Phil Taylor says darts star would have been a 'multi-millionaire' if he'd joined the PDC
Phil Taylor didn't hesitate when naming the one darts player who he believed could have become a 'multi-millionaire' - had he joined the Professional Darts Corporation.
Taylor himself was a founding member of what was then known as the World Darts Council in 1993, with 'The Power' being part of a breakaway group of players from the rival British Darts Organisation (BDO).
The BDO subsequently banned all 16 'rebels' from competing in their events, with the WDC launching a lawsuit in response over alleged loss of earnings and restraint of trade.
The deadlock was broken when the court imposed a Tomlin order - a type of consent order that states both parties have agreed settlement terms - and a judge later agreed in favour of the WDC stars to lift the suspensions.
Advert
As a result of the breakaway, the BDO was stripped of most of its top stars, including Taylor, Eric Bristow, Dennis Priestley and Bob Anderson.
The likes of John Part and Raymond van Barneveld stayed put, but they - and many others including Gary Anderson, Stephen Bunting and Simon Whitlock - would eventually swap the BDO for the PDC.
One player that refused to leave the BDO, though, was Martin Adams.
The Sutton-born dartist, nicknamed 'Wolfie', won six major BDO titles during his career, including three World Championships in 2007, 2010 and 2011.
He was a consistent presence on the BDO circuit from his debut in 1988 all the way up until 2020, when the organisation went bankrupt and subsequently ceased to exist until it was effectively replaced by the WDF in 2022.
He was also captain of the England national darts team between 1993 and 2013 - the longest-serving player in that role.
Adams did accept invitations from the PDC to play in the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and World Matchplay events, reaching the semi-finals of the latter in 2001.
But he never made the permanent switch - something Taylor is convinced that ultimately caused him to miss out on a significant amount of money.
Before facing Adams at the World Seniors' Champion of Champions tournament in 2023, Taylor stated: "He's a player I thought, 'You should have come over [to the PDC].
"He sticks by what he believes in. But when I look at Martin now, I think, 'You could have been a multi, multi-millionaire'. He might be one, I don't know.
"But he had the talent to get up there and be in the top three in the world.
"Could he have made a splash on the PDC? I don't think he would. I know he would have done. It would have improved Martin and his game.
"He was a good practicer. If you look at his style, I think he probably has one of the nicest styles in darts. He's a good finisher, a good scorer. Very good under pressure."
Taylor and Adams did face off in the PDC, with 'The Power' stopping Adams from reaching what would have been a historic Matchplay final in 2001.
No BDO player had ever won a PDC event at the time, with that duck only being broken by Scott Waites' shock success at the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts.
That feat is not likely to be repeated, at least in the short-term, as the PDC have no invitation agreement with the WDF for the Grand Slam since it took over from the BDO.
As for Adams, 'Wolfie' is now 68 years of age and still competes on the Seniors circuit, despite being diagnosed with osteoarthritis in the shoulder of his throwing arm last year.
He entered the World Seniors Masters in November and reached the second round, losing to Paul Hogan.
Speaking to four-time PDC World Championship semi-finalist Wayne Mardle on the Club 501 YouTube channel last month, Adams explained why he never joined the PDC permanently: "I was captain of England, and I didn't want to give that up.
"To get to that position, over the years you've had loads and loads of help from all the different officials. They do their jobs for nothing, and I wasn't going to walk away from them. I wasn't going to let them down.
"I was still captain of England, I was still part of the BDO. Why change?"
Topics: Darts
Ryan Smart