PHIL Taylor is adamant now is the right time to retire from darts as he bids to end his glittering career with a 17th world title.
Last January the 57-year-old announced that the PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace, which kicks off on Thursday night, would be his final competitive appearance.
Taylor is regarded as the greatest darts player of all time, earning over £7 million in prize money and winning more than 200 career titles.
But “The Power”, who faces fellow Englishman Chris Dobey in the first round tomorrow night, admits he has made the correct decision to finally hang up his arrows.
“It’s the perfect time for me to go, absolutely perfect,” he told Sky Sports.
“I’m not enjoying it anymore. There’s a lot of pressure on me and a lot of the people that I’m working with now are young people. They’re talking about things I don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s all changed.
“I’ve been playing it over 30 years – that’s more than half my life. To get ready for tournaments and do it properly you have to be very, very dedicated, and I’m not prepared to do that no more.
Although world No 1 Michael van Gerwen is the overwhelming favourite to retain his world title, Taylor is aiming to bow out on the highest of highs.
He showed he is more than capable of still mixing it with the big boys in Blackpool earlier this year, rolling back the years to beat Gerwyn Price, Raymond van Barneveld, Van Gerwen, Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright en route to a 16th World Matchplay title.
But Van Gerwen believes he still has the beating of the 16-time world champion.
“I think I am better,” the Dutchman said.
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