Sportblog | The Guardian — Phil Taylor RSS

Dec 14, 2017

The Anti-Sports Personality of the Year awards 2017

Before the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year awards on Sunday celebrate the best of 2017, here are our anti-heroes from the sporting world this yearThe retiring Taylor’s last year on the PDC circuit has not been without incident. There has of course been sporting success, including a 16th World Matchplay title, but also controversy, much of it centred on the Grand Slam of Darts, where he lost in the semi-finals to Michael van Gerwen. During that match the players were seen in heated discussion as they left the stage for a break. Later the victor was asked what had happened, and recounted a frankly not enormously interesting conversation. “He came to me: ‘You shouldn’t do this, you shouldn’t do...

Dec 11, 2017

One last fling before Phil Taylor finally turns off the power | Sean Ingle

After almost three decades as the biggest name in darts, Phil Taylor will bring the curtain down on an eventful career after the world championshipsSoon there will be no more throat-rattling oneunrenahnnehhteees bellowed in his honour, or match-winning doubles boozily lauded by the loaded. Instead, after this year’s world darts championship, which begins on Thursday, the Power will finally turn out the lights.For almost three decades Phil Taylor has been as immutable as death and taxes. The first of his 16 world titles came in 1990, when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister and with Alex Ferguson on the brink of getting sacked at Manchester United. It is not inconceivable that the last could come on New Year’s Day, with Taylor now...