Phil Taylor shows true ‘Power’ at Vegas competition

By Rob Miech

Saturday, July 4, 2009 | 5:50 p.m.

Yvonne Taylor’s nerves always go on a roller-coaster ride when she watches her husband throw darts.

Chris Taylor hears some stick about his dad, now and then, but he brushes it aside and doesn’t let it affect him.

For Phil “The Power” Taylor, the 14-time world champion who is honing in on another Las Vegas Desert Classic on Sunday, his true power comes from his two soft-spoken traveling companions.

His wife and his son.

They have a difficult time watching him under the lights and up on the stage, along with 1,000 – sometimes 8,000 – other fans that heighten the drama.

However, it would be more stressful not watching The Power weave his triple-20 or bull’s-eye magic in person.

“He always amazes me with what he does,” said Yvonne Taylor.

“I’m always nervous watching him on the stage,” said Chris Taylor. “But it’s fantastic. I’m very proud of him and proud of what he’s achieved. He keeps getting better and better.”

After The Power defeated Gary Anderson on Saturday to advance to a Sunday semifinal at Mandalay Bay, he took a seat in the player’s lounge and practice area, as he has all week.

Taylor is the one pro who most frequently watches his peers perform on a Sky Sports feed inside the ballroom. Often, he’s the only player watching. He chats and jokes with tournament officials.

Friday, he grabbed the bare ankle of a writer, sitting on a chair cross-legged and wearing brown leather loafers with no socks. Phil said, the paper isn’t paying you enough to afford socks, eh?

That casualness from the legend of the game is what endears him to so many.

Saturday, Chris was two minutes behind his dad after his victory. When he reached his dad at a table, Phil gently yanked his 25-year-old son down to him with his right shoulder and gave Chris a peck on his left cheek.

Chris is quick with a victory beer for the old man after his wins.

Taylor admitted that only about one in 100 people have recognized him on The Strip in Las Vegas, which is far different from everywhere else he competes.

At Gatwick International Airport outside London, where the group left for Las Vegas, he was swamped by autograph requests. Someone had him pen his signature on British pounds.

“Everywhere we go he gets mobbed,” Chris said. “It’s not too bad here, to be honest. Compared to some places, it’s good.”

The Taylors’ new home, in Cheshire, sounds incomparable.

Their former pad, outside the darts hotbed of Stoke-on-Trent, became too hectic. The Power recognizes that he’s a public figure, but many fans crossed the line.

They’d angle their cars on the cul-de-sac at the home, trying to catch a glimpse of Phil. They’d peer in windows. One bloke found the front door open and sauntered into the conservatory.

About six weeks ago, the family moved into a new brick home in a gated community in Cheshire. It has five bedrooms and two living rooms, and overlooks a golf course. In addition to their son, the Taylors also have three daughters.

“And it has a lovely garden in the front,” Yvonne said. “We needed a bit of quietness. People would knock on the door, ‘Is Phil in?’ ”

It was an epic move for the man who was an only child, whose family was so poor his father hotwired electricity from the house next door. The upper floor was condemned.

Not long ago, The Power took his grandson to that home so the lad would know about roots.

Yvonne first met Phil when she was 15. She had snuck into the pub. He walked by and gave her a peck on her cheek. Then he said hello.

Years later, they live in a home she calls her palace.

“At the beginning, we could only afford to go out one night a week,” Yvonne Taylor said. “He’d pick up the darts and we’d go out, and it took off from there.

“If he didn’t play darts, we couldn’t live in the house we do now.”

If not for the devotion of his family, Phil Taylor likely wouldn’t be such a household name.