The darts scene in Warwickshire has long been thriving, with quality Super League and National League teams available to the best tungsten merchants in the county.
And the Bears have been bolstered by the welcome return of two former PDC World Championship contenders in 2026.
Dom Taylor will play for Warwickshire while he observes his PDC ban, while Danny Lauby Jr – the popular American who has set up home in the area – will also be in action.
Towering Over the Rest
Taylor has made no excuses for being kicked out of the PDC World Championships in December.
The 27-year-old won his first-round game against Oskar Lukasiak, but his scheduled meeting with Jonny Clayton in the second round was subsequently cancelled.
So talented is Taylor that, despite his suspension, he has been listed at 400/1 in the 2026/27 World Darts Championship odds; placing him in a similar position in the betting to five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld and former UK Open winner Andrew Gilding.
The darts betting market has no doubt noticed the promise that ‘The Tower’ showed in his breakthrough season in 2025, in which he reached two semi-finals of Players Championship events.
A run to the third round of the UK Open last year also added welcome prize money to Taylor’s order of merit ranking, although the forfeiture of the £25,000 he won in the first round of the World Championship meant that the 27-year-old subsequently fell out of the top 64 of the PDC rankings… therefore losing his tour card for 2026.
So, his exploits for Warwickshire will be Taylor’s main outlet this year, but that seems to be working out fine – he heads the averages in the Men’s A section of the National League Premiership Division, while also boasting an unbeaten record during the 2025/26 campaign.
American Idol
Welcoming Danny Lauby Jr into the Warwickshire Darts fold has also been a major coup for the Bears.
The 33-year-old held a PDC tour card in 2024 and 2025, delivering his best performance in a run to the fifth round of the UK Open last year – the highlight of which was a last-leg victory over Brendan Dolan.
Lauby produced one of the best displays of his career in defeating former world champion Rob Cross 6-0 in the US Masters in June, a tournament held at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York.
He would bow out in the next round to eventual champion Luke Humphries, but once again Lauby had showcased his undoubted talent at the oche.
A former CDC Continental Cup winner who has twice played at the Alexandra Palace – one attempt saw him take 2026 World semi-finalist Ryan Searle to a fifth and final set- the American’s credentials are clear for all to see.
But, having dropped off the main tour in 2025, Lauby tried his luck at Q School, where he was unable to earn back his professional privileges. So he will split his time in 2026 between playing on the PDC Challenge Tour and in the National League system, where he will represent his adopted home county of Warwickshire.
The PDC’s loss is certainly the Bears’ gain…
Article written by Ben Spencer
