“The standard is still there” – Dom Taylor claims first title since drugs ban with 103 average in Coventry final

Dom Taylor has claimed his first title since returning from a six-month drugs suspension, producing consecutive ton-plus averages to win the Coventry Open on Sunday.

The former PDC Tour Card holder averaged 103.40 during a commanding 5-1 victory over Zac Prince in the final. Prince averaged 95.61 but was afforded little opportunity to threaten Taylor, who completed an unbeaten eight-match campaign with an overall tournament average of exactly 90.

It provided an immediate indication that Taylor’s game has survived his enforced absence from regular competition.

His scoring improved as the tournament entered its decisive rounds, with the 28-year-old averaging 100.17 while defeating Jack Aldridge 4-1 in the semi-final before raising that figure further against Prince.

Taylor began by winning all five of his matches in Group B. A 100.20 average carried him to a 3-0 victory over Adam Johnson, while Jamie Hughes came closest to stopping him during a 3-2 contest.

Further victories over Will Naylor, Ed Aston and Ian McFarlane secured Taylor’s progress into the knockout phase. He then defeated Liam Mulryne 4-1 in the quarter-final, averaging 86.75, before finding another level in his final two matches.

“Absolutely buzzing, feeling that the standard is still there with great composure and zero jittering,” Taylor wrote on Facebook after collecting the title. “On great form for the ADC Weekend next week!”

Taylor also thanked his family, friends, sponsors and those continuing to follow his journey, describing their support as hugely important.

The Coventry success followed Taylor’s return to competitive darts at the WDF Gibraltar Open in July. He reached the quarter-finals there, recording a 98.44 average in a 4-2 victory over 2026 World Championship participant Jesus Salate before losing to Lewis Gurney.

Taylor had been unable to compete for six months after testing positive for cocaine and cannabis at the 2025/26 PDC World Darts Championship. Although the Darts Regulation Authority accepted that both substances had been ingested outside competition, it represented his second anti-doping violation.

He was removed from the World Championship after beating Oskar Lukasiak in the opening round and forfeited the £25,000 prize money he had earned. Its removal from the Order of Merit dropped Taylor outside the world’s top 64 and cost him his PDC Tour Card.

Now competing away from the professional circuit, Taylor will carry his Coventry form into the upcoming ADC Championship Tour weekend on 8 and 9 August. A return to PDC Q School in January 2027 offers his eventual route back to the ProTour, but his first trophy since completing the suspension has arrived only weeks into his competitive comeback.