Phil Taylor Reunites With Adrian Lewis for Modus Super Series

Phil Taylor is coming out of retirement, eight years after he last threw competitively, to stand alongside Adrian Lewis once more.

The Phil Taylor Adrian Lewis return will happen at the Modus Super Series’ International Pairs tournament in Portsmouth this November, reuniting two of England’s most decorated players on the same oche.

Taylor won 214 professional tournaments and a record 87 major titles between 1987 and 2018, a haul that still shapes every conversation about the sport’s finest.

Lewis has not played on the PDC circuit since April 2023. Bringing them back together, even for one event, is the kind of news darts followers do not see coming.

Taylor explained his thinking plainly.

“I’ve been asked plenty of times about coming back, but it would have to be for the right reason,” Taylor said. “Adrian is one of the very few people I’d come out of retirement to play alongside, and the Modus Super Series is the place I wanted to do it.”

He added: “We’ve got a lot of history together, we know each other’s games inside out and I’m looking forward to getting back up there with him.”

Lewis, reported by BBC Sport, was equally warm about the pairing.

“Phil and I have shared some brilliant moments playing together over the years, so to get the chance to do it again is really special,” Lewis said.

“We know what it takes to win as a pair and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do together.”

Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis Reunite for Modus Super Series Return

The pairing is specific to one event, not a wider comeback.

Taylor is not rejoining the full PDC professional circuit, and Lewis has not announced any change to his own playing status. What has been confirmed is a single tournament appearance, built on a friendship and a rivalry that stretches back well over a decade.

That distinction matters to fans who might read too much into the headline. This is Taylor and Lewis choosing one stage, in one city, for one week in November. Nothing in the announcement points beyond that.

Inside the Portsmouth Tournament and the England Duo’s Oche Absence

The Modus Super Series’ International Pairs tournament runs from 23 to 28 November in Portsmouth. It will be the setting for Taylor and Lewis’s first competitive outing together since either man last represented England on the same team sheet.

Lewis’s absence from the PDC circuit since April 2023 has been notable given his standing in the sport.

Away from ranked events, he has kept himself busy elsewhere, including through his recent grassroots darts initiative, which has helped keep his name active in the darting community even without ranking points to chase.

Taylor’s own competitive appearances have been limited but not non-existent.

He featured at the World Seniors Darts Championship in 2022, 2023 and 2024, giving fans occasional glimpses of the player who dominated the sport for three decades.

Portsmouth will be something different again: a pairs event, alongside the man he rates among the very few worth coming back for.

Four World Cups and Five Major Finals: The Data Behind Darts’ Power Duo

The numbers behind this partnership explain why Taylor picked Lewis above anyone else.

Across six outings together for Team England at the PDC World Cup of Darts, the pair won the title four times, a record that speaks to genuine chemistry rather than coincidence.

Their individual honours only add to the weight of the reunion:

• Taylor, 66, won 214 professional tournaments and a record 87 major titles between 1987 and 2018.
• Lewis, 41, won back to back World Darts Championships in 2011 and 2012.
• Lewis has faced Taylor in five PDC major finals. Taylor won every one.
• Together, they lifted four PDC World Cup of Darts titles from six attempts as Team England.

That five for five record in major finals sits at the centre of debates over the sport’s greatest iconic figures, with Taylor’s name almost always the starting point.

Lewis, for his part, remains the only player to have won back to back World Championships since Taylor’s own peak years, which is why his absence from the circuit has been felt so keenly.

What the Reunification Means for Modus Darts and the International Pairs

For Modus, landing Taylor is a significant statement about where the International Pairs event now sits within the sport’s calendar.

Lewis already has recent history with the tournament, having played it last year for England alongside Steve Beaton.

Swapping Beaton for Taylor changes the profile of England’s entry entirely.

It turns a solid pairing into one built on genuine history, the kind that comes from years of facing each other across the same oche in the biggest finals darts has to offer.

Taylor has not been shy about assessing the current generation either, and Taylor’s recent assessments of modern players show a man still closely engaged with the sport despite his retirement.

Portsmouth will not change his competitive status beyond that one week, but it does confirm he is willing to step back onto a stage when the reason, and the partner, are right.

Whatever happens in November, the pairing itself is the story. Two players with five major finals between them, all won by one side, will walk out together rather than against each other, for the first time in years.

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