THORNTON NEARLY FALLS OFF STAGE

ROBERT THORNTON admits he almost FELL OFF the stage during a Premier League clash with Phil Taylor.

The Scots ace suffered the scare back in 2014 at the Cardiff International Arena on night nine of the competition.  

‘The Thorn’ was trailing 6-4 when he missed a checkout and walked forward to collect his darts before the drama unfolded.  

Thornton clipped referee Russ Bray as he stepped off the oche, rolling his ankle and stumbling towards the edge of the stage.  

Former world No.1 Taylor rushed over to help his opponent, who limped away in clear pain.  

Thornton told Modus: “I was playing Phil Taylor at the time and I think what happened was as I threw my darts and walked up, Russ Bray stepped in to see what the score was.  

“But he never took his foot far enough back and as I stepped off the stage I clipped his foot.  

“I almost went off the end of the stage. Phil said he almost saved me but he was six foot over to the other side so how is he going to stop me there.  

“It wasn’t funny at the time but I can see the funny side of it after. But my ankle did hurt after.”  

Despite his earlier accident, Thornton took advantage of a missed opportunity from his opponent to close the gap to 6–4 and keep the match alive.  

However, Taylor responded strongly, claiming the next leg to seal a 7–4 victory in the best-of-12 contest.  

The two-time major winner ultimately finished eighth in the campaign, securing just two wins from his 16 matches.  

This marked his second of three appearances in the Premier League, following his triumph at the 2012 UK Open.

Image by Taylor Lanning.