Phil Taylor to retire from darts at the end of next year

Phil Taylor has announced the World Senior Darts Tour in 2024 will be his final year on the circuit.

The 16-time world champion initially walked away from the sport in 2018 after making the final of the PDC World Championship, but returned to competitive darts last year.

Taylor, known as ‘The Power’, has now confirmed his glittering trophy-laden career on the oche is about to enter its final 12 months, but he will continue to be a World Senior Darts Tour global ambassador after his retirement.

He said: “I’ll always love performing to the best of my ability, but time waits for no man and I know now is the right time to step away from the Tour.

“It’s been an unbelievable journey over the past 35 years and I’ve loved every minute of it.

“I’d like to thank Target and the World Seniors Darts Tour for their support in recent years and I’m looking forward to playing in front of darts fans across the country next year.

“I’m going to be working just as hard as I always have to make sure I give the fans what they want and go out on top.”

The World Senior Darts Tour consists of 11 events, including the World Senior Darts Championship at the Circus Tavern in February.

Taylor has made the quarter-finals during the last two years, but will aim to go out on a high in 2024.

Billy Lovell of World Senior Darts Tour added: “Phil is one of the greatest sports people the UK has ever produced and we would like to place on record how grateful we are that he decided to come out of retirement at the beginning of our project.

“We have absolutely loved having him around and we’re sure his final year on tour with us will be great fun.”