Blown away By ANDREW DILLON PHIL TAYLOR overcame ‘squeaky bum time’ to blow away rival Mark Dudbridge and claim his 12th world title. The Power defied his accusers who claim he has been passing wind at the oche to distract them and eventually beat the gutsy Bristol ace 7-4. But the Circus Tavern underdog, 30, hit a record-equalling 14 180 maximums and put up a stubborn fight in his first final until being overwhelmed by Taylor’s unique talent. Taylor, 44, picked up a winner’s cheque of £60,000 at the end of a stormy campaign. Third-round opponent Alex Roy claimed Taylor continuously farted during his 4-0 third-round triumph last week. And semi-finalist Kevin Painter had a stand up row with Taylor on stage in Saturday’s semi-final. The Power wrapped it all up with a 101 checkout and said: “I just knew he would never give up and I was huffing and puffing. “Now it is time to finally get fit. I will do it. I cannot go on like this. I’m going to see boxer Ricky Hatton’s nutrionist Kerry Kayes next week to get into shape. “But Mark was brilliant and is a definite contender to win this title in the future. He is professional and doesn’t wind up the opposition.” Taylor failed to hit top form against the 13th seed but nosed ahead from 3-3 and hauled himself over the finishing line. Both players donated their shirts and darts, while the board was also thrown into a charity auction which raised more than £11,000 for victims of the Asian tsunami disaster. Exhausted Taylor revealed only memories of classic battles with his idol John Lowe inspired him to dig deep.
For those of you (like me) who are wondering "WTF?!?!" .. a quick visit to Google indicates that this is a thread about a dart-throwing competition. -- droxford
My uncle met that guy at a pub exhibition and said he's a total jerk. "Mr. Personality," he calls him.
