"I gave him the dartboard and he sat there crying": Phil Taylor recalls unexpected best World Matchplay memory

In the run-up to the World Matchplay in Blackpool, there is one name that remains inextricably linked to the prestigious tournament and that, of course, is darts legend Phil Taylor.

The 16-time champion of the iconic event at Winter Gardens looked back on his memories, victories, rivalries and the inevitable drive to keep improving in a wide-ranging interview with Moda Super Series.

Although his list of honors is full of records, it is not necessarily sporting glory that Taylor names first. "The best memory for me was the young lad named Stan who was in a wheelchair, he was paralysed, he passed away now. When I did the nine darter (against Chris Mason), I gave him the darts and the dartboard and he sat there crying.

Besides the iconic moment with Stan, Taylor also remembers well what he earned for that perfect leg. "£100,000, I know yeah. And then the year after, he put a brand-new Mercedes there, I think it was a £100,000 Mercedes, but he put the car right by the side of the stage. So every time you were on for it, you kept looking at the car thinking, I'm going to have that in a minute."

Taylor's impressive run of 16 World Matchplay titles is second to none, but he himself cites his defeats as the moments that come up first. "it's not the winning so much, it's the losing, what gets you. I've had some great, great games. I think the last Matchplay for me has got to be the best one, because it was the hardest run."

"I had Gerwyn Price, Barney and Michael (van Gerwen), Adrian (Lewis), Peter Wright. So it was really tough to get through. I think my odds then were around 50-1."

In the final, Taylor received another nice gesture from Wright. "Give me the walk-on last, yeah. Peter was upset a little bit. Yeah, he didn't like me retiring, because I was always inspiring him a little bit, because of what I'd done."

"He says, you inspire me, you want me to make play all day, because you keep practising."

Another memorable moment was his unexpected defeat against Peter Manley in 1999. "He said, will you sign the board for one of the kids in the audience? He's done that as a kind of mind game as a Mickey take."

"Now, I mean, I love him to bits now, you know what I mean, we're like really good friends. It's difficult when you are playing each other, because he was on all the time, and I used to snap at him."

Although the World Championship is usually considered the biggest tournament, the World Matchplay had a special place in Taylor's heart. "This Matchplay coming up now, we've got a heatwave at the minute, so that stage is going to be boiling. But during the day, you've got something you can do, you can sit outside, my own place up there, I've got a big lodge, so we can sit outside on nice garden furniture and just enjoy the sunshine and relax. At the World Championship, it's winter."

His preparation was therefore unique. Not a standard hotel room but home comforts. "I had my own bed, I had my own pillows, I had my own practise board, which was set up perfect."

His tactics were thought out to perfection. "I'd win the bull and give it away. So you go first. And then I'd try and get the first leg off you. Then keep the second leg, because I'm 2-0 up now. I'm pushing your leg all the time, I'm putting you under pressure all the time."

Even apparent psychological games had a practical purpose. "The best one I ever did, it was me and Kevin Painter. Kevin to throw first, because you alternate the throw. Kevin went bull, I went bull. I think we had five on the trot and then it was me, it was Kevin to throw. He hit 25, I hit bull and I went you can go first Kevin. He went berserk. Are you kidding me? After all that, he went mental."

Besides experience and level, Taylor also mentions the physical aspect of the World Matchplay. "You've got to cope with the heat. used to do a lot of saunas and steam, so I was used to the heat."

With a winning percentage of more than 90 percent at Winter Gardens, 107 matches played and an unprecedented run of eight consecutive titles between 2008 and 2015, it seems as if Taylor hardly dropped a stitch. Albeit while he remembers some times, he doesn't remember others.

He barely remembers his loss against James Wade in 2015. "I didn't even know James Wade beat me. Now, I'm not the best one remembering games now. I'm 65 this year. Can't remember my name half the time."

But when he did lose, it would create a frenzy. "Laughable. Because I never took any notice. I used to say, go on, I'll show you."

Finally, Taylor pulled the plug in 2018. His final year felt like the longest ever. "The last year was the longest year in my career because I wanted to finish. So, the last year, I said to Barry, I had a meeting with Barry, he said, well, just play your card out. Just go to the tournaments that you want to go till your card runs out."

"I went, no, I'm finished now, Baz. I still played, but I wasn't competitive. In hindsight, I wish I'd have done now. I mean, Barry's always right where money's concerned and business is concerned. If you want to listen to anybody, listen to Barry, because he will make you a very, very wealthy man."