raymond van Barneveld (PDC number 2) with a score of 16-6. During the quarter-finals he met the number 1 from the BDO/WDF, Tony O´Shea, and defeated him with a score of 16-7. His tournament average was 104,33.

Taylor has won twenty-three tournaments (out of 29) as of November 22ndt: the World Championship, the Grand Slam of Darts, the World Grand Prix, the Matchplay, the UK Open, the European Darts Championship, the Las Vegas Desert Classic, the inaugural Players Championship Finals and twelve PDC Pro Tour events; in Gibraltar (x2), Gladbeck (x2), Brentwood (2x), Coventry, Nuland (2x), Taunton, Ireland and Killarney. He also won the Emperors Palace South African Masters, Hemeco Open Rosmalen and the Gleneagle Irish Masters.

His match record this year, as of November 18th, is 183-4-11, with prize money of £749,7255. This is also a new record for money earned during a calendar year. He has won 35 of his last 43 tournaments.

Since March 2008 Phil has won 46 tournaments out of 59.

On 15th September 2009 Phil hit a seventh nine dart finish against John Part in the Championship League Darts, he won the match 6 legs to 1.

During Group Two of this tournament (15th September 2009) he won every game he played on that day, including 7 Round Robin qualification matches, then the Group Two Semi Final, then the Group Two final, losing only 16 legs in the day. This is yet another record for Phil and will almost certainly not be matched or bettered (in terms of legs lost or winning every match) for a long time.

Taylor completed his Grand Slam of titles on the 11th October 2009 by winning the 2009 World Grand Prix

During the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts it was revealed that Taylor had started trimming his flights from the normal slim shape to a kite shape as after practicing with that shape he has become even more accurate. His 'pursuit of perfection' has been well documented over recent years, he has changed his darts 5 times since becoming a World champion and has had 3 different barrel shapes since 2004. His current darts are modelled on John Lowe's darts and are coated in black titanium.

In the group stages of the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts, Phil lost to Vincent van der Voort, 5 legs to 1, after winning his first two matches to send him automatically through to the knockout stages of that tournament.

On 22nd November 2009 Phil won the Grand Slam for the 3rd year in a row by winning against Scott Waites 16-2 and also had 8 perfect darts (Missing Double 12 for the 9 darter).

Rivalries

Priestley

Dennis Priestley, who beat Taylor in the first ever PDC world final would go on to contest a total of five World Finals with the Power. Overall, Taylor came out on top in their battles by winning the other four world titles and several other major clashes during the subsequent years. Priestley's 1994 World Title victory over Taylor was his last head-to-head win on television. Taylor and Priestley remain great friends and Taylor has claimed Priestley is the toughest opponent he has ever faced. During an interview in the 2009 Las Vegas championship Taylor was physically emotional whem he beat Dennis Priestley 8-0 in the second round claiming that it was tough to beat such a great friend that way.

Part

Taylor's next rival was Canadian John Part who won the BDO World Championship in 1994 and moved to the PDC in 1997. Part never had too much success in the PDC until 2001, where he met Taylor in the PDC World Championship final. Taylor however averaged 107 in his best ever performance in a World Championship final and won 7-0, dropping only three legs. Taylor dished out another whitewash to Part in the quarter finals of the 2002 PDC World Championships, this time by 6-0. Part did not lie down however and came back at Taylor in the 2002 World Matchplay final, only just being beaten 18-16 in one of the longest games ever seen at the tournament. As Part and Taylor became the top 2 players in the world they also met in the 2002 World Grand Prix final, where Taylor again ended Part's run 7-3.

The turning point came in the monumental 2003 World Championship, where Part and Taylor met once again in the final. Part soon took a 4-1 lead before Taylor hit back to take the lead 5-4. At 6-6 Part held his nerve and beat Taylor 7-6 to end Taylor's 8 tournament unbeaten run in the championship. Part failed to defend his title however and Taylor won it back in 2004, beating Kevin Painter 7-6 in another classic. Back in the 2003 Las Vegas Desert Classic Part beat Taylor in the semi-finals (though he lost in the final) as he began to gain a reputation as the 'Taylor-killer' in televised events. Taylor gained revenge by beating Part 7-2 in the 2003 World Grand Prix final. The pair had two more televised tussles in 2004, with Taylor beating Part in the 2004 World Matchplay semi-final, though Part beat Taylor in the 2004 UK Open quarter-final (again, he lost in the final).

Though Part dropped down the rankings somewhat in 2005 he gave Taylor a great fright in the 2005 UK Open. At 10-6 up Part only needed one more leg to knock the Power out, but Taylor hit back and won 11-10. Part gained revenge in the 2005 World Matchplay however, comprehensively beating Taylor 16-11 to end The Power's dreams of a grand slam (once again however Part lost in the final). Since then Taylor has won all of his televised games against Part, however Part won the 2008 PDC World Championship and therefore is the only man other than Taylor to have won the PDC World Championship more than once.

van Barneveld

Whilst Taylor was clocking up World titles in the PDC, Raymond van Barneveld was amassing four in the BDO. Darts was denied a great rivalry as the two players were unable to compete against each other regularly due to the split in the game. That was until van Barneveld's switch to the PDC in 2006.

Their first PDC clash came in the 2006 Premier League Darts tournament and ended in a 7-7 draw. The return match went in Taylor's favour. Barneveld's first PDC win over Taylor came at the 2006 UK Open with an 11-10 quarter final success, which he followed up with success in the semi-finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, winning by 4 sets to 3. However, Taylor obtained revenge by defeating van Barneveld by 3 sets to 1 in the World Grand Prix.

They then met in the final of the PDC World Championship at the Circus Tavern. The match has been described by many as the greatest game of darts ever. Despite being 3 sets to 0 up at one point, Taylor was defeated by Barneveld 7 sets to 6 in a sudden-death leg in the 13th set.

However, Taylor responded to his loss by defeating van Barneveld on two occasions in the Premier League Darts and beating him in the final of the inaugural US Open, before the Dutchman obtained revenge defeating Phil in the quarter-finals of the U.K. Open by 11 legs to 4.

Taylor lost his top spot in the PDC World Rankings to van Barneveld in January 2008, but regained it in June. However, as Barneveld is still seeded second in the rankings they should be kept apart in tournament seedings until the later stages of the event.

In major PDC tournaments in 2008, Taylor defeated Barneveld twice in the Premier League Darts, lost by 10 legs to 9 in the quarter-finals of the UK Open, but won the World Grand Prix final against his rival by 6 sets to 2.

The rivalry has continued into 2009 with the two meeting in the World Championship final for a second time, with Taylor avenging his reversal from two years earlier; this was perhaps the most one-sided match in which they have played to date, with Taylor triumphing 7-1 with a 110.9 three-dart average.

They have now met over 30 times, with Taylor having the majority of victories.^[11] Despite their intense rivalry, the two remain great friends, frequently embracing following the conclusion of matches.

Wade

Taylor's battles with James Wade also have set the stage for a new rivalry. In 2008, Wade handed Taylor his first defeat in a Premier League event, but Taylor regained form and won subsequent matches against him (including the final). Although Wade has won three major tournaments, he has yet to beat Taylor in a head-to-head matchup. The two met in the finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic and World Matchplay, with Taylor winning both matches. Wade is the only darts player to defeat Taylor twice In the Premier League, once in 2008 and the first meeting in 2009. The second meeting they had ended up a draw at 7-7, with Wade having been 7-3 up, and missing 2 darts to beat him in the 14th leg.

King

In the 2009 Premier League Taylor has struck a rivalry with Mervin King who caused controversy by throwing over Taylor's back while Taylor was stooped down to pick up his flight. During the post-match interviews neither player would look at each other. In the Premier League semi finals, King upset Taylor 10-6 in legs and hit some 100+ checkouts along the way. At the 2009 World Matchplay in July, Taylor defeated King 17-6 in the semi finals, winning 11 out of 12 legs from 6-5.

Outside darts

Taylor has four children - Lisa, Chris, Kelly and Natalie - with his wife Yvonne. His popularity among darts fans has led to increasing business opportunities - such as writing his autobiography (with Sky TV darts commentator Sid Waddell). He supports his home town football club Port Vale where he has a season ticket and can often been seen sitting on the terraces at vale park cheering on his cousin Marc Richards). He also admitted to plans of retiring in Port Levy, a New Zealand beach community. He has recently moved to Wychwood Park, a gated community just outside Nantwich, Cheshire home of the famous Yeastside

Phil is also the honorary president of the UK Campervan Fan Club. The singer Robbie Williams is a close personal friend of Taylor's as they are both from Stoke-on-Trent and both are avid Port Vale fans.

Controversy

In 2001 Taylor was convicted of indecent assault, after an incident after a 1999 exhibition match in Scotland. Two women, aged 23 and 25, accompanied Taylor back to his motorhome after the event and later accused him of sexual assault. Taylor denied the charges but he was found guilty of indecent assault and fined £2,000.^[12] As a result, his MBE nomination from the 2001 New Year's honours was cancelled and annulled in May 2002.^[13]

On 28 December 2006 Taylor faced Chris Mason in the 2007 World Championships. In the build-up to the match, Mason had an interview with a British Newspaper saying that Taylor was big-headed about his achievements. Taylor defeated Mason but the match was overshadowed by comments made by Mason to Taylor following the match which were unheard on TV. Phil Taylor then confirmed in a post match interview that Mason had been disrespectful again, causing Taylor to storm off. Mason apologised to Taylor a week later.^[14][15]

Other television appearances

Taylor's achievements in darts have led to him being invited to appear in various other television shows as a guest. These include "The Frank Skinner Show" where he dressed up in drag and sung alongside former Hear'Say singer Myleene Klass. Despite PDC darts not being broadcast on the BBC, he has appeared in several BBC shows including A Question of Sport, spelling competition, Hard Spell, game show Eggheads with four other darts players and Inside Sport. In 2007, Taylor appeared on BBC2's "Identity" game show as the mysterious "World Darts Champion". The contestant used her family's advice and guessed Phil's identity correctly. He also appeared on Bullseye in 1990 as a special guest playing for charity.

His love of poker was discussed on "Heads Up with Richard Herring" and he has also been a regular competitor in various celebrity televised poker tournaments.

In 2004, he teamed with Sharon Kelly to record the song, "Better Than the Best," which was never officially released. He appeared in British Whale's video for "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us" which featured a mock darts game against Justin Hawkins of The Darkness in 2005. In December 2008, it was announced that he had landed a guest spot in the long running soap opera, Coronation Street, playing the part of 'Disco Dave', the captain of a rival darts team to the Rovers Return. The episode aired on 2 February 2009, although Taylor was seen only very briefly on screen and had no dialogue.

Awards

On 9 January 2007 Taylor won the 2006 PDC Player of the Year award at the inaugural PDC Awards Dinner held at the Dorchester Hotel in London's Park Lane. He was one of ten nominees for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 2006; the award went to Zara Phillips. Taylor was voted the 2007 Fans' Player of the Year following a vote conducted on the website Planet Darts and was presented with his award at the annual PDC Awards Dinner in January 2008. He won 4 gongs at the PDC Player Of The Year Awards in 2009.^[16]

• PDC Player of the Year: 2006, 2008
• PDC Fans' Player of the Year: 2007, 2008
• Best PDC Pro Tour Player: 2008
• PDPA Players' Player of the Year: 2008

World Championship Final Results

Winner (14)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1990	BDO World Darts Championship	Eric Bristow	6-1
1992	BDO World Darts Championship	Mike Gregory	6-5
1995	PDC World Darts Championship	Rod Harrington	6-2
1996	PDC World Darts Championship	Dennis Priestley	6-4
1997	PDC World Darts Championship	Dennis Priestley	6-3
1998	PDC World Darts Championship	Dennis Priestley	6-0
1999	PDC World Darts Championship	Peter Manley	6-2
2000	PDC World Darts Championship	Dennis Priestley	7-3
2001	PDC World Darts Championship	John Part	7-0
2002	PDC World Darts Championship	Peter Manley	7-0
2004	PDC World Darts Championship	Kevin Painter	7-6
2005	PDC World Darts Championship	Mark Dudbridge	7-4
2006	PDC World Darts Championship	Peter Manley	7-0
2009	PDC World Darts Championship	Raymond van Barneveld	7-1

Runner-up (3)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1994	PDC World Darts Championship	Dennis Priestley	6-1
2003	PDC World Darts Championship	John Part	7-6
2007	PDC World Darts Championship	Raymond van Barneveld	7-6

References

External links

• PhilThePower.com Official Web Site
• Professional Darts Corporation PDC Web Site with current news of Taylor and other professional players.

Professional Darts Corporation | Top sixteen PDC players as of September 13, 2009
1. ▬ Taylor 9. ▬ Lloyd 2. ▬ Wade 10. ▲ Priestley 3. ▬ van Barneveld 11. ▼ Tabern 4. ▬ Part 12. ▬ Osborne 5. ▲ Jenkins 13. ▲ Walsh 6. ▼ King 14. ▼ Mardle 7. ▬ Baxter 15. ▲ Painter 8. ▬ Lewis 16. ▼ Hamilton