How would these legends from past eras cope in today's darts?

How would the likes of Eric Bristow, John Lowe, Bobby George, Bob Anderson and Phil Taylor cope in modern-day darts?

By Paul Nicholson

Darts

Tue December 05, 2023 · 1y ago

Recently I saw a debate on social media when someone suggested a peak Eric Bristow would struggle to earn a Tour Card!

So in this week’s column I’m going to share my thoughts on how well some of the biggest legends from the past would fare in today’s darting world.

Now for the purposes of this exercise, you’ve got to imagine we’ve plucked them from their peak years and given them a bit of time to adjust to a much more hectic calendar, bigger arenas, larger crowds and a deeper talent pool of rivals to push them harder than before.

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Also, you’ve got to remember that all these legends will now be benefitting from far superior playing surfaces and not having thick round wires of old making their targets smaller – or staples in the bullseye!

The difference between the top players nowadays compared to those from the 1980s is their consistent ability to group darts together with their points. In the 1980s, the majority of players got their points to go almost all the way into the board. So they’d have to adjust their games slightly to new boards and how their darts sit.

Eric Bristow

Anyone from my generation will say, without bias, that Eric Bristow would mix it with the very best in this era.

He may not have had the most conventional of techniques but he had more confidence than anyone who’s ever played the game and his natural ability set him apart from the rest.

It would be very interesting to see if his stage presence and persona would make him popular in today’s world. With the modern-day darts fan, his way of doing things might polarise opinion and it would be fascinating to see how people would respond to him on social media!

Confidence like we’ve seen from Gerwyn Price can create a hostile reception but Eric probably had the thickest skin in darts history, so I’m sure he’d have been able to cope in any arena!

I’d go as far as saying Eric would win world titles. He posted averages in the 1980s that people didn’t think were achievable – on playing surfaces that were very compact.

All 5 Eric Bristow World Darts Championship Wins: 1980-1986

From a game management perspective, he was 10-15 years ahead of his time.

Think about what he did in the 1983 World Championship final when he laid up for the last shot and got his pocket picked by Keith Deller’s famous 138 checkout. Forty years later we have a statistic that says that was the right decision!

What more evidence do you need.

John Lowe

John Lowe has done some incredible things in his career such as three world titles in three different decades and hitting the first ever televised nine-darter.

John Lowe 9-dart finish FIRST EVER ON TV

His longevity was remarkable but did he have the level to worry modern-day darts players?

Back in the 1980s, if he came up against a young player who was just starting to come through the ranks, he’d butcher them.

Nowadays the youth are fearless and wouldn’t care about the aura of John Lowe. They might do against Eric, but not so much John.

This is why I feel he’d struggle more – the lack of that intimidation factor.

Phil Taylor

Obviously the Phil Taylor from 2017 could excel in today’s world but so could the Power from every other previous era in his career!

That’s not up for debate.

The Phil Taylor from 1989 to the mid 90s was fabulous but then he evolved into an absolute machine that would be winning world titles right now. At no point between 1995 to 2017 is he seen as anything other than the dominant player.

Phil Taylor v Eric Bristow - 1990 Embassy Darts - Final Leg

Bob Anderson

If I could go back in time and bring any legend from the 1980s into this era, it would be Bob Anderson.

I’d love to see what he could do from an ability, aggression and personality perspective. He would love to win and entertain at the same time. He’d undoubtedly wow people right now if he was at the peak of his powers.

Just think how his 180 at last year’s World Seniors Championship got everyone off their seats!

The three-time World Master, who also won a world title, had an incredible ability level from 1985-1989 and I don’t think it’s talked about enough. With his temperament, Bob Anderson at his peak would win titles.

I truly believe he’d be one of the most popular players in the world because of how he interacts with fans and the way he behaves. It still gets me excited to this day.

Bobby George

During a 15-year period between the late 1970s and early 1990s he made the 1980 world championship final and a famous one in 1994 too so we know longevity wasn’t an issue for Bobby.

However he’s never been talked about as someone who averaged particularly highly and didn’t play that many tournaments compared to other players who went on the road more. He was more of a businessman dart player.

Darts World Championship 1994 Semi Final George vs Caris

He’d do a lot of work for breweries and exhibitions so he’d be very selective over which tournaments he competed in.

Bobby would obviously focus on the glamour events because he was more of a darting celebrity.

This is why some people would doubt whether his ability level would survive in the modern era. It is a bit of a 50-50 call if you judged solely on his regular performance standard in his heyday, but there is one big extra factor to consider with Bobby.

If he did play in this era, his eyes would light up at the potential fame and fortune he could earn!

That would prompt him to take the circuit more seriously because he’d want a big share of the limelight and all the television time. He’d push himself to become even better than he was during his era.

Bobby had a tremendous work ethic in all walks of his life – it’s legendary. So there’s no doubt he’d have what it takes to put in the practice required to try and reach those bigger averages that the modern player can reach consistently.

Jocky Wilson

I’m not sure Jockey would be as successful as he was between 1981 and 1989 if he was playing today.

Mentally it’s fair to say he wasn’t as strong as some of his rivals but when he was going through good spells of form, he accomplished two world titles and many other achievements.

Jocky Wilson v Eric Bristow - 1989 Embassy Darts - Final Leg

Jocky endured a pretty rocky life on and off the oche and I think the intense spotlight on modern-day darts would may have got the better of him.

He’d have flashes of brilliance but on a consistent basis, he wouldn’t have competed as consistently as some of the others in this list in my opinion.

Alan Warriner-Little

Along with Phil Taylor and Eric Bristow, the third player I would be most expectant of success in the modern era is Alan Warriner-Little, who retired around the same time as John Lowe in 2008.

I recently asked Chris Mason, who played him a lot during the 1990s, how good Alan was in his pomp and he said: ‘there were times when you just knew you couldn’t beat him.’

He didn’t win a world title but he was a multiple-time world number one and still remarkably holds the World Grand Prix average record of 106.

Nobody has ever got close to it. Not even Phil Taylor or Michael van Gerwen!

Alan Warriner vs. Andy Jenkins - First Round - 2001 PDC World Grand Prix

Dennis Priestley

Dennis won his first world title in 1991 and his second in 1994 – but his last title of any kind came as late as 2010, beating me in the semi-finals!

It’s amazing to think his winning longevity lasted such a long time and he was able to mix it with younger generations even when he was coming to the end of his career.

If you put a peak Dennis in the modern era, he’d beat people for two reasons. Firstly he was amazing and could post big averages and secondly his style of play would put people off! He was slow, deliberate and deadly.

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