win that first set by 3 legs to 2.
With the darts in hand, along with
a second break of throw, Taylor
eased to a 3-0 whitewash in the
following set to storm into a 2-0
lead in the race to six.
Mike finally got a set under his
belt by edging the third set in five
legs. With that, the nerves settled
and he was able to break Taylor’s
throw in the fourth set to square
proceedings at 2-2.
Confidence
flowing,
Gregory
retained the throw in fifth set to
move in front for the first time in
the match before Taylor restored
parity with a 3-0 triumph in the
sixth. At 3-3 and with both players
throwing some exceptional arrows
this was quickly escalating into
one of the greatest finals ever
seen by the Frimley Green crowd.
Gregory hit back by taking the
next 3-1 before Taylor retorted
with a 3-1 victory of his own in
the eight set to make it all square
once more. This classic was almost
impossible to call.
In the 9th set, Taylor produced an
incredible 167 finish to level the
mini-contest at one leg apiece.
Mike was not to be deterred
though and won the following two
Of All Time...
legs to put himself within one set
of a first world title.
This final was now at boiling point
and when Gregory rattled in a 161
checkout to take the fourth leg of
set ten he was just one break away
from the trophy. Taylor held his
nerve though and was able to hold
his throw to take the proceedings
to an eleventh and deciding set.
It had already been an incredible
contest but the drama was far
from over and the climax would
be so enthralling that fans still
talk about it now.
As expected, Gregory took the
opening leg of the all-important
eleventh set. However, his break
of throw in the second was not on
the script and suddenly left Taylor
on the verge of defeat. But where
lesser men would have succumbed
to the pressure, the world number
1 stayed calm and broke back
emphatically before holding his
nerve to claim the fourth and
level the contest once more.
Mike won the 5th leg but, with
the ‘two legs clear’ rule in place
for this final set, his work was far
from over. However, he created
the opening in the sixth and had
two darts at double 8 to clinch
the 1992 title. He squandered the
opportunity allowing Phil to level
once more.
Gregory kept his head high and
won the 7th leg. The succession
of held throws took proceedings
to 5-4 meaning that if Taylor
could hold throw then this epic
encounter would be going to
sudden death.
For a second time though Gregory
had created the opportunity to
win it there and then with a single