Previews

Can anyone stop Phil Taylor?

Author: John Harris
Date: 17/11/2009
Darts betting

Saturday saw the start of the Grand Slam of Darts and the question on everybody's lips is can anybody stop Phil Taylor from winning again?

The end-of-season tournament is organised by the Professional Darts Corporation and pits the best the PDC has to offer against the leading lights of the rival British Darts Organisation (BDO).

The PDC markets itself as being home to the best players on the planet and Taylor has certainly risen to the challenge after personally beating the best of the BDO on the two previous occasions the tournament has been played.

The Power is the runaway favourite in the online betting markets to win again at Wolverhampton's Civic Hall this year.

Can anybody stop Phil Taylor claiming a hat-trick of Grand Slam titles? - Latest Darts Betting

Andy Hamilton and Terry Jenkins have both fallen to the maestro from Stoke-on-Trent in 2007 and 2008 respectively and it is hard to see where a genuine challenge to Taylor will come from this season.

At the beginning of the year, Taylor won back the World Championship title for the first time in three years after defeating main rival Raymond van Barneveld.

He won his third UK Open title in June and a fifth Las Vegas Desert Classic the following month.

His tenth PDC World Matchplay title and ninth PDC World Grand Prix crown followed and saw him become the first man in history to hold all five major titles simultaneously.

Even by his own high standards, 2009 has been a year to remember for the 49-year-old who has banked a cool £647,255 in total prize money.

The sportsbooks believe that Gary Anderson of Scotland and England's James Wade are the most likely challengers to The Power, who will be sporting a moustache in support of former Wales footballer and friend John Hartson's cancer battle.

They believe that Dutchman van Barneveld will be there or thereabouts but a BDO champion is, in their opinion, highly unlikely.

Reigning BDO World Champion Ted Hankey is rated 66/1.

The tournament takes place as a round-robin group stage event which will span five days before a knockout battle ensues from Thursday onwards.

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