Darts star suspended minutes before start of Players Championship after failing drugs test
Dominic Taylor was set to play Michael Smith in the Players Championship Finals before being withdrawn from the tournament due to failing a drugs test from a previous event
The Darts Regulation Authority has suspened Dominic Taylor after he failed a drugs test just moments before the Players Championship Finals.
Taylor was due to face Michael Smith on Friday night in the competiton before being withdrawn. Nick Kenny has entered the draw and will face Bully Boy instead.
The ace, known as the Tower, has previously won on the challenge and development tour and Is a pro tour semi-finalist. Taylor has featured in the UK Open four times.
The 26-year-old was part of a 64-man field that aims to find success in the £600,000 tournament at Butlin's Minehead Resort. Round One is to be played over two stages on Friday.
A statement read from the PDC read: "The Darts Regulation Authority has suspended Dominic Taylor following the failure of a drugs test.
"Taylor was tested at a recent Players Championship event and returned a positive sample for a banned substance. The Chairman of the DRA has confirmed that Taylor is suspended with immediate effect and will face a disciplinary hearing on a date to be confirmed.
"As a result, Taylor has been withdrawn from the Players Championship Finals and will be replaced in the draw by Nick Kenny, who will now play Michael Smith on Friday evening."
The likes of Michael van Gerwen, Luke Littler and reigning champions Luke Humphries will all be targeting glory in the tournament. Littler faces a tough first round clash against Rob Cross on the opening evening of competition.
The teenage super star enters the Players Championship Finals fresh from winning the Grand Slam of Darts. In the moments after his victory, his mind was already on where he could next be successful however.
He said: "I’ve got three days off before we head to Minehead, I hope I can go deep in the Players Championship finals - and then it’s on to the big one.
"The World Championship changed me, (changed) my family. Now the months have gone on, the tournaments, I'm just getting used to it all and I'm going to have to get used to it for a very long time. I am enjoying it."
Littler knows that he will have his work cut out to topple world number one Humphries, who defeated him in the World Championship final, in his upcoming tournaments.
The youngster acknowledged the 29-year-old's exceptional talent. "He's obviously a class player," he said. "And not only is he one of the best, but he's also one of the soundest players on the tour.
"Obviously we go way back, I was playing him when I was 12-years-old. And now you look at both of us now, both in the top five in the world."
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