Phil Taylor's Staggering World Matchplay Dominance Puts Back-to-Back Bids Into Perspective

When discussing the challenge of defending the World Matchplay title, it's worth remembering just how thoroughly one man owned this tournament for two decades.

Phil Taylor turned the World Matchplay into his personal showcase between 1994 and 2014, claiming a barely believable 15 victories in Blackpool from a possible 21 editions of the event. Let that sink in for a moment.

That extraordinary record of dominance sets the standard against which any consecutive title defence must be measured at one of darts' most prestigious tournaments.