Watch: Darts legend Phil Taylor defeats 13-year-old prodigy Leighton Bennett at the Tower of London
Darts legend Phil Taylor defeated 13-year-old prodigy Leighton Bennett in their hotly-anticipated showdown at the Tower of London.
- Listen to the Rob Cross interview about Leighton Bennett on the Sporting Life Darts Podcast
- Follow @ChrisHammer180 on Twitter
The retired 16-time world champion took on the current BDO World Youth Champion on Tuesday night in a special SAP exhibition streamed online, and it was also the first live darts match ever to be played at this historic landmark.
Bennett shot to stardom in January when his show-stopping 121 finish on the bullseye - plus his wild celebrations to match - saw him become the youngest ever winner of the Lakeside showpiece.
'Boom Boom', who is mentored by Rob Cross, has already won three junior PDC titles in 2019 and is widely tipped for an incredible future in the sport.
Played in a best-of-19 legs format, Bennett showed his rich potential by averaging 93 and making three ton+ checkouts during a superb performance but just came up short as Taylor posted a mark of 96.7.
Click play below to watch the match and for the amusing post-match interviews while you can scroll further down for a brief report
The Power made his intentions clear early on that he'd not go easy on the youngster by taking out 121 for a 12-dart opening leg before breaking Bennett for an early 2-0 lead.
Bennett got on the board in the next leg in 15 darts and although the 58-year-old took the next two, the protege of Rob Cross then reeled off four in a row, including successive checkouts of 101 and 124 on the bullseye, to move 5-4 up.
Taylor responded with 87 and 122 checkouts - both on the bull - to regain the upper hand but after then moving 7-5 up, 'Boom Boom' landed his third 100+ out of the match from 105 to stay in touch.
However, the legendary Power finished the stronger by winning three of the next four legs - but there can be no doubting what a superstar young Bennett will become.