Darts legend Phil Taylor reveals he was hit with massive fine for tournament he didn’t even attend

Phil Taylor has revealed he was once fined for a tournament he insists he never even attended.

The 16-time world champion admitted he became so used to penalties during his career that he effectively had a “standing order” set up with the authorities.

“The Power” dominated darts for over three decades, collecting a record 87 major titles and holding the world No.1 spot for a total of 13 years.

But Taylor claims Barry Hearn once confronted him over an alleged breach at an event in Germany—despite him not being there at all.

Speaking on the Double Tops podcast, Taylor said: “I was getting fined every week.

“I actually had a standing order with the PDC—with the DRA—because I was always paying fines.

“If I so much as sneezed, it felt like I’d get fined. I even got fined for tournaments I didn’t attend.

“Barry told me, ‘You’ve got a £200 or £2,000 fine here.

“He said I’d been playing in the north of Germany near Russia and hadn’t marked the board and all that. I told him, ‘I’m not paying it, Barry.’ He said, ‘Just pay it.’

“I said, ‘No, I’ll sort it out—I’m not paying it.’

“He warned me it could go up to £4,000. I told him I didn’t care if it went up to £40,000—I still wasn’t paying.

“He asked why, and I said, ‘Because I wasn’t even there. Why would I pay for something I didn’t do?’

“He paused and said, ‘You weren’t there, were you?’ I said, ‘No.’”

Taylor brought his legendary career to an end in 2018 after reaching the final of the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, where he was beaten by Rob Cross.

More recently, Taylor has been back in the headlines after advising Luke Littler to consider wearing earplugs on stage.

That suggestion followed repeated crowd boos aimed at Littler after his on-stage clash with Gian van Veen—with the pair still yet to speak since the incident earlier this month.