Phil Taylor reveals 'heartbreaking' reason why he's no longer playing darts

Phil 'The Power' Taylor has opened up on the real reason why he retired from professional darts after dominating the sport for almost two decades.

Taylor, 64, is widely viewed as the greatest darts player in history, having won a record 16 World Championships.

His incredible record includes winning the PDC World Championship 14 times, 11 times more than his closest rival - Michael van Gerwen.

Van Gerwen will attempt to win his fourth title on Friday night when he faces Luke Littler in a mouth-watering final at Ally Pally.

Still aged just 17, Littler is already being tipped by some fans to potentially surpass Taylor's all-time record – a prediction which seems slightly premature considering he is yet to claim his first world title.

However, Taylor says he wouldn't be bothered if his all-time record was broken by Littler.

Asked if it will remain intact, he told The Sun: "I hope so. You never know. You never know. It wouldn't bother me if it got beaten.

"It can get beaten. If anything Luke has the age on his side. It's loads harder now. I probably won 10 world championships with the schedule not half as busy as it is now.

"I've had more publicity since Luke Littler became world runner-up and won tournaments than when I was winning myself.

"Every time I click on Google News, I'm on it. It's great."

Taylor called time on his professional career in 2023 after spending two years on the Senior Darts Tour. His decision came partly due to health problems, with the Stoke icon forced to undergo hip surgery following his retirement.

Reflecting on his final few years in darts, Taylor said he was in constant pain and needed to call it a day.

Taylor is widely viewed as the GOAT of darts (Image: Getty)

"The worst pain I ever had was in the last 12 months," he told Online Darts.

"It has been a nightmare, honestly. Playing wise, I was okay. But when you've been practising for a few hours and then you play the game, you get a really bad ache in your hip.

"It's like having toothache, it drives you crackers."

"I couldn't carry on anymore, it was too hard for me," he added.

"It breaks your heart, don't get me wrong, but it was time."