Phil Taylor was rarely ruffled during his years of darting domination. It was usually his opponent who lost his way as The Power pounded the trebles and doubles segments with robotic consistency.
But an experience at the World Matchplay – his favourite tournament at his favourite venue – once left him dumbfounded, unsure how to react. The Winter Gardens crowd is widely regarded as the most knowledgeable and respectful in darts. But he sensed a shift in the vibe during his final years at the top of the game.
Taylor found himself getting barracked by an unruly section of the audience, an unwanted issue players are having to contend with today.
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“It started for me at Blackpool, around seven or eight years before I retired,” he recalls ahead of the 2026 edition of the tournament. They got a bit unruly. I looked at the crowd and thought, ‘I’m getting ready to finish now,’ because I wasn’t used to it.
“It wasn’t just me [getting it], it was everybody. Blackpool was always the best crowd but then it seemed to change. It became more like a stag party. It’s like monkey-see, monkey-do, I guess.
“I’ve had loads of things shouted at me, things I couldn’t understand and I had to get a dictionary to find out what they’ve been calling me!”
Was it hard not to react to abuse from fans? “It depends on your frame of mind,” he says. “If you’re struggling a bit, it affects you more.
“But if you’re ready and you’ve done everything right, it shouldn’t bother you. You go into a bubble. It doesn’t matter what they do or say; you’re not bothered.
“If there’s a lot of people and there’s a big crowd, you don’t hear it so much. It becomes like a buzz. Like with London traffic and it’s busy, you don’t hear it. But when it’s quiet, you hear every motorbike going past.”
The issue of player abuse, and especially whistling, was a hot topic during the recent Premier League. Taylor has some sympathy for today’s players, like Luke Littler, who admitted he considered quitting the tournament over the abuse he was copping.
“He did brilliantly, especially with the pressure he was under,” says Taylor of Littler, who defied the abuse to claim his second Premier League title.
“Some of the lads, they were fuming about the whistling. But it’s part of the game now, you’ve just got to get used to it, unfortunately.
“It’s terrible at times. There’s booing, you get obscenities thrown at you. It is naughty. It’s people enjoying themselves, people gambling. They’ll have money on other players, and they’ll try and put you off.
“It’s a different era from when I played. The youngsters now, they should be used to it because they’ve had it enough. And they’ll have to cope with it because if they don’t, there’s about 5,000 people behind you who will cope with it. That’s unfortunate but that’s life.”
Despite the aforementioned experience, the Winter Gardens, where he lifted the World Matchplay crown a staggering 16 times, will always be his most treasured venue.
He recalls: “It was my favourite venue because it was like a local gig for me. I only lived an hour away. I had my own lodge up there. Plus, it was summer. At the World Championship, around Ally Pally, there’s not a lot to do and it’s cold, so you’re stuck in your room all day.
“But with my lodge, I’d be out on the decking sunbathing, I had a gymnasium there. It was lovely.
“I loved the Matchplay, I still do. Even though the Worlds is the biggest tournament, the Matchplay is my favourite one, and my favourite venue.
“It’s a stage where you’ve had everybody, famous people, politicians. You’re treading in footsteps where they’ve had mega-famous people.”
The memories of Taylor’s 16 Matchplay wins are understandably hazy. He admits: “I’m the worst one for asking because as soon as I won anything, I’d get ready for the next one. Like my dad said, ‘Put your trophy down and get ready for the next one.'”
However, he does remember his first nine-darter at the tournament in 2002. Back then, perfect legs weren’t as plentiful as they are today. They were so rare that the tournament sponsors offered up a £100,000 bonus for anyone who could hit one.
That was more than the total prize money for the entire tournament, which was just £75,500, with £15,000 going to the winner. As usual, it was Taylor who lifted the trophy, which is now named after him.
The Power felt good throughout that tournament, so good that he predicted his nine-darter during a pre-match meal with a friend. He says: “It was about 45/1 or something like that. But I’d already done two in practice at the guesthouse where I was staying.
“I did one against Darryl Fitton and one against Darren Webster. The sponsors gave me a briefcase with what looked like money in it for the photos. That wasn’t cash, it was a photocopy. I always felt good playing there.”