DARTS BETTING: Defending champion Phil Taylor (1/3 favourite with Betfred to win the crown) will take on Colin Monk in the first round of the PDC World Darts Championship.
Defending champion Phil Taylor (1/3 favourite with Betfred to win the crown) will take on Colin Monk in the first round of the PDC World Darts Championship.
Taylor is after a 13th PDC title this Christmas and will be the odds-on favourite against the Basingstoke qualifier when they go head-to-head in London on December 18.
‘The Power’ looks in fine shape ahead of the Alexandra Palace tournament but he admits he never rests on his laurels and is always looking for ways to add that extra edge to his game – even if it is not always using the most conventional of methods.
His latest ‘trick’ is giving what he describes as giving his darts a ‘haircut’ – clipping the flights slightly to make them more aerodynamic.
“I’m always exploring ways of making myself better, trying to stay ahead of the pack,” he told the Mirror.
“In 99.99 per cent of cases, they don’t work and I feel like I’m a mad professor. But trimming those flights gives you more room to squeeze three darts into a confined area of two square centimetres – and it works.”
He added: “If I’ve tried a thousand different things to improve my game, only about two have worked. But most of the ingredients you need to become a world champion are up there, between your ears. It’s all in the head.”
Elsewhere in the first-round draw, world number two Raymond van Barneveld (12/1) will face New Zealand’s Warren Parry, while 2008 champion John Part (80/1), of Canada, was drawn against Holland’s Toon Greebe.
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