Phil Taylor, who has won a record 16 world championships, has announced he will retire from competitive darts next year.

Nicknamed ‘The Power’, Taylor says the World Senior Darts Tour in 2024 will be his final year on the circuit, following an “unbelievable journey over the past 35 years” in the sport.

The 63-year-old star, from Stoke-on-Trent, had originally stepped away from darts after reaching the final of the PDC World Championship in 2018.

But then he returned to competition last year.

He has spent the last two seasons on the senior tour where he reached the quarter-finals in 2022 and 2023, but will aim to go out on a high in 2024.

After his retirement, he will continue to be involved in the tour as an ambassador.

Taylor, who is often named the greatest darts player of all time, said: “I’ll always love performing to the best of my ability, but time waits for no man and I know now is the right time to step away from the tour.

“It’s been an unbelievable journey over the past 35 years and I’ve loved every minute of it.

“I’m going to be working just as hard as I always have to make sure I give the fans what they want and go out on top.”

Taylor won his first world championship in 1990 when he beat five-time champion, the ‘Crafty Cockney’ Eric Bristow. His 16th and last world title was in 2013 when he defeated Michael van Gerwen.

The World Senior Darts Tour is made up of 11 events, including the World Senior Darts Championship at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, in February.

The tour’s Billy Lovell said: “Phil is one of the greatest sports people the UK has ever produced and we would like to place on record how grateful we are that he decided to come out of retirement at the beginning of our project.

“We have absolutely loved having him around and we’re sure his final year on tour with us will be great fun.”