The fans who arrived at London’s Alexandra Palace on Saturday night were deprived of one match from the program for the second round of the 2026 World Darts.
As usual, four meetings were to be played, but in the end, Welshman Jonny Clayton advanced without having to shoot a single dart.
The 27-year-old Dom Taylor, who failed the doping control and was immediately suspended, made a negative mark in the history of the championship.
And although it is not yet known what banned substance it was, it is surprising that this was not the first time this happened to the Englishman and he had no problem knowingly lying about it.
It wasn’t the first time
Taylor defeated Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak 3-0 in the first round, although his performance was not a hit parade. The three-dart average was less than 86 points, but his opponent did not even get over the 80-point mark.
How could he be satisfied with the closing, since he managed a number over 100 three times and his doubles success rate was just under 50 percent.
At the press conference, he received not only questions about the match, but also about the last 12 months, during which he was already suspended once.
The Englishman was supposed to appear at the Players Championship Finals in November 2024, but his match with Michael Smith did not take place. The Darts Regulatory Authority (DRA) suspended his activity due to a positive doping test.
Originally, he was threatened with a two-year ban, but it finally turned out that the substance did not increase his performance and that he used it outside of competitions. However, only a month’s punishment caused him to lose his debut at the World Cup, where he was replaced by Robert Owen.
“It’s the biggest disappointment of my life. I recovered and now I’m here,” Taylor said, appearing to have truly learned from his mistakes.
Sharp criticism of former players
The news of another violation of the rules casts a very bad light on the Englishman. He became the target of criticism, while former players did not put a napkin in front of their mouths.
“He’s the biggest idiot to ever play darts. The fact that he was caught doping last year, he couldn’t go to the WC and it happened again this year, I’m speechless.
I think he’ll get a real kick out of the PDC this time,” said Dutch darts player Vincent Van der Voort on the Darts Draait Door podcast.
VIDEO: Editing of the afternoon part of the 10th day at the World Darts 2026
“We’ve been praising his talent for the last couple of years and saying he’s a very good player. Unfortunately, now his reputation is completely destroyed.
After the victory, he spoke to the media about how he learned his lesson and it was the fact that he lied that really hit me,” added former World Cup of Darts finalist Paul Nicholson with criticism in an interview with talkSPORT.
Both now former darts players agree that Taylor must be punished by saying goodbye to the 25,000-pound bonus he won.
Van der Voort says the PDC should disclose what the substance was to avoid further speculation. In this too, the Dutchman agrees with Nicholson.
“We don’t know what substance it is and you can only argue about whether it helped him improve his performance. We have to learn something from this for the next generation of players. But this cannot be tolerated,” added the Australian.
Last year’s semi-finalist was also eliminated
While the doping case secured Jonny Clayton’s promotion, another seven players had to fight for their participation in the third round on Saturday. And not all the favorites succeeded, including the former world champion.
Michael Smith was not enough for Niels Zonneveld. With the score tied at 1:1 for the sets, he led 2:1 for the legs in the third, but the remaining five legs were won by his opponent. The Dutchman has thus achieved his maximum so far at the World Cup.
VIDEO: Editing of the evening part of the 10th day at the World Darts 2026
“I can’t even describe what it means to me. I’m very happy. It’s the most valuable victory of my career,” said the native of Uitgeest, whose next opponent will be world number five Clayton.
Dirk van Duijvenbode and last year’s semi-finalist Chris Dobey also surprisingly said goodbye to the tournament. “Hollywood” lost to 55-year-old Andrew Gilding 1:3 in sets and will drop out of the top 10 of the world ranking.
Saturday’s program ended with a comfortable victory for world number four Stephen Bunting, who allowed India’s Nitin Kumar to gain just two legs.
“I know how well Nitin can play. I’ve played with him a few times and he’s a fantastic ambassador for our sport. I felt really good, I’m delighted to win and now I can enjoy Christmas,” added Bunting.
