The Betfair Interview: Phil 'The Power' Taylor

Darts / David Croft / 28 November 2009 / Leave a Comment

“I’ll put the work in for the World Championship. If I can win this one it sets me up for the whole year. I’ve got no excuses and if I perform I should win.”

It's almost 20 years since Phil Taylor beat Eric Bristow to announce himself as the new king of darts. Fourteen world titles on, the man they call 'the Power' discusses his chances of landing a 15th at the 2009 World Championships with David Croft.

Once upon a time a young man in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent would take a break over Christmas, spend time with his friends and family and then return to work in the New Year at JF Sale and co. making ceramic toilet roll handles. He'd take home no more than £52 a week for his hard graft.

That was around 30 years ago. This Christmas that same man, will make the trek from his home in Stoke down to London and should everything go to plan, come home with a cheque for £200,000. It's a different life these days for Phil Taylor and has been for a long long time.

It will be 20 years in January since he beat his one time mentor Eric Bristow to win what was the first of 14 World Titles so far. In the two decades since he set out on the road to the top, Taylor has established himself as the greatest ever player to set foot on the Oche.

There was a time when I would argue that Bristow was the greatest because he had to beat the best every time he played. Taylor, by joining the breakaway split in 1993 was denied the chance to pit himself against those in the BDO, until they decided to jump ship themselves. However, my theory now is that with the recent exodus of some of the biggest names in the BDO and Taylors' continued dominance at the top, there's no longer any argument. He is beating the best time and time again.

Taylor has stayed at the top because he never dwells on what he's achieved so far. His focus is always on winning the next tournament.

"My Dad always said to me" he revealed this week, "that you're only as good as you're next tournament. So forget about the last one, get ready for the next one. That's the way I am. I look forward to each new tournament and I keep trying new things. Little things, different stances, pace of throw, loads of different things. I practice with my son Chrissy and I enjoy it, because I keep trying new things, always looking ahead."

Bad news then for those hoping Taylor will take things easier now that he has 14 titles under his belt and is approaching his 50th birthday. "It's just in me that you get up in the morning and go out and get on with your job," he said. "When I was younger my mother would try and chuck a bucket of water over me if I tried to lie in bed. I've done a lot of tournaments this year but I couldn't tell you how many I've won, I just keep plodding along. It's my job and I enjoy it, the money is a bonus for me now."

It may be a bonus but there's no getting away from the fact that the £200,000 on offer for the winner of this year's World Championship is a huge motivation for the reigning champion or any other player in the field.

Taylor assured his supporters that he will be trying as hard as ever to take the top prize and will shortly settle down for some serious practice for the event. "I'll put the work in. If you can win this one it sets you up for the whole year. I've got no excuses and if I perform I should win."

Not that there aren't players who could beat the number 1. Taylor concedes that there are more than a few gathering at Ally Pally who could catch him out if he isn't on top form. The problem, as he sees it is that most of them haven't won a world championship before, which leaves them lacking in experience when it gets down to the business end.

"Barney will be ready though", he adds, :He hasn't been ready for every tournament this year but he'll be ready for this. I'm enjoying the game as much now as at any other stage in my career and I'm playing as well as I've ever played. I don't buckle under pressure. Sure, I can relax if I'm a long way in front and over the years I've been good at closing a game out. Like Linford Christie or Sebastian Coe I'm good at putting on that last extra spurt. And the field is so good now that you've got to have an extra gear in your game to beat the opposition. I'll make sure I'll put everything right and then I've got no excuses. Everything should be perfect by the time the championships start, if you don't do that, you're a fool."

The PDC World Championship gets underway on December 18th and after winning three quarters of the tournaments he's entered in the last 12 months, as far as I'm concerned only a fool would back against Taylor making it a 15th title win come the first weekend of January.

Phil Taylor is a best priced [1.51] to win the PDC World Championships with Betfair.