“You’d go to the toilet, come back and your dart case would be missing” – Adrian Lewis touches on Taylor's mind games and why he would defeat Littler today

According to two-time world champion Adrian Lewis, Phil Taylor would still have the edge even in today’s era, including against sensation Luke Littler. Not just because of his unrivaled class, but also thanks to his notorious mind games.

Littler has rocketed to become the dominant force in darts. With two world titles, back-to-back UK Open triumphs, and victory in the Premier League, he has elevated the sport to new heights. Even so, Lewis is adamant: if Taylor were still active, he would remain the man to beat.

Speaking to the Double Tops podcast, Lewis explains that Taylor often broke opponents mentally before a dart had been thrown. “He had a few tactics to beat his opponent before they stepped onto the oche," he said. "But in all honesty he was so good it wouldn’t have mattered.”

Lewis says people often claim the standard is higher than ever, but he doesn’t fully agree. “Everyone says the game is so much better now, but look at the averages and they’re actually lower than what they were 10-15 years ago.”

What set Taylor apart, according to Lewis, was his iron consistency. “Phil was so consistent and would still be the one to beat if he was still playing.” And even against today’s phenomenon Littler, Lewis has no doubt: “Luke is an amazing player but I’d still back Phil to beat him without a shadow of a doubt.”

As an example, Lewis recalls a Grand Slam semi-final against Taylor — a match that speaks volumes. “When I played him in the Grand Slam semi-final, I was averaging 117 and I was 9-8 down – what else can you do? I was basically hitting two 180s a leg and losing.”

Now 65, Taylor was known not only for his achievements but also for his psychological warfare. Lewis recalls countless moments when ‘The Power’ tried to knock opponents out of their rhythm — often with seemingly childish antics.

“He was the master of the mind games and there wasn’t much he didn’t do to us behind the scenes." According to Lewis, you could easily find your dart case missing if you nipped to the toilet. “You’d go to the toilet, come back and your dart case would be missing. He loved playing childish pranks like that just to wind everyone up."

Taylor’s antics continued off stage as well. On a business-class flight to Australia, things even got a little out of hand. “He kept flicking these nuts at me. I turned to him and said ‘if one more nut touches me you’re having the bowl over you.’"

Not long after, Taylor’s manager Bob Glenn fell asleep — and Taylor seized the moment again. "He stopped and quite soon after his agent, Bob Glenn, started snoring. He stopped quite quickly and I looked around and Phil had put two nuts up his nostrils. That’s the sort of thing he’d do – we’d have so many laughs together," he concluded with a smile.