Taylor enthused by full house at Leeds

Gary Anderson and Phil Taylor who play each other tonight at the First Direct Arena, Leeds (Picture: Steve Riding).

Taylor and nine other top players will take to the stage in Leeds tonight for the opening round of the 2015 Betway Premier League.

Leeds was chosen to host the tournament’s launch night after a crowd of 10,500 attended PDC darts’ first visit to the city last year.

A full house of 11,293 is expected tonight and 16-time world champion Taylor said: “Leeds has probably become one of the best venues we do.

“I liked it last year, because the stage is close to the crowd, it’s situated perfectly so everybody can see and they aren’t far away.

“It is going to be buzzing. I know we’ve sold 11,000 tickets and that’s unbelievable.

“I think it’s the best one to kick off with. To me Leeds should either be the first one or the last one, it’s as good as the O2 I think.”

Taylor will be in the fourth match on stage when he faces Gary Anderson in a rematch of last month’s classic world final, which the Scotsman won in a deciding set.

At the other end of the scale, former BDO champion Stephen Bunting will make his Premier League debut when he takes on James Wade in the final match.