The era of Phil Taylor may be long gone in darts, but there is one all-time feat that 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 victories to his name.
Taylor, 64, also produced the most televised nine-dart finishes with 11, and was the first player to produce two nine-darts in the same match.
But even if teen sensation Littler should one day threaten those scorers, neither he nor “MVG” will ever be able to match what Taylor produced in 1993.
At the UK Matchplay tournament, Taylor faced Jocky Wilson in a clash televised by ITV Yorkshire. But there was something unusual about the board of directors of the Aquarius Club of Chesterfield.
The games were 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 quads as well as triples.
So instead of the standard score of 180, a maximum score of 240 was possible. And Taylor achieved that with three darts against Wilson, although it was the Scot who would reach the final before losing to Dennis Priestly.
Wilson, Shayne Burgess, Bob Anderson and Peter Evison would match Taylor’s feat during the tournament. But the experiment of using the board at major events did not last and in 2000 the product was discontinued.
This was after a number of players complained that the extra rings were causing confusion. And even the possibility of an eight-dart leg wasn’t enough to make the stars want to continue.
However, a new 2025 “Quadro” card is now available for fans to purchase, although the PDC is not expected to adopt it. So even if Littler lives up to the hype and one day overhauls Taylor’s number of world titles, he will never reach his score of 240 in a professional match.
Taylor, who retired from the PDC circuit after his final defeat to Rob Cross seven years ago, recently admitted he does not want Littler to ever surpass him. However, he also admitted that the 17-year-old is capable of moving forward and rivaling his status as the best player of all time.
“I hope not,” he told talkSPORT, when asked if Littler could reach 17 world titles. “But I’ll tell you, if there’s anyone who could do it, it’s this young boy now. He’s got age on his side and he’s got the ability, so you never know, you never know.
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