We’re two of the best darts players ever with a combined age of 130 but we went in two very different directions
PHIL TAYLOR claims Martin Adams would have become a multi-millionaire with more trophies if he had crossed the darting divide.
The oche oldies – whose combined age is 130 – face each other on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the JenningsBet Champion of Champions in Blackpool on the World Seniors Darts Tour.
It is a match-up that we hardly ever saw at pro level as Taylor, 63, left for the PDC 30 years ago – he was a founding figure of the new tour – for fame and glory.
Wolfie Adams, 67, turned down the allure of the rival PDC rankings, remaining on the BDO circuit where he claimed three Lakeside world trophies.
There was a time between 2010-11 where they were indisputably the best two players on the planet.
But a bit like heavyweight boxers Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, who have never been in the same ring, there was no winner-takes-it-all battle on the oche.
Taylor, winner of 16 world crowns, said: “I don’t think there were too many TV games between us. I played him a few times when I was in the BDO.
“He’s a player I thought, you should have come over.
“I know he was England captain, he was proud to be that. He sticks by what he believes in.
“But when I look at Martin now, I think: ‘You could have been a multi, multi-millionaire.’
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“He might be one, I don’t know, but he had the talent to get up there and be in the top three in the world.
“Could he have made a splash on the PDC? I don’t think he would – I KNOW he would have done.
“It would have improved Martin and his game. He was a good practiser.
“If you look at his style, I think he has probably one of the nicest styles in darts. He’s a good finisher, a good scorer. Very good under pressure.
“I don’t know how his mind works now, he has had a few health and personal problems in his life, which have affected him a little bit.
“But as a player, 20-25 years ago, one of the best in the world.”
The Power hangs up his competitive arrows at the end of this year, so he is running out of time to lift silverware.
Last month, he was crushed on his last appearance at the Circus Tavern in Essex, going down 3-2 to German part-timer Manfred Bilderl in the first round of the World Senior Darts Championship.
Despite the poor display, Taylor’s iron will and rock-solid belief is as strong as ever.
The Stoke OAP said: “What would it mean to win one more Seniors tournament? It would mean I can win two. Then I can win three or four.
“Barry Hearn always said to me: ‘You have won one world title, you know what’s better than that, don’t you?’
“I would say, ‘what’s that?’ And he’d reply: ‘Two.’
“If you win two, what’s better than that? Three.
“Yeah, you have got to be greedy. You have got to look at the bright side of life. You have got to keep pushing forward.”
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