Darts legend Phil Taylor has had to pull out from his final swansong at the World Seniors Masters.
The 16-time World Champion, known as ‘The Power,’ hung up his professional darts in 2018 following a World Championship final defeat to Rob Cross but stepped back into the fray for a bit of competitive fun in last year’s World Seniors Darts Championship.
Taylor was all set for one last hoorah at the oche this November at the World Seniors Masters. Sadly, after a hip op in the summer, he’s being sidelined by his recovery, telling the folks at Online Darts: “I’m struggling a bit with my hip.
He added: “Everything was going fine, but then I just did a little too much and apparently I’ve torn my scar tissue. So yeah, it’s a bit painful.” In a candid tell-all, Taylor opened up about his tough times with his hip injury, admitting: “It’s been the worst pain I’ve ever had these last twelve months.
Honestly, I’ll be glad when this year is gone,” voicing that practice sessions are manageable until it translates into hours of play resulting in agonising hip ache likened to a relentless toothache that drives him bonkers.
(Image: PA)
Previously, Taylor announced that he would retire from the sport definitively by year’s end, reminiscing on his epic career: “It’s been an unbelievable journey over the past 35 years and I’ve loved every minute of it,” reports the Mirror.
“I’ll always love performing to the best of my ability, but time waits for no man and I know now is the right time to step away from the Tour. I’m going to be working just as hard as I always have to make sure I give the fans what they want and go out on top.”
Darts icon Taylor, first grabbing his PDC World Championship bling in 1995, went on a whopping eight-year winning streak at the tourney. Flash forward to 2013 and he’s nabbed the world title 16 times, with a grand total of 21 final showdowns.
(Image: LAWRENCE LUSTIG)
The Stoke legend, who pretty much owned the oche during his heyday, bagged the Premier League six times and was the pride of England, leading the team to snag the World Cup four times. The man’s trophy shelf is staggering214 pro titles, with a jaw-dropping record of 85 major wins.
He didn’t just charm the darts world; in 2006 and 2010, the public nearly crowned him BBC Sports Personality of the Year, coming in second once. Record-breaker Taylor didn’t stop there he made history by smashing in two nine-dart finishes in a single game.
This January saw Taylor bow out of the limelight at the World Senior Darts Championship after his shock defeat to Germany’s Manfred Bilderl. After battling back heroically from two sets down, Taylor brought it to a thrilling decider only to see Bilderl nick the victory and march into round two.