World Matchplay Of Darts 2014: 10 Most Likely Potential Winners

3. Phil Taylor

Phil 'The Power' Taylor is undoubtedly the greatest darts player to ever grace the oche. He is the 16 times World Champion added to a seemingly never ending list of other titles. However, he has had one of his poorest seasons to date in 2013/14 as rising stars take over and prove to the old heads that there is nothing to fear when playing The Power. Despite his poor season, Phil is still ranked number two in the world and is always one of the favourites for any tournament he enters. He is the reigning World Matchplay champion, having triumphed in Blackpool for the last six years in a row, winning 14 times in total. That is an astonishing record, so despite his poor form he can never be ruled out. In his last TV appearance during the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters, he was completely outclassed by Peter Wright who ran away a 10 legs to 5 winner. Taylor will be looking to avenge this defeat and defend his Matchplay title to prove the doubters wrong. He has a relatively easy opening fixture against world number 39 Darren Webster who has never gone past the first round in Blackpool. Taylor is used to winning at Blackpool and will be expected to do well again this year. He has grown used to grinding out wins even when he is not at his best so it wouldn't be surprising if he was to go on and win a seventh Matchplay title in a row.