Phil Taylor

Philip Douglas Taylor (born 13 August 1960) is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed The Power, he dominated darts for over two decades and won 214 professional tournaments, including a record 85 major titles and a record 16 World Championships. He is the most successful darts player in history.

Taylor won eight consecutive World Championships from 1995 to 2002, reached 14 consecutive finals from 1994 to 2007 and reached 21 world finals overall, all of which are records. He held the world number one ranking for thirteen years in total, including eight in a row from 2006–2013. He won 70 PDC Pro Tour events, which was a record until Michael van Gerwen passed it in February 2019. Taylor hit a record 11 televised nine-dart finishes (and 22 overall). He was also the first person to hit two nine-dart finishes in the same match.

Taylor played in competitions organised by the British Darts Organisation (BDO) until 1993. Amidst growing disenchantment with the BDO, he was among 16 top players who broke away to form their own organisation, the World Darts Council, now known as the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He won the PDC Player of the Year award six times (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012) and was twice nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, in 2006 and 2010; in the latter event he finished as runner-up, making him the only darts player ever to finish in the top two. He was inducted into the PDC Hall of Fame in 2011. Taylor retired from professional darts after the 2018 World Championship.