Things nearly turned ugly after a thrilling World Championship match between Phil Taylor and Raymond Van Barneveld.
Taylor and Van Barneveld are responsible for some of the most iconic moments in darts history, particularly on stage during the hallmark World Championship during its eras at Circus Tavern and most recently Alexandra Palace.
The pair regularly played hugely important matches against each other and formed one of the most iconic rivalries in sporting history, while jostling for major titles over 27 years.
Their dominance culminated in some thrilling meetings over the years, but their respect for each others tungsten craft and off-stage friendship did once threaten to disappear.
Taylor and Van Barneveld met in a monumental semi-final clash at Ally Pally, with the winner to set to secure a place in the final against rising star Michael Van Gerwen.
It was a sensational match, which saw ‘The Power’ oust his famous rival on stage by picking up a 6-4 win in the set format.
The Briton pinned his famous favourite double 16, which sparked a wild celebration as he turned around and jumped for joy.
He pumped his fists and celebrated with the crowd, before turning around to collect his darts.
As accustomed on the PDC tour, the players shake hands and it appeared it would remain civil as traditional.
But as the pair shook hands, Van Barneveld held on to his rival’s hand for longer than he expected as he began to walk away.
The victor looked furious and turned around with an angry grimace patterned across his face.
Taylor thrust his head towards Van Barneveld to shrug him away, before pushing his arm away from being around him.
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The embrace quickly turned feisty as he became angry and muttered some angry words towards the Dutchman.
Van Barneveld then gave the darting genius a nudge in the back as he marched towards the board to shake hands with the scorer.
Luckily the pair avoided more physical confrontation, but things had threatened to spiral out of control.
The pair had one last shouting match before Taylor gathered his things and walked off stage, a rare crack in his icy cool persona.
Van Barneveld tried to put an arm around his rival and friend to explain himself, but Taylor was still seething and the incident was left alone.
Taylor was then subject to investigation by the Darts Regulation Authority for his conduct, who eventually decided to take no further action.
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The finalist then later issued an apology to his fellow icon, admitting he acted out of character.
“Raymond’s a big lad and he has a strong handshake, and when he pulled me, it hurt me,” he said.
“I reacted wrongly and I’m ashamed of that because I really like Raymond I’m gutted about what happened.
“It’s upset a lot of people and it’s also upset me. I’ve contacted Raymond to apologise to him and hopefully we can put it behind us now.
“I’m very close to Raymond, he’s a great competitor and it was something that happened in the heat of the moment.”
Despite the controversy, Taylor went on to do what he did best, beating Van Gerwen in the showpiece final to pick up the Sid Waddell trophy.
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Incredibly it strengthened his record, as it was his 16th world title, a feat that has never been matched since with no player even close to emulating his dominance.
Unfortunately for Taylor, it was his final tournament win on the Ally Pally stage as he was unable to secure a repeat after 2013.
His final appearance came in the tournament in 2018, where he reached the final but was beaten by shock winner Rob Cross.
He decided to put down the darts for good on the PDC tour, although he did compete in the World Senior Darts Championship four years later.
His rival ‘Barney’ is still competing to this day, but has only thus far been able to win one world title which came in 2007.
But he will compete alongside the likes of Luke Humphries, Luke Littler and Van Gerwen at this year’s World Championship at the age of 57.
He will face the winner of Stowe Buntz’s clash with Nick Kenny in the second round draw, having earned a bye through the opening round due to his PDC ranking.
The PDC World Championship starts on December 15, with the final taking place on January 3.
talkSPORT will have live commentary of all the action across the network throughout the tournament.
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