Phil Taylor has revealed that he bagged a whopping £78,000 in prize money - playing a sport completely different to darts.
The Power is commonly regarded as the best darts player of all time, winning a record 16 World Darts Championship titles and a whopping total of 214 tournaments.
He helped found the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), which has gone on to become a darts superpower and brought through the likes of Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries.
It has forged his legendary status in the sport until the end of time - but a secret talent for poker helped him bolster his bank balance substantially.
Phil Taylor has a secret talent up his sleeve - poker
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Speaking exclusively to GB News, as Modus Super Series launched its 24/7 darts channel on Pluto TV, Taylor told how he scooped his biggest prize fund yet at a poker event - by accident.
He told GB News: "Up until about 12 World Championships, my biggest win was poker. It was a TV studio in Maidstone, Barry Hearn was the manager and I used to get invited to poker tournaments.
"I got through to the final and got beaten by [snooker player] Matthew Stevens in the final.
"There were three finalists. It was me, Stevens and [Yevgeny] Kalfelinikov, the tennis player. I won £78,000!
"Do you know what was even better? Tax-free!
"[Former chairperson of the PDC] Barry Hearn always told me I had a council house mentality, which I have.
"He said if you saw a £50 note on the floor, you'd pick it up before me.
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"I said, 'I'd rugby tackle you! Make sure you didn't pick it up!'
"I'm not really [that good at poker]. I had a few lessons the night before, I went into the tournament, because you play over a few stages.
"So I went in, they couldn't read me because I didn't really know what I was doing, professionals, and I just blagged it and I got through the first table, went again to Maidstone and got through again and they invited me to the final. I still didn't know what I was doing!"
When Taylor won his 12th World Championship in 2005, the prize fund on offer was £60,000 and the venue was the Circus Tavern in Purfleet.
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Phil Taylor was speaking exclusively to GB News
Getty Images/Darren Gerrish for Pluto TV
The Power claimed a 7–4 final victory over Mark Dudbridge before the prize money jumped up to £100,000 - with Taylor going on to defend his title the following year against Peter Manley.
However, the Stoke-born arrowsman tasted defeat in the 2007 - commonly regarded as one of the best finals of all time - in a 7-6 defeat to Raymond van Barneveld.
Taylor would go on to win the World Darts Championship a further three times, winning £125,000, £200,000 and another £200,000 in the process.
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Phil Taylor banked £78,000 from playing poker - admitting to 'blagging it' to the final
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His last final appearance came in 2018, in his final appearance in the competition, with Rob Cross beating him 7-2 with an astonishing average of 107.67 despite becoming professional just 11 months earlier.
After several appearances on the seniors tour of darts, Taylor retired in 2024 and now works as a commentator for Modus Super Series.
Starting this year, the MODUS Super Series Darts debuted exclusively on Pluto TV. The new channel “MODUS Super Series Darts” features around the clock darts programming, including Super Series Tournaments, 104 Live Matches every week, in-depth features and documentaries that explore the journeys and stories of darts personalities, and more. The channel promises to be the ultimate destination for darts enthusiasts and newcomers alike, celebrating the sport in all its glory.
