Phil Taylor’s era might be long gone in darts but there is one achievement of the all-time great that the likes of Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen will never match. Taylor’s haul of 16 world titles remains unprecedented, while ‘The Power’ also retired in 2018 with 85 major tournament wins to his name.
Taylor, 64, has also produced the most televised nine-dart finishes with 11, and was the first player to produce two nine-darters in the same match.
But while teenage sensation Littler has been tipped to one day threaten those markers, neither he or ‘MVG’ will ever match what Taylor produced in 1993.
At the UK Matchplay tournament, Taylor took on Jocky Wilson in a clash televised by ITV Yorkshire. But there was something unusual about the board at the Aquarius Club in Chesterfield.
Games were being played on a ‘Quadro’ board, which had been introduced by Harrows Darts Technology in 1992. The board consisted of an extra ring between the double ring and the outer bull, which meant players could aim for quadruples as well as trebles.
So rather than the standard 180, a maximum score of 240 was possible. And Taylor nailed that with three darts against Wilson, although it was the Scot who would go on to reach the final before losing to Dennis Priestly.
Wilson, Shayne Burgess, Bob Anderson and Peter Evison would go on to match Taylor’s feat during the tournament. But the experiment of using the board in major events wasn’t to last, and by 2000 the product was discontinued.
That was after a number of players complained that the extra rings caused confusion. And not even the possibility of an eight-dart leg was enough to entice stars to want it carried on.
However, a new 2025 ‘Quadro’ board is now available for fans to buy, although there are no plans for the PDC to adopt it. So even if Littler does live up to the hype and one day overhaul Taylor’s number of world titles, he won’t ever match his score of 240 in a professional match.
Taylor, who stepped away from the PDC Tour after his final defeat to Rob Cross seven years ago, recently admitted he didn’t want Littler to one day surpass him. However, he also conceded the 17-year-old was capable of pushing on and rivalling his status as the greatest ever.
“I hope not,” he told talkSPORT, when asked if Littler could reach 17 world titles. “I’ll tell you what though, if there’s anybody that could do it, it’s this young lad now. He’s got the age on his side, and he’s got the ability, so you never know, you never know.”
Belgium
