PHIL TAYLOR has revealed the comment from Eric Bristow that “broke” his heart.
The Power is considered one of the best darts stars of all time and toppled the legendary Bristow in his career.
Eric Bristow helped Phil Taylor early in his careerRex Features
News Group Newspapers LtdThe pair of them had 21 world championships combined[/caption]
Taylor, 65, was taken under the wing by the Crafty Cockney early on in his career.
He went on to become a 16-time world champion and flew past Bristow’s record of five.
Taylor did suffer heartbreak in his career but it was not at the oche but in a conversation with Bristow.
He has revealed that when his idol told him that his time was coming to an end and that he was “no good”, it “saddened” him.
During an interview on Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips: “There was also one time [with] Eric, when his career was kind of coming to an end.
“And he shouted me across, ‘Phil come here a second.’ He said, ‘See all these here?’ I said, ‘Yeah?’ He said, ‘They’re talking to me.’ What’s wrong with that?
“He said, ‘They never speak to me when I was number one in the world.’ He says, ‘You know what that means, don’t you?’ I went, ‘What?’
“He says, ‘I’m no good anymore.’ And it broke [me], it saddened me you know? Broke my heart a little bit. I said, ‘Don’t be daft.’
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“I had it. I was there and all the players were talking to him and I went, ‘Yeah, get back on that practice board, Taylor. They’re talking to you.’”
Bristow was on of the most recognisable players at the oche in the 1980s.
He won the World Championship in 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985 and 1986.
He tragically died in 2018 after suffering a heart attack while attending a Premier League Darts night in Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Taylor also insisted that he did have regrets about his glittering career.
The World Championship defeat to John Park in 2003 saw his run of eight-straight titles halted.
He added: “When I lost it to John Part, when I won it eight years on the trot, even Eric [Bristow] says to me, ‘People are switching off, Phil.
“You’re getting boring. You’re winning every year.’ And I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, I know.’
“But it was a big relief for me. It was like then I’d have all the general public come up to me and go, ‘Come on Phil, go and get your title back.
“It’s not the same without you.’ I’m thinking right, I’ve got them back on my side now so I can get ready for next year.”
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