Fresh from his latest tungsten triumph, Phil Taylor has now set his sights on winning another TV ‘Major’ this weekend.
The Unicorn star relishes the challenge of being the first man to achieve certain feats in the world of darts…..on Sunday in Blackpool, he was the first to win a ‘Major’ broadcast in 3D.
Well this weekend, he wants to be the first to win an event broadcast on Bravo, as the European Championship heads to Dinslaken in Germany.
Taylor has won the two previous European Championship events, beating Adrian Lewis and Steve Beaton in the finals played in Frankfurt and Holland.
Now, he wants a hat-trick. “There isn’t any time to rest on my laurels after the World Matchplay win, so I need to focus on the European tournament now and make sure that I am properly prepared.”
He added: “After this tournament, I will enjoy some time off with the family and a holiday and a relaxing week or two!”
Taylor has a tough start – drawn against the in-form Dutchman Co Stompe in the 1st Round in Germany and those 1st Round games are only the best of 11 legs, so anything could happen!
Ten other Unicorn stars are in action in Dinslaken…..there are two all Unicorn affairs as Raymond van Barneveld plays Andy Hamilton, while Colin Osborne faces Wes Newton. Paul Nicholson, Terry Jenkins, Barrie Bates, Jamie Caven, Adrian Lewis and James Wade are also taking part in the event, which starts on Thursday, with the final on Sunday night.
Taylor though, is still basking in the glory of his record-breaking 11th World Matchplay crown, after he edged out Barney 18-12 in a brilliant final at the Winter Gardens.
“I am totally gobsmacked!” he said. “”But it was great to see Barney performing like that. His career is certainly back on track and I reckon there is a good chance that we will be playing each other again at the World Championship Final….let’s hope so! But it would be great to see,” Taylor added.
Barneveld’s rehabilitation is almost complete. His two-month break obviously did him the world of good and although he was hurting after the defeat, he must know that he isn’t very far away from winning another TV ‘Major’
Taylor has obviously consolidated his standing at the World No.1 in the latest PDC Order of Merit after Blackpool, but Barney is now a clear No.2
James Wade remains in 3rd place in the world rankings but the pressure is in the Unicorn star…..as it stands, he is now only £18,500 ahead of Mervyn King in 4th, and the race is on for Wade to make sure that it is him who goes on to partner Taylor for England in the first ever PDC World Cup in early December.
He needs to keep King at bay….the cut-off for World Cup pairings will be after the World Grand Prix in Dublin in October.
As far as the rest of the World rankings is concerned, Terry Jenkins and Adrian Lewis remain 5th and 6th, while the rest of the top 10 is made up of Ronnie Baxter, Simon Whitlock, Mark Walsh and Colin Lloyd.
So, what about the rest of Team Unicorn?
Andy Hamilton and Colin Osborne are 11th and 12th respectively, Kevin Painter is No.15 and Paul Nicholson remains at No.16
Wes Newton is up to No.22, Jamie Caven is 26th and John Part just stays in the elite top 32….the Canadian is at No.30
But Peter Manley has dropped out of the top 32 for the first time ever…..the charismatic ‘One Dart’ is now ranked at No.35 and his major target for the rest of the year is to make sure he is at the World Championship in London in December.
Kirk Shepherd is 42nd, Mick McGowan 59th, Gary Mawson 75th, Joe Cullen No.76, Arron Monk at No.89 and Anastasia is ranked 104th.
By STUART PYKE (twitter @stuartpykesport)
Photo courtesy Lawrence Lustig / PDC