Paul Nicholson famously waved off Phil Taylor

UK Open: Waving off Phil Taylor, the 'Anderson trilogy'. the magic of the cup and this year's outsiders to watch

By Paul Nicholson

Darts

Thu March 02, 2023 · 2y ago

Paul Nicholson looks ahead to this weekend’s UK Open in his latest darts column while he also reflects on his famous battles with Phil Taylor and Gary Anderson.

Powering up the rivalry

The match I had with Phil Taylor at the 2011 UK Open when I waved him off will always be one of the matches I’ll be remembered for and I don’t regret anything about it at all.

At that time in my career I felt pretty fearless and thought of myself as the best player in the world.

I’d won a Players Championship event seven days before that UK Open, where I ended up reaching the quarter-finals, and then won the very next one a week later.

Paul Nicholson waving goodbye to Phil Taylor - 2011 PDC UK Open

While the draw was being made I was sat eating in Nandos after beating Gary Anderson 9-8 in a tremendous match during the afternoon session. My manager at the time then told me I’d be playing Phil and I just thought, ‘yeah, OK.” I did not care who I faced and there was probably a small part of me that wanted to play him.

But it wasn’t me waving Phil off the stage that started the rivalry. He tried to get in my head so I thought the best way to keep him quiet was to beat him in a dramatic match and that’s what happened. We all know Phil learned a lot of his psychological tactics from the great Eric Bristow, who was able to flummox some players with just four or five words before stepping onto the oche.

I thought of myself as quite psychologically savvy not long after coming to the PDC and I could see some of Phil’s tactics coming. But what really made me angry on this occasion was him putting his hands on my waist and jostling me around before getting onto the stage. You’re not supposed to touch players unless they invite contact through a handshake or hug for example.

I did not like that at all and refused to acknowledge what he was doing. I kept my sunglasses on and earplugs in and thought “you are going to lose right now because you’ve really hit a nerve.” I may have got the better of him on that occasion but during my era, Phil was by far the best psychological tactician I will ever see.

The Anderson Trilogy

When I made my UK Open debut in 2009 I was already well known due to having already played in a World Championship and Grand Slam of Darts, which helped me climb inside the world’s top 50.

I’d reached the quarter-finals at Ally Pally on my debut a few months earlier but I didn’t play in many tournaments at the start of the season due to some personal problems including a divorce.

I subsequently went into that UK Open playing really poorly and my head was all over the place. That’s when the fines from the DRA started to happen.

My first ever game in this event was against Gary Anderson, who was also making his tournament debut. He was also my first televised opponent in the previous season’s Grand Slam of Darts.

In the practice room beforehand I was hitting absolutely nothing and I was so worried going up on that stage. It was also when I first started with my tie and waistcoat look, which was in tribute to Tom Kirby who had recently passed away.

I then played really well, averaging 99 and hitting a 132 checkout to beat Gary 6-4 on the Main Stage in Bolton, but my celebration was full of aggression due to everything I’d been going through. Gary was ready to pop me because he thinks I was too aggressive.

But, he didn’t know the full story about what was going on in my life – it was nothing against him. We didn’t speak much for the next couple of years as I thought it best to let him simmer down although our paths kept crossing in the UK Open.

My debut was eventually ended by Ken Mather and that’s when I got my first fine. He had so many fans shouting at me on those outside boards and my subsequent outburst at them got me into big trouble. I was in such a bad place that weekend, and was a fiery red chilli in the melting pot and ready to explode.

Quite frankly, when I look back at it now, I got off lightly.

Paul Nicholson vs. The Crowd Incident - 2009 PDC UK Open

The next year I played Anderson on the Main Stage and that’s when someone in the crowd gave me abuse about my divorce, which also hurt.

Gary and I weren’t talking at the time – not even a greeting when we passed each other in a room - and he badly wanted to take me out. He signalled to the crowd ‘one more’ when he was one leg away from beating me, that’s how much he wanted to win.

I didn’t realise that at the time but when I later saw the footage, I kept it in my memory.

The following year we played each other for the third successive year in the last 32 and I thought “there’s only one result here.” I’d got all my personal issues together and I felt like the best player I could be. It went down to a last leg decider but I nicked it for a very sweet victory.

After that game we drew a line under everything and didn’t have any problems again.

The trilogy with Gary will take up a chapter in my book one day although I’ll always look back on it fondly.

Contenders and outsiders

We say it every year but this UK Open is harder to predict than ever. It really is a minefield in Minehead.

Neither Michael Smith nor Michael van Gerwen are at their ultimate best right now whilst Gerwyn Price is only just starting to find his form and Peter Wright has made a slow start to the season despite winning the Nordic Darts Masters.

They could lose to anyone at the best of times, so now it's even more of a free for all!

I wouldn't be surprised whatsoever if any of the top 32 in the world walk off with the trophy on Sunday night - even those like Raymond van Barneveld who hasn’t made a smoking hot start to the 2023 campaign yet.

If these top 32 players get a few early wins together and get some favourable draws, stranger things have happened in previous years.

Look at world number 28 Kim Huybrechts - he's won a tournament this year and playing arguably his best darts for about eight years.

On top of that, he's got decent memories of Minehead - and the same could be said for Daryl Gurney, who won the Players Championship Finals there a few years ago.

Gurney played pretty well at the weekend and if he can get some good draws and build his confidence, then don't be shocked to see him go far.

Ryan Searle is on home territory - where he was runner-up at the Players Championship Finals back in 2021 - plus he's also playing very well having won a Players Championship title in the past few weeks and reached a European Tour semi-final for the first time only a few days ago.

ALSO READ: CHRIS HAMMER'S PREVIEW AND TIPS FOR THE UK OPEN

It's an impossible event to predict but if someone put a gun to my head and demanded a name, I'd say Ryan Searle.

Josh Rock is one of the players coming in at round three during Friday afternoon alongside the likes of Mensur Suljovic, Adrian Lewis and Simon Whitlock so keep your eyes on him.

The way he handled the pressure of his big stage appearances last year has made everyone think a title could be around the corner but he does open up against Luke Woodhouse and will need to hit the ground running.

Magic of the cup

In the old days of the UK Open, many of the Rileys amateurs were very much unknown quantities, which helped create this ‘magic of the cup’ vibe about the tournament – as well as the random draw.

They were regarded as the ‘non-league’ participants but in recent times they've become much stronger because the darts scene away from the main PDC Tour is so buoyant.

The amateur game has never been stronger thanks to the rise of the Modus Super Series, the WDF and the ADC so none of the 16 players who came through the Rileys Qualifiers can be considered an easy draw.

One of those is 16-year-old Luke Littler, who has dominated the headlines ahead of his PDC major debut.

There's pressure on his shoulders after an incredible year in which he’s won WDF silverware, played at the Lakeside and more, so people will expect him to go quite deep.

Littler actually opens the event on the main stage against Nick Fullwell so he can go out there, relax and enjoy the experience, but opening any event isn’t simple and will bring pressure.

My Rileys Qualifier to watch is Darryl Pilgrim. He can average mid-90s consistently and is one of the best players around without a Tour Card. Don't be surprised to see him getting through to the weekend.

As for the Challenge Tour and the Development Tour qualifiers, there are plenty of dangerous names who can cause problems.

Thibault Tricole is certainly a player who could plough through the early rounds without anyone noticing and then spring a few surprises.

It's crazy that Jelle Klaasen is in the Challenge Tour list of qualifiers and he heads to Minehead off the back of winning a week at the Modus Super Series.

Sebastian Bialecki is a name to look out for from the Development Tour list although many expected him to win a Tour Card at Q School.

He reached the quarter-finals here last year and also qualified for the PDC World Championship, where he played pretty well, but I'm more impressed in how he's taking all this patiently in his stride. He doesn't seem to want too much too soon.

Don't underestimate new PDC tour card holder Arron Monk, especially if he can get his head right, and a good run this weekend would do him the world of good.

I tipped Graham Hall in one of my earlier columns this year to have a great season and he's already hit a nine-dart leg! So I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a name for himself in Minehead.

I also predicted big things for Richard Veenstra and he's made a good start to the season.

An event like this is very similar to the Dutch Open that he's won before and he should thrive if the draw is kind - he's definitely capable of causing some shocks and could reach Sunday's play.

Playing one of these 'lesser' names isn’t easy for the top players. Although I never played the role of the unknown quantity in my career, I know what the pressure is like to be on the receiving end of such an opponent.

I once played in the first game of the tournament on the main stage against a player I’d never heard of called Harry Miles – and even now I had to go on Wikipedia to remember. I was properly nervous! I didn’t want to be that big name who loses to somebody nobody knows.

I did win that game but a few years earlier my debut UK Open was ended by the unknown Ken Mather, which I mentioned earlier. Nobody is safe!