Phil Taylor will return to competitive darts next month, and the opponents for his highly anticipated comeback have been confirmed. The 66-year-old Englishman, who decided two years ago to retire permanently from competitive darts, has reversed his decision. "The Power" will compete from 23 to 28 November at the MODUS Super Series international pairs tournament in Portsmouth. He will once again team up with Adrian Lewis, with whom he won the World Cup of Darts four times.
The return of the 16-time world champion is one of the tournament's biggest attractions. Twenty-four players from twelve countries will take part. The matches will be broadcast live on Pluto TV. On Saturday evening, the organisers announced the final five pairs, completing the field. Taylor and Lewis are among the most successful duos in World Cup of Darts history. Between 2012 and 2016, the two Englishmen won four world titles for their country. Lewis, now 41, also became a two-time PDC world champion individually.
One of the tournament's most eye-catching pairs will be Simon Whitlock and his son Mason. The 57-year-old Australian, who no longer holds a PDC Tour Card, will wear the Australian shirt alongside his son, born in 2003. For senior Whitlock, the tournament could also bring a reunion with Taylor at the oche. The two faced each other in the 2010 PDC World Championship final at Alexandra Palace. Taylor won that match 7–3. Mason Whitlock is meanwhile trying to follow in his father's footsteps. The young Australian has already hit nine-dart finishes in both the MODUS Super Series and the PDC Development Tour. His ambition is to develop into a professional player in the coming years.
Scotland will also start with two familiar names. John Henderson and Robert Thornton will form the Scottish pair. Henderson, who won the World Cup of Darts with Peter Wright in 2021, will therefore have another chance to represent his country. The Netherlands will be represented by Danny van Trijp and Ron Meulenkamp. Belgium will send defending champions Andy Baetens and Brian Raman to Portsmouth, while Andreas Harrysson and Anton Östlund will compete for Sweden. Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United States and Wales will also take part.
Taylor is eagerly anticipating his return. The Englishman stressed that he is taking his comeback seriously and has been preparing for the tournament every day. "I'm really looking forward to this. I've been practising every day and once you see the full line-up, you realise there are no easy games in this tournament," Taylor said. The 16-time world champion has great confidence in his partnership with Lewis, although he knows there will be plenty of strong opponents. "Adrian and I have a lot of history together and we know how to win as a pair, but there are plenty of familiar faces in there, too."
Taylor is particularly excited about potentially facing some of his old rivals. "I've played some huge matches against Simon Whitlock and Robert Thornton over the years, so it'll be good to see them back on the other side of the oche." At the same time, "The Power" is looking forward to facing players he has never previously encountered. "There are also a lot of players I haven't faced before, which makes it even more interesting."
Taylor and Lewis will begin their tournament on Thursday, 26 November, in Group C. They will face Denmark, Switzerland and three pairs that qualify from Group A. The English darts legend stressed that the opportunity to play again with his former teammate was the main reason he agreed to interrupt his retirement temporarily. "I'm coming back because there is no one else I would want to be paired with other than Adrian."
