'I won the World Matchplay 16 times - this is how I gained an edge over other players'
Few have hit the jackpot in the Las Vegas of the North as often as Phil 'The Power' Taylor. Darts' greatest thrower forged an inseparable love affair with Blackpool and the World Matchplay during his years presiding over the PDC, winning the competition an unfathomable 16 times.
Taylor has often admitted that while the World Darts Championship may be the largest event on the darting calendar, the Matchplay is its darling, partly down to the time of year it is staged. Just two words were needed from the 16-time champion of the world to describe how he views the Matchplay: "My favourite."
He continued: "One of the reasons why I love the Matchplay so much is that it was played in summer. The World Championships are in the middle of winter. And it's freezing.
"You can't go out. You can't do anything. You've got your heating on. Whereas in Blackpool, the windows are wide open, and you can sit outside. You can sunbathe if you want! It was fantastic."
Taylor first tasted Matchplay glory during its second ever running in 1995, and kept up the habit of making the Winter Gardens a happy hunting ground. Winning at any venue in any sport 16 times is no mean feat, and Taylor shed some slight insight into what made him so potent when it came time to defend or regain his title in July.
"I was one for always pushing forward," added Taylor. "So, I always took a mattress topper with me, a single mattress topper, no matter where I went in the UK. I took my own pillows, because I've got good pillows. I took cooking equipment into my room sometimes. I didn't want to risk anything.
World Matchplay Darts 2025 preview ON SALE NOW
Warm up for the World Matchplay darts at the famous Winter Gardens with our 48-page preview publication, which is available to order now
The height of summer, darts, Blackpool. It can only mean one thing - the World Matchplay at the famous Winter Gardens. You can get ready for one of the highlights of the darting year with our special preview publication.
"I watched a program about bodybuilders, and they never ate out of restaurants when they were ready for a competition, just in case they got food poisoning. So, I thought, 'That's clever. They're right.' I'd go to the butcher and buy fresh meat and fresh eggs, things like that, and cook my own food.
"I watched cyclists and saw what they did. A cyclist would take a mattress topper wherever they went and make their bed exactly how they would at home. I thought, 'That's bloody clever, that.'
"Then, I'd go out and buy three or four pairs of the same shoes. So, I'd wear one pair on the Monday, because the soles would be fresh and then wear another pair on Tuesday, Wednesday, and then revert back to the first pair. Just little things like that might give you that one per cent extra."
Despite the Winter Gardens gifting Taylor a great deal of memories that will last a lifetime, one particular victory at the iconic venue's oche stands out.
"I think my favourite win there of all time has got to be the last one when I was retiring," he admitted. "Because that was, I think, the hardest rounds I've ever played."
Before The Power stepped away from the PDC in early 2018, he made what was expected to be his final appearance at the Matchplay in July of 2017, and, aged 56, he didn't disappoint.
"It was Gerwyn Price in the first round. Raymond van Barneveld, Michael Van Gerwen, Adrian Lewis and then the final was Peter Wright. It was a tough," added Taylor.
The Power swept through the field eight years ago, and added one last notch to his Matchplay belt by destroying Wright 18-8 in the final, averaging a whopping 104.
"I think the odds were about 40 or 50 to one to win the tournament. Then coming back and doing that, winning it. I won it quite easily, to be honest!" he quipped. "I was relaxed. I never felt under pressure there. Never once felt anything. The weather was fantastic. You'd just toddle down the venue in the afternoon, and then just have two or three hours' practice, then go on stage. It was lovely."
In light of his affinity for the Matchplay, the competition's silverware was renamed the Phil Taylor Trophy after his PDC swansong in 2018, but physical accolades aren't really The Power's thing.
When asked where he was when he found out the PDC would rename the Matchplay trophy after himself, Taylor lightheartedly replied: "I don't know actually. I'd probably have been at home!
"It's lovely, though. Absolutely lovely," he continued, touching on having the accolade named after him. "They gave me the original Matchplay trophy, you know, which Target [the manufacturer who sponsors Taylor] have got.
"Because I don't really have trophies or anything. My grandkids have got them, or my daughter's got them, or somebody's got them. But I haven't got any trophies. Barry Hearn always used to say to me, 'You can't eat trophies.' He'd say, 'Money's better in the bank. You can eat with that. You can buy food with that.'"
In May, Taylor officially hung up his darts for good, stepping away from all forms of throwing. Looking back on his career, though he won all there was to win, he still feels he could have been triumphant more often.
"I did all right [at the Matchplay]," he joked. "I did okay. Looking back now, I think I could have been better. You know, once you're retired, you can look back at your career and think, 'Do you know what? I wish I'd have tried that, I wish I'd have tried this.'
"But, it's too late now, it's been and gone. But I always think I could have done better. Definitely [could have won more] World Championships. I probably could have done 20, I think. But we did okay.
"I haven't even got a set of darts now. Or a dartboard. I've got a dartboard in the back room. But it's still in the box. I was so dedicated and everything. I've never missed darts once, though, honestly," he continued. "I couldn't perform like Phil Taylor could perform. So it broke my heart a little bit. My body had changed.
"I mean, I'm 65 this year. It got harder and harder for me, and I couldn't perform. And people were paying money to come and see me, all these supporters and everything. It broke my heart not to perform like I can. And I thought, 'I can't do this anymore. This is not right.' If I do something, I have to do it properly. I'm a bit of a perfectionist.
"So, I do other things. I enjoy my life now. I see my grandkids a lot more. And the best thing in the world is staying and sleeping in your own bed. Which I'd never been able to do for 30 years, and I love it!"
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
4 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Jack Conan reveals video from Katie Taylor inspired Lions before second Test win
Taylor, an Olympic gold medal winner and current undisputed world super lightweight champion, sent the good luck message to Andy Farrell's squad in the build-up to Saturday's second Test at Melbourne Cricket Club. The 39-year-old's words on the ability to dig deep turned out to be prophetic as the Lions emerged 29-26 winners after fighting back from an 18-point deficit. 'The video was unbelievably poignant and powerful. It spoke about being prepared to win with skill, but also being ready to win by will,' said Ireland number eight Conan, who like Taylor hails from Bray in County Wicklow. History made 🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 26, 2025 'That was something that was massively summed up in the game because we were not at our best at all. 'It's huge because she comes from the town I'm from. I'm incredibly proud of where I come from and I know Katie is as well. 'She's gone on to achieve incredible feats in the boxing world. To be such a superstar, incredibly humble and driven is something that we leant on as well because we knew that Australia are a hugely proud nation and they showed it in spades. 'Everyone loved it, even the English and the Scottish boys and the Welsh boy – it resonated with everyone. It was unbelievably poignant, it was class. It really hit home for us.' It took a beautifully-taken try by Hugo Keenan with 51 seconds remaining to separate the rivals in one of the greatest Lions matches ever played. Remarkably, Keenan's touchdown was the first time they led in the match. Conan admits that victory tastes all the sweeter for having been taken to the wire as Australia raised their game to a whole new level a week after starting the series with a whimper in Brisbane. 'We were not at our best by any measure, but physically the lads dug in unbelievably well,' he said. Full time scenes in Melbourne 🥹🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 26, 2025 'It was disappointing how we played, but we played for 80 minutes. Hugo getting over the line in the last minute was just unbelievable. 'It wasn't my best game. A lot of us weren't at the races at all, but we stuck in there. You can't fault the effort. I thought the defensive sets we put in, just whacking people and just staying in there, was unbelievable. 'It's something that will go down in history. They won't be writing the history books about how s*** we were, but they'll say that we won and that's all that matters. 'Everyone's over the moon. To be part of a Lions winning series team is incredibly special. The celebrations in the changing room wouldn't have been the same if we'd won by 20.'
North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Jack Conan reveals video from Katie Taylor inspired Lions before second Test win
Taylor, an Olympic gold medal winner and current undisputed world super lightweight champion, sent the good luck message to Andy Farrell's squad in the build-up to Saturday's second Test at Melbourne Cricket Club. The 39-year-old's words on the ability to dig deep turned out to be prophetic as the Lions emerged 29-26 winners after fighting back from an 18-point deficit. 'The video was unbelievably poignant and powerful. It spoke about being prepared to win with skill, but also being ready to win by will,' said Ireland number eight Conan, who like Taylor hails from Bray in County Wicklow. History made 🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 26, 2025 'That was something that was massively summed up in the game because we were not at our best at all. 'It's huge because she comes from the town I'm from. I'm incredibly proud of where I come from and I know Katie is as well. 'She's gone on to achieve incredible feats in the boxing world. To be such a superstar, incredibly humble and driven is something that we leant on as well because we knew that Australia are a hugely proud nation and they showed it in spades. 'Everyone loved it, even the English and the Scottish boys and the Welsh boy – it resonated with everyone. It was unbelievably poignant, it was class. It really hit home for us.' It took a beautifully-taken try by Hugo Keenan with 51 seconds remaining to separate the rivals in one of the greatest Lions matches ever played. Remarkably, Keenan's touchdown was the first time they led in the match. Conan admits that victory tastes all the sweeter for having been taken to the wire as Australia raised their game to a whole new level a week after starting the series with a whimper in Brisbane. 'We were not at our best by any measure, but physically the lads dug in unbelievably well,' he said. Full time scenes in Melbourne 🥹🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 26, 2025 'It was disappointing how we played, but we played for 80 minutes. Hugo getting over the line in the last minute was just unbelievable. 'It wasn't my best game. A lot of us weren't at the races at all, but we stuck in there. You can't fault the effort. I thought the defensive sets we put in, just whacking people and just staying in there, was unbelievable. 'It's something that will go down in history. They won't be writing the history books about how s*** we were, but they'll say that we won and that's all that matters. 'Everyone's over the moon. To be part of a Lions winning series team is incredibly special. The celebrations in the changing room wouldn't have been the same if we'd won by 20.'
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Darts fans are kicked out of Matchplay event in Blackpool after protesting against transgender player Noa-Lynn van Leuven during women's tournament
Darts fans have claimed they were kicked out of the Winter Gardens at Blackpool after protesting against the inclusion of Noa-Lynn van Leuven in the Women's World Matchplay tournament. Eight of the top women's players in the world took part in the one-day tournament on Sunday, playing quarter-finals, semi-finals and an eventual final. Beau Greaves was the heavy favourite to win the competition, while Fallon Sherrock also took part, but it was Lisa Ashton who took home the trophy. One incident away from the oche, though, attracted attention, with three women claiming they were escorted out the building for attempting to protest as van Leuven made her entrance. Van Leuven, 28, who began her gender transition as a teenager, has stormed up the women's rankings in recent months by winning multiple titles, and completed her hormone therapy in 2022. She has been taking part in the women's series recently, though three women protested on Sunday - with one holding a banner reading: 'He's a man' an the other wearing a shirt which said: 'Save women's sport.' WARNING : Strong language This is the footage of the moment we were removed. For standing up at Women's World Matchplay Darts who let Noa-Lynn Van Loeven play against women. We hadn't said anything when they attacked us with force. @OfficialPDC these are your security. — Jean Hatchet (@JeanHatchet) July 27, 2025 Darts fans have claimed they were kicked out of the Women's World Matchplay for protesting against Noa-Lynn van Leuven The incident took place when van Leuven was set to make her entrance to take on Lorraine Winstanley - a game she won 4-0. The two protestors appeared to stand, with security leaping to them right away and appeared to take them out the premises. The two demonstrators struggled as they were moved away, with writer Jean Hatchet claiming she was one of the women and sharing her version of events on social media on Sunday evening. She shared a video of the incident, captioned: 'This is the footage of the moment we were removed. For standing up at Women's World Matchplay Darts who let Noa-Lynn van Loeven play against women.' She also explained how her partner had a banner that read: 'Noa-Lynn a man.' Hatchet also claimed that she, alongside her girlfriend, who was also removed, was at no point asked to leave and would have done so had she been asked. When approached by Mail Sport for comment, Hatchet said: 'We saw that PDC the organisers intended to allow Noa-Lynn Van Leuven to compete again in the UK despite the recent Supreme Court ruling clarifying the meaning of the word woman to mean, as it has always meant, "biological female". 'We wanted to make a simple statement that Van Leuven is a man, he should compete as he used to in the men's competition. We sat quietly enjoying the darts. People held up many signs with different messages encouraged by the event. I don't know how or why but when I held up one saying "he's a man" within seconds I was grabbed hard by security and the sign ripped from my hands. 'My girlfriend didn't get a chance to hold hers up at all before we were attacked by more security. They grabbed us hard and pushed us and then more arrived. I shouted that I just wanted to get my bag and I'd leave. They refused and really grabbed me hard. I tried to struggle because they were really hurting me. I said "let me walk out, just give me my bag" but they all grabbed me harder. I have really serious bruises. At one point the man said "Why are you doing this homophobic s***?" 'It was painful and humiliating and they pushed and shoved me when they finally dropped me. It was disgusting. They handed me over to Winter Gardens Staff who looked a bit shocked but didn't intervene.' Van Leuven revealed before the World Championship last year that she had faced adversity in the build-up, receiving death threats, while team-mates Aileen de Graaf and Anca Zijlstra refused to play with her and English player Deta Hedman against her. She became the first transgender player to compete at the Grand Slam of Darts in November last year, and she has qualified to play at the World Championship at Alexandra Palace for the first time last Christmas. PDC chief executive Matt Porter insisted last year that the current policy on transgender players is 'fair', giving Van Leuven the green light to compete on the biggest stage. Still, both men and women compete equally in the tournament. Focus has generally been on the star competing in women's events, with Hedman arguing: 'People can be whoever they want in life, but I don't think biologically born men should compete in women's sports.' Van Leuven again opened up on the discrimination she has faced, suggesting she does not have an advantage over other women at the oche. 'Sometimes I'm accused of having an advantage over others because of my height,' she said. 'But look at Beau [Greaves]. We're the same height. Or look at Phil Taylor. He's beaten everyone and he's a small guy.' 'Others see an alleged advantage in the movements of my hips. I would stand differently than CIS women. Then there are people who come up with a study from handball, according to which there are differences between men and women in the throw, specifically in the backswing, and also in the lunge movement. 'So, the last time I played darts, I didn't do a backswing or a lunge. It's f***ing darts. What are we talking about?'
