Phil Taylor

Darts results: Phil Taylor hints at stepping away after laboured defeat of Deta Hedman

By Sporting Life

Darts

Sat July 02, 2022 · 3y ago

Phil Taylor's bid for a first seniors major began with an 8-4 victory over Deta Hedman as the World Seniors Matchplay got under way on Friday night.

Hedman had earlier come through a preliminary encounter with Trina Gulliver and went some way to threatening an upset against Taylor, who again struggled to produce the standards an expectant crowd would've hoped for.

Averaging just 75, Taylor confessed he'd not been preparing in the right way and suggested that further struggles on the oche would force him back into retirement in the near future.

For now, he'll have time to kill in Hull with his early-awaited third-round clash with either John Part or Peter Manley not scheduled to take place until Sunday afternoon.

Perhaps Taylor will find himself strolling Hull's famed aquarium, The Deep, but there was no Big Fish here as he laboured past Hedman, whose 158 checkout was the highlight of the match.

Also on Friday, Kevin Painter whitewashed John Lowe – he could be Taylor's semi-final opponent – while in the same half of the draw, impressive debutant Colin McGarry beat Keith Deller 8-3 to earn a meeting with Peter Evison.