Darts Icon 'Regrets' Phil Taylor Friendship And 'Should've Kept Him at Arm's Length'

A former darts player has made a brutally honest admission about his friendship with Phil 'The Power' Taylor and believes he ought to have kept him at arm's length instead.

The Power is seen as one of the greatest darts players of all time thanks to his exploits in the sport across three decades.

Taylor, now aged 65, won the PDC World Championship on 14 occasions between 1995 and 2013 as he cemented his reputation as one of the greatest darts players around, reaching 14 consecutive finals between 1994 and 2007, as well as being involved in 21 finals overall to make sure of his place in the record books.

He was number one player in the world for 13 years overall, which included a spell of eight in a row between 2006 and 2013.

Taylor retired from professional darts following the 2018 World Championship and no longer plays the sport competitively.

During his time in darts, Taylor formed a friendship with fellow player Dennis Priestley, who is a decade older than him at 75.

The Menace won the PDC World Championship once in 1994, the inaugural champion just before Taylor's period of dominance in the sport began.

Priestley retired from professional darts in 2015 after a long career which saw him take on his friend Taylor on numerous occasions, especially in the 1990s and the 2000s.

Phil Taylor and Dennis Priestley in action. (Image: Getty)

Such was the duo's friendship that they even shared prize money on occasions.

However, Priestley has now looked back on their friendship and admitted that he now regrets their close relationship as it meant Taylor learnt perhaps a bit too much from him.

Speaking to SafeBettingSites in 2024 via the Daily Express, Priestley said: "Looking back on the situation, I shouldn't have let him get that close to me in terms of friendly wise.

"I was 10 years senior to him and I was not a teenager in my 20s.

"I believe he learnt a lot from me but I should have not let him get too close to me. I should have kept him at arm's length with more distance."

Priestley added: "Phil and his record will never be overtaken.

"It is possible, but in my opinion, no one will get near the 16 world championships and all his other titles.

"If you are a top player and dominate for a decade, you have done extremely well. Phil more or less dominated for two decades which was remarkable."