DARTS FANS WITNESSED a seismic shock at Alexandra Palace last night as Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor was eliminated from the PDC World Championship at the second round.
31-year-old Dave Chisnall became only the seventh man to ever send the 15-time world champion packing from the competition in an incredible 4-1 win.
The man regarded as the greatest player to ever grace the sport had previously never failed to make the quarter-final stages and said that he was affected by poor eyesight before going on to praise his opponent.
“My eye-sight is not half as good as it was before,” Taylor told Sky Sports. “The heat got to me tonight as well. That’s never happened before. It’s something I’ve got to work on.
“I’m not going to knock my performance, I thought he was the better player. He was brilliant and I think the only thing missing for Dave tonight was the nine-darter.”
While Taylor vowed to re-evaluate his game and attempt to put things right, the 51-year-old also revealed that his illustrious career could soon be coming to an end.
“I’m going to do another two or three years. I will try harder in the next two or three years and then I’m going to retire,” he added.
“It’s up to me now to work harder. I’m going to do another two or three years then I’ll slide away quietly.
“I’m not retiring yet. I’m going to try harder in the next two or three years than I have ever done in my career.”
Chisnall goes on to play Andy Hamilton, who beat Vincent van der Voort, in the third round, while Belgian Kim Huybrechts will meet Paul Nicholson after overcoming James Richardson.
