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get to sit down for a chat with one of my sporting heroes – but I
got the opportunity recently right here in Bangkok – of all places.
I’ve followed professional darts for many years and been to a few
Premier League of Darts events back in the UK. The atmosphere at
these events is more like going to a football match these days. The
crowds are huge – and loud. The professional game in the UK has
never been more popular – and the top players can earn big money. A
large part of this increased popularity (along with PDC chief Barry
Hearn and Sky Sports) has been down to the phenomenal success of one
player in particular. Newly crowned 16 times champion of the world
Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor was in Thailand on a promotional tour -
visiting darting venues in and around Bangkok. My local watering
hole, The New Cowboy Bar, where I play darts regularly, still has
photos of Mr T in the bar from a previous visit nearly 20 years ago
– so he’s obviously no stranger to the land of smiles. I caught up
with Phil at Domino Pub and. after watching him play legs against
some of the top local Thai players, we sat down to talk darts,
Thailand, and the local cuisine. |
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DH
: Welcome (back) to Thailand – So Phil, How many different countries
in Asia have you visited and played darts in over the years ?
PT : Let me think…..quite a few ; Japan, I’ve been there a few
times. Also China, Malaysia, Singapore, The Philippines, and
Thailand obviously. Also, I’ll be in Dubai next week. |
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DH : Who would you say has influenced you the most in your career?
PT : That’s got to be Eric…Eric Bristow. He was my first sponsor. In
them days, when I was just beginning, I was a good player – but I
wasn’t a winner. He made me a winner. He sponsored me and we had an
agreement that I’d pay him back. And when you owe Eric money you
have to pay him back – trust me. So you have to win.
DH : What, would you say, has been your most memorable win?
PT : Most memorable win? I’ve won that many tournaments now but The
News of the World Championship comes to mind. That was a difficult
format – the best of 3 legs. I’ll give you an example ; We started
playing in a pub in Stone, Staffordshire where there was 32 top
players – County players. You had to win that. Then I played in a
club with 128 other players - all winners from the other pubs. You
had to win that.
Then you go to another club with another 128
players – all winners from the other clubs. You had to win that –
then you get to the TV stages. And you have to win that – then you
get paid. That was probably one of the hardest tournaments I’ve ever
won. |
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| ( NOTE: The News of the World Darts Championship was one of the first major organised darts competitions, which began in 1927. In his autobiography, Phil
Taylor says that his mentor, Eric Bristow, always mocked him for never having
won the competition and that it was the tournament that everyone wanted to win.
Taylor put the record straight by beating Ian White 2-0 in the final
in June 1997, collecting the News of the Word Big D Trophy, a cheque for £42,000 and a
set of Unicorn golden darts. Following his victory, which saw him take out
England captain Martin Adams 2-1 in the semi-finals, Taylor was quoted as saying
‘I’ve won five world titles – but this one means everything’. ) |
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DH : How about this years World Championship Finals ? Congratulations, by the
way, and what a comeback….
PT : Cheers, oh yeah… this years will always be memorable – for more reasons
than one !
( NOTE : In January, Phil Taylor won the World Darts Championship for an
astonishing 16th time. In the final he met in-form 23 year-old Dutchman Michael
van Gerwen - who’d had probably the best year of his career so far. |
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Taylor won
the title (and newly named Sid Waddell Trophy) with a 7-4 victory, despite
trailing 0-2 and then 2-4 after six sets. Taylor then won five sets in a row for
the win. Van Gerwen averaged between 105 and 108 in the early sets but as his
average dropped, Taylor’s rose, as did his ascendancy over a rival he admitted
in the post-match interview was ‘hard to crack’. ) |
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DH : Phil, Is there anything you see as unique about the darts scene in
Thailand?
PT : Well, the people are so nice aren’t they ? I mean the whole culture of the
country. I love it here – I really enjoy Thailand. To be quite honest I love all
of the Far East ; the same with Singapore, Malaysia – the places are beautiful,
the people are beautiful – and they look after you. Or else we wouldn’t be here
would we?
DH : In general, how would you rate our darts venues - throw areas and overall
atmosphere – are they conducive to serious darts play ? |
PT : Definitely - they’re good. Last night I was in The Sportsman – that was a
very good set-up. And I mean, for a small place, this (Domino Pub) is really good.
Also, the people are willing to learn and listen – that’s what I like about the
East in general – they’re respectful ; they have cultures based on respect. |
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DH : Soft Tip darts is popular in this part of the world. Given that the PDC are
in partnership with Darts Live, do you think Soft Tip darts is potentially a way
of attracting new players to the game ?
PT : Yeah, I don’t see why not. I mean, we’ve had some of the top soft-tip
players playing in the World Championships – some very good players - Paul Lim,
this year, being an obvious example. But I mean, it’s a whole different game to
ours, it really is.
DH : Is Soft Tip darts something you’ve been involved with in the past ?
PT : I have done, yeah. I’ve played soft-tip tournaments in Japan, Germany,
France.
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I’ve also played here in Thailand, although t’s not a game I’d play in
the UK. We tried it once, but the fact is people won’t pay money to play darts
in the UK - it would never take-off.
DH : Yeah, I’ve played it myself at idarts here in Bangkok – although it was a
lot of fun. Anyway, I have to ask – what is your favourite food here in Thailand
?
PT : Favourite food ? Well, we’ve just been to a seafood restaurant. It was the
biggest restaurant I’ve seen in my life. Do you know it ? The restaurant sign
says ‘If It Swims, We Have It’. It was one of them where you shop for your
fish first, then they cook it for you and bring it to your table. It was
fantastic – I love seafood, so that was probably my favourite. |
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DH : So Phil, have you tried eating any of the bugs since you’ve been out here ?
PT (looking slightly worried) : Errr……No.
DH : It’s OK, I’m not going to bring out a bag of bugs and challenge you to try
them. It’s just that when John Lowe was down in Phuket at David Brook's Island
Larger Bar he ate a scorpion …. (I
show Phil the photo)
PT : A scorpion ? Well I know what Lowey’s like ! Look at that eh - Lowey eating
a scorpion ! Have you eaten one yourself ?
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DH : Well no, but I’ve eaten some of the smaller insects. They’re OK - quite
salty. It’s a bit like eating peanuts with your beer I suppose …..
PT : OK , I’ll take your word for that …. |
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DH : Everyone knows you put a lot of time into constant practice . Do you have
any tips on how the casual player can improve their game ?
PT : I would say to the casual player ; get used to using all of the dartboard.
Start at 20 and go around the board hitting all the numbers. Darts is a rhythm
game, and being able to group the darts is very important. Then work on your
scoring and finishing.
DH : Finally Phil, is there anything specific you’d like to say to dart players
in Thailand, and the readers of DartsThailand.com ?
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PT : Yeah, Keep practicing. The more you practice, the luckier you’ll get. And
the luckier you get, the more money you’ll earn !
DH : Thanks for your time Phil, and best of luck this year.
PT : No problem mate, your welcome. |
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| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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| Places mentioned in the
interview in order as mentioned. Click on any logo to visit their
site. |
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