Phil Taylor has backed one of his former darting rivals as a ‘dark horse’ to win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
On the eve of the beginning of the greatest show in darts, legendary arrowsmith Taylor admitted that the tournament could be a ‘career-ender’ for a number of the sports older players as they look to defend hefty prize money while arriving at Ally Pally in poor form.
However, one such great, Gary Anderson, has shocked plenty of fans this year with his remarkable return to form. The 2015 and 2016 world champ has won three Players Championship events and has impressed with deep runs into majors throughout the year.
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Speaking to OLBG, Taylor was asked whether Anderson was amongst the people who could be facing a pivotal tournament at Ally Pally which could save their career. But ‘The Power’ admitted that Anderson’s ‘resurgence’ could see him go all the way.
Taylor said: “Gary is on a resurge at the minute. He’s playing alright, is Gary, and I think he is a dark horse for the World Championship.”
Who’s your dark horse for the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Let us know in the comments section.
'The Flying Scotsman's' brilliant year saw him as the player heading into the European Championships in October with the highest average of any on the tour in the Players Championship over the last 200 legs played – also the only one to win 60 per cent or more of the legs they played in that time span.
Since then, he reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam in November where he was beaten by eventual tournament winner and world champs favourite Luke Humphries 16-14, who arrives at Ally Pally off the back of three successive tournament wins.
On those who need a positive tournament to save their rankings, Taylor picked out another former world champ, he said: “There are a few players now defending a lot of money. I say career-ending, it’s going to be difficult to get back up to say the top rankings. Peter Wright is defending five hundred thousand. He needs to do well, and I’m sure Peter will.”
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