Phil "The Power" Taylor

Phil wastes no time reminiscing on the first big win that got him into the 1990 World Championships. “I was there a week early,” he says, “in a bar every day practicing, then bed, then practicing, and then bed. That put me into the World Championships...and I won! I beat Eric 6-1 in the final.”

When faced with the title of Greatest Of All Time, Phil is quick to dismiss the adulation. “That’s what people say but I don’t feel that though.”

“It’s lovely for people to brag you up but you never feel like that,” he says, when asked about his sporting legacy. “You look at players now,” he adds, “I’m watching them last week and thinking ‘How did I ever compete against these players?’”

Pushing past his humility, Phil names the likes of Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, and Michael Smith as younger players who have caught his attention. Some pros think these rising stars have a long way to go, but Phil seems to disagree.

“Some of ‘em are getting beat,” he says, of his fellow big names in the game. “It’s all on the day, I just wanna see how they compete now against the younger players.”  

“In my hay day, I was earning £200,000 or £300,000 a month!” Phil says, while considering the inflated modern-day prize pools. “Could you imagine what I'd be earning now? If I could play like I did then, I'd probably be earning a million pounds a month!”

What’s more shocking to the champ though is the through-the-roof earnings people earn on social media these days.

“I didn’t realise what kind of money people make off social media,” he admits, and though he recognises that there are definitely some people who are more TikTok darts players than classic darts players, Phil can’t help but acknowledge their own brand of success. This especially true when he hears how Ronaldo makes more per Instagram post than he does for playing. “Wow!” he proclaims, lost for words. “I heard Jennifer Lopez does something like £40,000 a Tweet or something. I’d never be off it!”

When considering which celebrity would play him if Netflix ever did a Phil Taylor biopic, he laughs saying “In reality, I think it’d be Danny DeVito”. Though he also makes it clear that if Tom Cruise is interested, the action hero is his number one pick.

When asked how we can grow darts in countries like Canada and North America, Phil has a simple answer, “One thing that’s always brought a country on is a good player from that country.”

“You need a good player to create interest for the TV companies,” he explains, “That creates a chance to sell TV to that country and promote the darts there. Sponsorship comes in. That’s the only way to do it is by having good players from your country.”

Barneveld did it for Holland, Gabriel Clemens did it for Germany, and Phil Taylor has no doubt it’d be the same for any American or Canadian pro player, too.

Capping off the interview, Phil talks us through his plans for the coming years.

“I’ll be competitive next year and the following year. And I’ll be working for the seniors and doing personal appearances, things like that,” he says. But it’s not all darts-related, Phil tells us about the properties he owns and works on alongside his plumbers and electricians.

“I do like being hands-on. I like getting my hands dirty,” he explains, before talking about his grandkids and the joy he feels at being around for them. “I missed my own kids being brought up with me working all the time,” he laments.

It’s no wonder retirement sounds so appealing. Though the way Phil jokes about starring in his own home-life reality show “a bit like the Osbournes” makes us wonder how long The Power might really stay out of the public eye.