Phil Taylor: Factfile and chances at World Championships
Published:Name: Phil Taylor (The Power)
World Ranking: 1
Best World Championship Performance: Winner 13 times (most recent 2010)
Age: 52
Entrance Music: The Power by Snap!
After two years without a World Darts Championship win, Taylor will be chomping at the bit to get underway at the Ally Pally and win ‘his’ trophy back.
With an incredible 13 successes to his name in this tournament, The Power remains the man to beat here and signalled his intent with a convincing Players’ Championship win in his last tournament.
This supplemented a pretty solid 2012 for Taylor in which he won the Premier League and World Matchplay, as well as coming second in the UK Open.
He remains as determined as ever and it’d take a brave man to slight his ability after appearing in four televised finals this year, winning three of them. On top of this, he arrives at this competition with a very impressive 15 wins in his last 16 matches; rule him out at your peril.
At 2/1, he starts the tournament as favourite, but his price is far longer than what punters have become accustomed to in recent years and is well worth a flutter. With an opening round clash with Michael Mansell on the horizon, progression is a formality and can (barely) be backed at 1/50.
Adrian Lewis and Michael van Gerwen – the two biggest threats to his title hopes – are safe on the other half of the draw which is a further boost to his already excellent chances.
