Phil Taylor managed to make history in 2010 by throwing two nine-dart finishes in the final of Premier League Darts. With the final of the current Premier League edition approaching, it's time to take a look back at 'The Power's historic achievement.
It was during the period when Taylor was seemingly unbeatable. At the time, the Premier League also consisted of eight players, but they did not play a weekly mini-tournament. A real league was played and all the players played one match each night for 14 weeks.
No one managed to get close to the darts legend from Stoke-on-Trent. Taylor won twelve of his fourteen matches, and often by large numbers with a leg difference of +58. Mervyn King and James Wade did manage to hold 'The Power' to a draw once.
These like Taylor and also Simon Whitlock, managed to reach the playoffs of the 2010 Premier League Darts. In the first semifinal, Wade won 8-6 over Whitlock, before Taylor dealt his compatriot Mervyn King an 8-1 beating with an average of 108.
So in the final, Taylor and Wade went on to battle for the title and the accompanying top prize of £125,000. The first leg went to Wade. Taylor started the second leg with a 174 score, then left a 147 finish via a 180. Via treble 20, treble 17 and double 18, the multiple world champion threw his first-ever nine-darter in Premier League Darts.
Phil Taylor's first nine-dart finish in tie
Wade, however, was not impressed by his great rival and continued to give Taylor excellent opposition. A second nine-dart finish from "The Power," however, proved too powerful for the left-handed darter. In the fifteenth leg, Taylor hit his second nine darter of the match with two 180s and a 141 check-out.
It was the very first time in the history of darts that a player managed to throw two perfect legs in one match. After the second nine darter, Taylor made it sixteen consecutive perfect darts. Indeed, he started the sixteenth leg with 174 and 180.
The treble 20 was then hit with the first dart of his third turn, before the triple 17 was missed by an inch. Taylor eventually did make it 9-7 via a 10-darter, before later winning the Premier League final 10-8.
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