Phil Taylor Dominates 2013, But Can He Compete With Luke Littler's 2025 Form?

Phil Taylor won his sixteenth and final World Championship in 2013, picking up five major titles across the rest of the year.

What Happened in 2013?

Taylor dominated the PDC, and although a top eight stacked with quality, none of them ever looked capable of dethroning him.

How Does 2013 Compare to 2025?

In 2025, Luke Littler won six majors and was undoubtedly the best player in the world, with the modern top 8 including just two players still in the top 8 from 2013, Wade and Michael van Gerwen.

The stats reveal that through 2013’s TV season versus 2025’s TV season, quality differs hugely in favour of the modern era, with higher averages and higher checkout percentages.

Is This a Golden Age in Disguise?

So does that golden age narrative hold up against Taylor himself, The Power, at his absolute peak? Now Littler jostles with Price, Van Veen and Humphries, while Taylor did with Newton.

The 2013 dartboard had faults, and compared to the 2025 Winmau Blade 6 Triple Core, the faults are crystal clear, with the modern board having a 14% larger effective scoring area and reduced bounceouts.

Luke Littler's darts use the Swiss Point system at 42mm, allowing modern players to tailor their equipment to precise personal preferences, and the triple sisal protection compared to Unicorn’s first layer leaves more room in the bed for tight grouping.

On the question of whether Phil Taylor could compete with Luke Littler's 2025 form, the answer is complex, with Taylor's skills and dominance in 2013 facing off against the modern era's higher averages and improved equipment.

The modern top 8 is stacked with quality, but it's hard to imagine Gerwyn Price losing to someone of Wes Newton’s standard, and the stats suggest that the modern era is indeed a golden age in disguise.

Phil Taylor's legacy continues to be felt in the world of darts, with his name still invoked in comparisons to modern players like Littler, and his skills and achievements remaining the benchmark against which others are measured.

The comparison between Taylor and Littler is a fascinating one, with both players having achieved incredible success in their respective eras, and the debate over who was better will likely continue to rage on.

In the end, it's clear that Phil Taylor's dominance in 2013 was a remarkable achievement, but the modern era of darts is a different beast altogether, with higher averages, improved equipment, and a new generation of talented players like Luke Littler leading the charge.