Phil Taylor has had enough of qualifiers and has lost his motivation for darts
Phil 'The Power' Taylor says his passion for darts has gone and he is ready for retirement
Monday 6 February 2017 08:28, UK
Phil Taylor has won everything in the game of darts, including a record 16 World Championship titles, but he is adamant that 2017 will be his last on the oche.
Taylor is the undisputed greatest player of all-time, but the world No 6 made it clear last week that he will be putting away his flights after the 2018 World Championship.
A professional since 1986, Taylor has won 15 World Matchplays, 11 Grands Prix, six Grand Slams and is into triple figures for overall titles.
Added to that the first televised nine-dart finish and 18 more in PDC competition, no one - not even the swashbuckling Michael van Gerwen - can stand aside Taylor's achievements.
But at 56 and with every achievement in the sport ticked off, 'The Power' has decided he will turn himself off after the Alexandra Palace showpiece.
"I thought about it really for probably the last 18 months," Taylor told Sky Sports. "Just to qualify for these tournaments, you've got to keep playing in little tournaments to qualify and players will be away for the whole weekend, but that's what it's like.
"It's such a tough schedule and it's proving too much for me now. I just can't do it."
Once regarded as a pub sport played by beer-swillers in smoke-filled rooms, it is now played out to live audiences of thousands and TV audiences of millions, thanks in no small part to Taylor's enduring success and popularity.
But Taylor says he doesn't want to be sitting around sports halls waiting for his name to be called and has simply lost his "motivation" for the game.
"The qualifiers are played in sports halls with a load of tables with little chairs and you have to play when you're shouted up," he said. "You start at midday, so most of the lads will be there from 9 o'clock in the morning practising for two or three hours and it will probably go on until 8 o'clock that night, and then it's the same thing the following night.
"When I get up from those seats these days, my back is killing me, my legs are killing me, I go stiff when I sit down for a long time you see - it's time now for me.
"The main thing is that the motivation has gone where you're thinking you're not bothered. You lose in tournaments and you're thinking you're not bothered. You know then it's not right.
"Even some of the younger players find it tough because the travelling takes its toll on you. It's hard work."
Taylor - already the most popular player on the planet - can expect a raucous send-off for the rest of 2017.
He added: "I'm just going to enjoy it, wave goodbye and thank you very much."
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