Impossible! Modern players not good enough get near Taylor’s records
In an exclusive interview with BettingSites.co.uk, World no. 10 Darts player, Damon Heta, reacts to Phil Taylor’s announcement he’ll retire after his next tour. Labelling the legend the greatest to ever play the game.
The Heat also spoke about not pinning his hopes on the Premier League and how it felt to become the first ever non-Tour Card holder to win a World Series event.
Interview Highlights:
- ‘Insane’ Taylor is the GOAT, his record will be ‘impossible’ to beat
- Winning World Cup for Australia was absolutely massive for my career
- I’m not overly fussed about playing in the Premier League but wouldn’t say no
- Workmates won thousands of dollars when I won Brisbane Masters
GOAT Phil Taylor’s records will never be beaten
Phil Taylor announced he’ll retire at the end of the World Senior Darts Tour in 2024 after a record 16 World Titles. Heta breaks downs the ‘impossible’ stats needed to usurp the GOAT;
Damon Heta: “The greatest of all time? It’s got to be Phil Taylor. He was next level in all the stories I hear and the stats still show he was an absolute beast. To win 16 World titles? That’s insane.
The standard is still rising so whether anyone can ever catch that number I don’t know. Taylor was already up there while others were still trying to get there. I think that’s why he was so dominant and you don’t see anyone doing that right now. You’d need to see someone averaging 110+ over 16 years and that’s basically impossible.”
World Cup glory with Australia meant so much
Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock led Australia to the nation’s first ever World Cup title in 2022 by beating Wales in the final and The Heat explained why it’s the high point of his darts career thus far;
Damon Heta: “You’re playing for your country and that’s massive. But it brings with it added pressure in terms of not wanting to let your teammate down and with Australia watching back home. Everyone’s so amped up it feels like a totally different environment than just normal, singles darts. It’s absolutely massive and that’s the highlight so far.”
Premier League isn’t the ‘be-all and end-all’
The prestigious Premier League kicks off again in January but Heta isn’t desperate to be one of the eight players to be picked at this stage of his career;
Damon Heta: “The Premier League is a massive thing don’t get me wrong but it’s not something where I’ve thought ‘I must do this so I get into it’. It’s not really been my goal. My goal has been more like Pro Tours and Euro Tours and the big ones because everything else just comes along with it. If I got offered it I’d take it because you never know if that opportunity is going to come along again. But it’s not the be all and end all and I’m not overly fussed about it.”
Heta was 300/1 to win Brisbane Masters and mates cashed in
Heta made history back in 2019 when he became both the first ever host nation player and the first ever non-Tour Card holder to win a World Series event. An incredible achievement but he wasn’t the only winner;
Damon Heta: “It was insane. You might never see that again. It was the year I dedicated myself to darts and I was stoked just to actually win one game in that tournament, nevermind the next one and the next one and the next one. It was such an amazing feeling. I had such a good week. It just felt like everything was falling perfectly into place.
“All my work mates won a lot of money on that! At one point I was like 300/1 but then as the bets came in it dropped to 150/1 and to be honest a lot of them didn’t even realise what they were betting on! They didn’t even know the final was being played the same night! So they’ve gone to bed, because they’re on the other side of Australia, and woken up the next morning going ‘oh why have i got fifteen or 30 grand in my account?!’. And not one of them greeted me at the airport!”
