Phil Taylor survives first-round scare at the World Seniors Darts Championship at the Circus Tavern
Phil Taylor survived a huge scare against Colin McGarry in the opening round of the World Seniors Darts Championship at the Circus Tavern on Friday night.
The 16-time world champion looked in real danger of an early exit as the player he defeated 4-0 in that stage at the 2004 PDC World Championship went 2-1 in sets.
Taylor, who reached the quarterfinals 12 months ago and finished second in the Masters and Matchplay, may have been well below his personal best, but he showed all his fighting spirit to fight his way back into the competition before winning the decider set 4-2.
The Power averaged an 82.36 compared to his opponent’s 82.80 and admitted he needs to improve on that meter if he wants to venture much further.
Three-time world champion John Part, who famously defeated Taylor 7-6 in the 2003 final at the Circus Tavern, reached the second round of this event for the first time with a narrow 3-2 win over debutant Co Stompe.
Neither player has been able to turn back the years from a normal perspective, with Darth Maple averaging 73.65 compared to Stompe’s 69.31, but that’s hardly a surprise given their inactivity in the sport.
Glen Durrant’s hopes of finding his winning streak again in his World Seniors debut were dashed in an instant when Mark Dudbridge swept him aside with an impressive 3-0 performance.
Duzza’s struggles in the sport since winning the 2020 Premier League are well documented, losing his PDC Tour Card at the end of last season.
The 52-year-old averaged just 76.65, while Dudbridge, who finished second to Taylor at the 2004 World Matchplay and the 2005 World Championship, posted the tournament’s highest 89.08.
Robert Thornton plays against Roland Scholton in the last game of the night.
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afternoon session
Reigning WDF World Champion Neil Duff survived a big scare against Lisa Ashton in a high quality duel in the afternoon session.
The Lancashire Rose, who delivered one of their best television performances in quite some time with an 87 average, won the opening set and although she subsequently fell 2-1 down she showed great character to force a deciding set.
Duff missed match darts in a seesaw set before eventually prevailing 4-2 and finishing with an 88.99 average.
Crowd favorite Bob Anderson was only able to win one leg in his 3-0 loss to Andy Jenkins.
The 74-year-old Limestone Cowboy, who produced event 2022’s viral moment with a legendary 180, couldn’t summon any of his old magic as Jenkins rode to victory with an 83.93 average.
Keith Deller defied Mike Huntley’s comeback while down 2-0 in sets to prevail 3-2 in one of the lowest quality contests of the first round.
The 1984 world champion averaged 75.07 compared to his opponent’s 74.41 and needs to improve significantly if he is to trouble Duff in round two.
Leonard Gates showed why he could be one of the big threats in the bottom half of the draw as he swept Tony O’Shea 3-0 aside.
The Soulger entertained the crowd with his dancing and a great 164 checkout – although he caused some hilarity with an outrageous second set miss.
The Texan hit single 19 as he aimed for 57 to exit double 10, but instead of aiming for 18 for tops, he hit treble three. It didn’t matter in the end, averaging an 85.19.
World Senior Darts Championship schedule and results
Thursday February 9th
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 1
First Round (Best of 5 Sets)
- (13) Terry Jenkins 3-2 Chris Mason
- (11) Les Wallace 2-3 Darryl Fitton
- (7) David Cameron 2-3 Richie Howson
- (15) Larry Butler 2-3 Darren Johnson
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 1
- (12) Kevin Painter 3-0 Ronnie Baxter
- (5) Trina Gulliver 0-3 Dennis Haven
- (3) Martin Adams 3-1 Dave Prins
- (16) Peter Manley 0-3 Scott Mitchell
CLICK HERE FOR THE DAY ONE REVIEW
Friday February 10th
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 1
First Round (Best of 5 Sets)
- (10) Bob Anderson 0-3 Andy Jenkins
- (8) Neil Duff 3-2 Lisa Ashton
- (14) Tony O’Shea 0-3 Leonard Gates
- (9) Keith Deller 3-2 Michael Huntley
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 2
First Round (Best of 5 Sets)
- (6) John Part 3-2 Co Stompe
- (4) Glen Durrant 0-3 Mark Dudbridge
- (2) Phil Taylor 3-2 Colin McGarry
- (1) Robert Thornton vs. Roland Scholten
Saturday February 11th
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 2
Second round (best of 5 sets)
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 2
Quarterfinals (Best of 5 sets)
Sunday February 12th
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 2
Semifinals (Best of 7 sets)
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 2
Finale (Best of 9 movements)
- Winner SF 1 vs. Winner SF 2
CLICK HERE FOR FULL WORLD SENIORS RESULTS
What TV channel shows darts of the World Seniors on?
The World Senior Darts Championship will be broadcast in the UK on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website, app and BT Sport.