Phil Taylor was wondering what all the fuss was about as he started his bid for a 12th World Matchplay title.
But he was given a real scare by Mark Hylton, before edging a thriller….Taylor looked nervous and edgy and had to dig deep to draw on his vast experience on the Blackpool stage to finally win 10-8.
And it was a special night for Unicorn ace Wes Newton, who finally won a match at his ‘home’ tournament at the fifth time of asking, as he thrashed Andy Smith 10-2.
But there was a great sense of anticipation as Philip Taylor entered the arena and took the stage, because we were all guessing as to which Phil Taylor would appear!
The answer was there for all to see…..in form, hungry and desperate to win!
But a lot of credit must go to Hylton, who was quite brilliant on the night at the Winter Gardens, averaging just shy of 100 and he hit seven 180s to give Taylor a run for his money.
Refreshed from a long break in Tenerife, Taylor is aiming to win the Blackpool crown for a fourth consecutive year…..and after losing his grip on the World Championship, World Grand Prix, Premier League and World Grand Prix, the pressure was on for ‘The Power’!
But he responded.
“Mark played brilliantly and he is going to be a big star. He kept coming back at me and I really thought we were heading for a tie-break, so I was relieved to hit that winning double.”
And ‘The Power’ also hit back at Paul Nicholson, as their war of words intensified…..you may remember Nicholson had a ‘pop’ at Taylor after his win over Colin Osborne.
Well, Taylor responded in the verbal jousting.
“Paul can be a silly boy sometimes. When he has won 10 World titles, he can come back at me. I don’t like being insulted and he is certainly firing me up.”
It could become a great rivalry in the world of darts!
Taylor hit back from going 3-1 down with a golden spell, including an 11 darter, a 115 finish and a 96 two-dart check-out. He also hit six perfect darts in one leg!
The Unicorn star went 8-4 and 9-5 up, but Hylton refused to throw in the towel and he stormed back into contention….finishes of 108 and 119 and he got it back to 9-8…..Hylton actually had a go at 121 to force extra time, but made a mess of it and Taylor took out 68 for the match.
Much relieved, but he is in the tournament and it could turn out to be the perfect preparation for ‘The Power’ for the trials to come…..
And Taylor will now face Wayne Jones in the 2nd Round on Thursday, after the Wolverhampton man beat Matchplay debutant Scott Rand.
It’s hats off to Wes Newton in Blackpool!
After losing all four matches at the Winter Gardens, he finally got the Matchplay monkey off his back, demolishing ‘The Pie Man’ Andy Smith.
“It is a great feeling,” Newton said. “I felt a bit of pressure but I am in good touch and now I can relax a bit. Andy didn’t turn up but I had to keep focused and get the job done.”
Well, he certainly did that…..after he raced into a 6-0 lead, the result was never in doubt.
He could have won 10-1 but missed four match darts and he was then agonisingly close to winning it with a 170 bull finish, before nailing D8.
Newton is now up to No.7 in the world….a career high
Monday 1st Round results:
Wayne Jones 10-6 Scott Rand
Mervyn King 6-10 Justin Pipe
Phil Taylor 10-8 Mark Hylton
Wes Newton 10-2 Andy Smith
Gary Anderson will be in the spotlight on Tuesday night, as the 1st Round concludes in Blackpool. He faces a tough all Unicorn clash with Andy Hamilton.
Tuesday schedule:
Ronnie Baxter v Denis Ovens
Colin Lloyd v John Henderson
Gary Anderson v Andy Hamilton
Simon Whitlock v Peter Wright
By STUART PYKE at the World Matchplay
Photos courtesy Chris Sargeant