Hearing that Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor was victorious is nothing new, he has been winning darts tournaments for more times than he would care to remember. The 16 time world champion knows what it takes to be a winner and even in a friendly event, he doesn’t want to come second best to anyone. This is especially the case when he is up against a fierce rival like Raymond van Barneveld who he has a lot of history with. The special night took place at the Bradford Gala Casino in Vicar Lane and while darts was high on the agenda, there was also a poker element to the evening too.
Phil and Raymond were locked together in battle at the poker table and perhaps unsurprisingly, the born winner managed to play his way to victory over his opponent. He didn’t manage to win the tournament, which is definitely a rare occurrence when it comes to Phil and his competitive edge but the fact that he managed to outlast his Dutch opponent was no doubt a big thrill to him. If you believe in psychology, staying one step ahead of your regular rivals is always a good thing and Phil remained at the top of the pile.
Poker is a game plenty of players love
In the more conventional battle between the two of them, the best of 21 was a closely fought affair. The two players were locked at 9-9 with everything to play for but The Power managed to hold his nerve and clinched an 11-9 victory.
Also on the bill for the evening was a darts match between legend Eric Bristow and Andy Fordham, with Fordham clinching a 6-2 victory.
There was a big crowd at the event so there is undoubtedly an audience for this sort of event. Getting to see sporting heroes in a slightly different environment is always a big thrill for sports fans and the players seem to love it too. There is no doubt that poker is an activity that many sports stars like to enjoy as a break from their normal routine but it also lets them latch on to their competitive edge. With Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor talking more openly about retiring from the darts circuit, it won’t be long before he steps away from the oche but he may find that it is difficult to move completely away from the limelight and competition. It may well be that Taylor considers the draw of poker as being a possible replacement for the excitement and drama of darts.