What a proud moment for Phil Taylor and what a fantastic achievement for the sport of darts, as he was named runner-up at the 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.
Taylor brought the house down in Birmingham and received a standing ovation, but was beaten for the big award by top jockey A.P McCoy.
“Thank-you to everyone for supporting me,” he said. “I feel proud and humbled and this special moment will stay with me forever.”
It was some night and some achievement and you never know – but this recognition may just be the shot in the arm Taylor needs to return to the Alexandra Palace, full of confidence, in his pursuit of a 16th World Championship crown.
Taylor was brought on at the ceremony to his famous “I’ve Got the Power’ walk-on and it brought the entire crowd to its feet at the LG Arena in Birmingham!
You just get the feeling that this could make a massive difference to Taylor for the rest of the tournament at the Ally Pally.
Pop superstar Robbie Williams championed Taylor during the BBC show and he received over 75,000 votes from the British sporting public.
Williams said: “More needs to be made of what he’s done and what he’s achieved.” Well, it certainly was on Sunday night.
“It is a brilliant feeling,” Taylor added. “I just hoped to get in the top three and for me, this is a real darting dream come true.”
And they were queuing up to pay tribute to the Team Unicorn superstar.
PDC Chairman Barry Hearn said: “It is incredible for Phil and a huge compliment for the sport of darts.”
Sky Sports Sid Waddell had this to say: “He is a living legend. The great British public voted for a great sportsman.”
Five-times World Champion Eric Bristow said: “He really deserves this recognition. It’s the first time that I’ve seen him happy being runner-up!”
And Rod Harrington added his tribute: “He had lifted the sport of darts to a new level yet again. The man is amazing!”
We should leave the last word to Taylor.
“After all the years of hard work and dedication, this is very, very special for me and my family.”
The honour is well deserved.
Now he has to refocus and concentrate on the World Championship and the challenges that lie ahead over the next two weeks in London.
By STUART PYKE (Twitter @stuartpykesport)
Photos courtesy of Lawrence Lustig / PDC and Chris Sargeant