"Afterwards he didn’t even say a word to me" - Peter Evison recalls stunning Phil Taylor en route to World Matchplay title in 1996

Phil Taylor won the World Matchplay no less than sixteen times in his illustrious career, an unmatched record. But in 1996, "The Power" was surprisingly switched off as early as the second round.

Taylor was thrashed 8-1 by Peter Evison in the second round that year. It gave Evison so much confidence that he also survived the often typical fate of players besting Taylor only to lose out in the next round, as he went all the way and actually won the tournament. Unlike many players of that era, Evison was not afraid to play against Taylor.

"I had a good record against Phil. I thought, ‘I’ve only got to play like I can and I’ll beat him’. You get those players who you don’t mind playing, no matter how good they are. He’s only got three darts, the same as everybody else," Evison explains to Mirror Sport. “You’re playing the dartboard, not the person. Some people had a fear of playing certain people, but not me. I think that was one of my best wins. It’s one of the venues he loved playing at.”

Notably, Taylor somewhat unsurprisingly, didn't take too kindly to being dumped out. “He disappeared very quickly. He didn’t even say a word to me. He knew he’d got his arse kicked. He just wanted to disappear and get out of the way,” Evison can recall.

With another job to do and with his girlfriend and son also in attendance, Evison resisted any temptation hit the bars in Blackpool town and celebrate wildly. "I did things differently,” he remembers. “I didn’t go out drinking or partying. I knew I had to knuckle down. I just had a couple of drinks at the bar and went to bed early. I felt good the whole week. I was in bed early every night, whereas usually in Blackpool I’d go to a few bars and have a bit of fun. I was behaving myself that week.”

For Evison, it ultimately stayed at just the one PDC major. When asked if his love of the party lifestyle had cost him any more major titles, Evison admitted; "Probably, yeah. But you can’t have any regrets. I had some really good times and won tournaments all over the world doing what I was doing. You’ve just got to believe in your own ability and I thought I could beat anyone.”