Phil Taylor reveals private Eric Bristow comment that broke his heart during darts decline

Phil Taylor confesses that Eric Bristow telling him he was "no good anymore" on the oche left him devastated. Bristow dominated the darts scene during the 1980s, claiming five World Championship victories and achieving a record five world No. 1 rankings throughout his illustrious career.

Following his battle with dartitis, the 'Crafty Cockney' took Taylor under his wing and forged a tight relationship. Taylor featured on to demonstrate his snooker prowess while reflecting on his mentor-pupil relationship with Bristow. The 65-year-old legend, widely regarded as darts' greatest ever player thanks to his remarkable 16 world titles and 87 major tournament triumphs, revealed the painful moment he witnessed Bristow's career spiral downwards. When questioned whether missing the World Championship whilst securing other titles would constitute a successful campaign, Taylor responded: "Oh, I'd hate it.

"When I lost it to John Part [in 2003], 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."

Reflecting on the moment Bristow witnessed his own career fading, the darts legend said: "And 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.' 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 tragically suffered a heart attack in April 2018 whilst attending a darts tournament and passed away aged 60. Taylor frequently competed against him and revealed to Hendry that Bristow was amongst his primary adversaries during his ascent in darts - though not a rival who would cause him concern.

The Power added: "Obviously Eric was was like the main man at the time. But because I was practicing with him, I knew how good he was and I knew I could beat him. I was beating him every day in practice, so I wasn't too worried about him."