Gary Anderson (darts player)

Born in Musselburgh, Anderson began his career playing in British Darts Organisation events and won the second tournament he entered by claiming the 2001 Welsh Open with a defeat of John Walton.[23] The win ensured he qualified for the following year's World Championship for the first time, where he suffered a first round defeat to Sweden's Stefan Nagy, going down 3–0.[24] The following year, in the 2003 BDO World Darts Championship Anderson reached the semi-final stage before bowing out to eventual runner-up Ritchie Davies.[25] Anderson would not win another match at the Lakeside Country Club until 2006, when he beat Gary Robson in the first round before again falling to the eventual finalist this time in Raymond van Barneveld in the second round.[26]

In the following two years, Anderson was knocked out of the World Championship in the first round by Dutch players – in 2007, he lost to Albertino Essers,[27] and in 2008, he was defeated by Fabian Roosenbrand.[28]

Anderson won the first major tournaments of his career by claiming the International Darts League and World Darts Trophy back-to-back in 2007.[23] It was a significant achievement as he succeeded against fields comprising the top players and world champions from both the rival organisations: the Professional Darts Corporation and BDO. In the two events, he had victories against Wayne Mardle, Roland Scholten, Mervyn King, James Wade, Adrian Lewis, Mark Webster, John Part, Peter Manley, Andy Hamilton and Phil Taylor.[29][30]

Shortly after his WDT title, his success continued by clinching the BDO British Open to add to his 2007 Scottish Open success. Anderson also won the Zuiderduin Masters two years in a row – the first of which was an unranked event, the second was the first championship since the tournament was elevated to the status of ranking major.[31] Anderson finished 2007 as the WDF world number 1, while he later ended 2008 as the WDF world number 2 behind Scott Waites[32][33] In 2008, Anderson won the German Open, Welsh Open and BDO International Grand Prix titles.[31] He also won the Dutch Pentathlon in 2008,[2] retaining the title in 2009, with a world record score of 502 points.[3]

Between 2000 and 2008, Anderson represented Scotland at three WDF World Cups,[34] four WDF Europe Cups,[35] and five Six Nations Cup.[36] With Scotland, Anderson lifted successive Six Nations Cups in 2002 and 2003,[5][6] as well as winning the WDF Europe Cup four-man and overall team titles in 2002.[7] In total, Anderson played thirty-two matches for Scotland, winning twenty-two of them.[37][38]

After months of speculation, Anderson joined the PDC in early 2009. He made his PDC televised debut in an exhibition match at the Premier League Darts meeting in Cardiff, after Wayne Mardle had withdrawn with illness, and defeated John Part with a three-dart average of 107.[23] He then qualified for the 2009 UK Open at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton, losing in the second round 6–4 to Paul Nicholson.[39] On his PDC World Championship debut in 2010, Anderson defeated Jamie Caven 3–2 in the first round before losing 4–0 against Ronnie Baxter in the second round.[40]

In June 2010, Anderson reached his first ever PDC major final at the UK Open. He defeated Michael van Gerwen, Paul Nicholson, Mervyn King (who hit a nine-dart finish against Anderson), Andy Hamilton, and Tony Ayres before losing to Phil Taylor in the final 5–11.

At the 2010 World Matchplay he produced the first whitewash for six years with a 10–0 thumping of fellow Scot Robert Thornton during their first round encounter. His second round encounter was against Jelle Klaasen, with Klaasen winning 14-12.

Anderson qualified for the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts, and went into the tournament as the number six seed. Anderson defeated Mark Hylton, Mark Webster and Wayne Jones in the group stage to finish top of his group. In the second round he defeated Colin Osborne 10–3 to again play Jones in the quarter finals. Anderson led 15–12 before Jones took the last four legs to win the match 16–15.

Anderson represented Scotland along with Robert Thornton for the inaugural PDC World Cup of Darts in 2010 PDC World Cup of Darts. They entered the tournament in the second round as 4th seeds and beat Russia, paired by Anastasia Dobromyslova and Roman Konchikov, 6–2 to advance to the group stage, where they lost their opening group game to Wales pairing Mark Webster and Barrie Bates. Having recovered to secure victory against Bill Davis and Darin Young of the United States, Anderson and Thornton went out after defeat to Spain's Carlos Rodriguez and Antonio Alcinas.

Anderson qualified for the 2011 World Championship as the number 11 seed and in the first round played Japan's Morihiro Hashimoto. Anderson won 3–0 in sets, taking all nine legs without reply, with an average of 103.23. In the second round he faced two-time world champion Dennis Priestley, winning 4 sets to 2. He then defeated Andy Smith in the third round (whilst setting his highest World Championship average of 108.39), Raymond van Barneveld in the quarter-finals, and Terry Jenkins in the semi-finals to ensure his place in the final against Adrian Lewis.[41] Anderson was defeated 7–5 by Lewis, who also hit a nine-dart finish during the first set of the match.[42] Despite the loss, Anderson's run ensured him a place in the 2011 Premier League as he had moved into the top four on the Order of Merit.[43]

Anderson was the number two seed for the 2011 Players Championship Finals, and reached his second successive major final, where he played Phil Taylor. Anderson led 11–9, but Taylor checked out 128 in the deciding leg to win 13–12.[44] In the Premier League he got off to a winning start by beating Simon Whitlock 8–5 on the opening night at the O2 Arena.[45] He went on to win his first four games before losing to Taylor in week five. Anderson finished the group stage in third place and played Van Barneveld in the semi-finals, winning 8–6.[45] In a repeat of the World Championship final he played Lewis (who had beaten Taylor 8–3 in the other semi-final) and beat him 10–4 to win his first major championship in the PDC, his third in total, and his first in the UK having had his previous successes in the Netherlands.

In the World Matchplay he was beaten 10–6 in his first round match against Andy Hamilton, and he lost in the second round of the European Championship 10–5 to Peter Wright.[46][47] Away from the television cameras on the PDC Pro Tour he won four Players Championships during the year including both during the same weekend in Nuland.[48] In the first round of the World Grand Prix he faced Richie Burnett and lost 2–1 in sets.[49] Anderson qualified from Group C of the Grand Slam of Darts and then won through to the final where he met Taylor and was comfortably beaten 16–4.[50] Anderson holds the record for the highest ever three dart average in darts history in an official tournament with a 133.35 average in a 6–1 win against Arron Monk in a UK Open Qualifier during 2011.[51]

Anderson survived a huge scare in the first round of the 2012 World Championship as his opponent Jyhan Artut had four darts to win the match. He missed and Anderson won the match 3–2 on a sudden-death leg.[52] He used his lucky escape to his advantage by defeating Devon Petersen and Colin Lloyd, 4–2 and 4–1 respectively, to set up a quarter-final clash with Simon Whitlock.[53] He won the first set of the match, but missed a total of 29 darts at a double and lost 1–5.[54] He played in his second World Cup for Scotland in February, this time with Peter Wright and together they were beaten by South Africa in the second round, losing in a sudden-death leg.[55]

Anderson had a disappointing defence of his Premier League title. He finished bottom of the league table having won just three matches from the 14 game season.[56] In winning the event in 2011 he made a total of 79 180's,[57] but could only manage 31 this year, the least of any of the eight players.[58] However, in the last league game Anderson did have an encouraging 7–7 draw with Phil Taylor.[56]

In June, he completed his first live televised nine-dart finish in a 9–3 third round win over Davey Dodds at the UK Open.[16] He lost in the next round to compatriot, and eventual winner of the event, Robert Thornton 7–9.[59] He was then forced to take a month away from the sport due to problems focusing with his left eye, returning to play in the World Matchplay.[60] There he played Dean Winstanley in the first round and, despite leading 5–0, lost the match 11–13.[61] Anderson was banned by the Darts Regulation Authority for two European Tour events and the European Championship due to "him failing to complete his match and his subsequent behaviour" at the European Tour Event 2.[62] In October, he lost in the final of the 14th Players Championship of the year, 5–6 to Robert Thornton in an all Scottish final.[63] Anderson then won the non-ranking Irish Masters by beating Colin Osborne 6–1 in the final.[64] He finished second in Group F of the Grand Slam of Darts to qualify for the last 16, where he faced Andy Hamilton.[65] Despite averaging almost 102, Anderson lost 9–10 in a thrilling match.[66] After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Anderson was 26th on the Order of Merit, inside the top 32 who qualified for the Players Championship Finals.[67] He saw off Wes Newton and Robert Thornton, but was then beaten 8–10 by Simon Whitlock in the quarter-finals.[68]

During the 2012 season, Anderson, together with the seven other players who competed in the Premier League recorded a charity single with Chas Hodges and his band called 'Got My Tickets For The Darts' which was written by Chas. It was released on 18 May, the night after the play-offs at the O2 in London, where it was premiered. Proceeds from the single were donated to the Haven House Children's Hospice.

Anderson survived three match darts versus John Bowles in the second round of the 2013 World Championship to win in a deciding set,[69] but was then comfortably beaten by Raymond van Barneveld 0–4 in 33 minutes as he missed a total of 23 darts at doubles.[70] Because the ranking system works as a two-year rolling list based on prize money earned, Anderson lost the £100,000 from reaching the 2011 World Championship final and dropped to world number 11 after the tournament.[71] Anderson partnered Robert Thornton for the third time at the World Cup of Darts and they were shocked by Spain 4–5 in the last 16.[72] He threw a nine-dart finish in the third UK Open Qualifier during a first round win over Josh Payne, but lost in the following round 5–6 to Michael van Gerwen.[17]

He qualified for the 2013 Premier League by virtue of being the 2011 champion.[73] In the first eight matches he could only beat Phil Taylor and Simon Whitlock and went into the ninth week knowing he had to beat James Wade to have any chance of avoiding being one of the two relegated players from the 10-man league.[74][75] Anderson lost 3–7 to Wade and stated afterwards that he has struggled with his game for the last year.[76] At the UK Open he led Kevin Painter 7–3 in the fourth round, but then lost six consecutive legs to exit the tournament 7–9.[77] Anderson showed his best darts in the first round of the World Grand Prix as he averaged 104.86 in the double start event during a two sets to nil 10 minute defeat of Jelle Klaasen.[78] He then edged past Wes Newton 3–2 before meeting Phil Taylor in top form in the quarter-finals who beat Anderson 3–0.[79] At the Grand Slam of Darts, Anderson produced two superb performances in the group stage as he averaged 107.14 and 111.80 in defeats of Wesley Harms and Peter Wright.[80] He lost his other game to James Wade to finish second in the group and play Taylor in the last 16. Anderson again posted an impressive average of 106.13 (almost four points ahead of Taylor's), but from 4–4 was unable to capitalise on the chances his scoring set up and lost 10–5.[81] Anderson's second major quarter-final of the year came at the Players Championship Finals where he lost 9–7 to Justin Pipe.[82]

Anderson comfortably beat Mark Dudbridge and Brendan Dolan in the 2014 World Championship to face Michael van Gerwen in the third round.[83] He took advantage of a sluggish start from Van Gerwen to establish a 3–1 lead and also missed two darts to win the set he lost. However, Anderson's usual scoring power deserted him as he lost three sets in a row to exit the tournament. Anderson bemoaned the fact that he had been playing consistently well over the previous months but kept losing games he should win through silly mistakes.[84] He then began the year by claiming his first ranking title in two and a half years at the German Darts Championship. Anderson recovered from 5–3 down to Justin Pipe in the final to win 6–5, surviving six match darts from his opponent in the process and said afterwards his goal for the year was to reclaim his ranking in the top eight.[85] His good start to the year continued as he won the fifth UK Open Qualifier with a 6–2 defeat of Robert Thornton.[86] At the UK Open itself he lost 9–7 to Ian White in the fifth round.[87] Anderson's third title of the year came at the first Players Championship as he averaged 111.47 in beating Andrew Gilding 6–5 in a high quality final.[88] Another tournament victory came a week later at the third event by edging out Phil Taylor 6–5, with Anderson describing afterwards that winning has become a habit again.[89]

Anderson received a Sky Sports wildcard to participate in the Premier League this year.[90] He had a fantastic second half of the season to win five of his last seven matches, drawing the other two, to finish fourth in the table and qualify for the play-offs. Anderson played Van Gerwen in the semi-finals against whom he lost to 7–5 and beat 7–4 during the league stage.[91] There was never more than a leg between the players throughout the whole match with Van Gerwen throwing for it in the deciding leg. He kicked off with a 171 and Anderson could only reply with 17 and went on to lose 8–7.[92] With doubling so often the weakness in Anderson's game, he managed to hit 43% during the whole season this year, the third highest out of the ten players.[93] In June he won his fifth title of the season at the 11th Players Championship with a 6–2 defeat of Thornton.[94]

At the World Matchplay, Anderson beat Jamie Caven 10–8 and Stephen Bunting 13–8 (whilst averaging 104.41) to progress past the second round for the first time in his sixth appearance in the event.[95] In the quarter-finals he outplayed Adrian Lewis in winning 13–8 and was then involved in a high quality match against Phil Taylor in the semi-finals as both players averaged 105 which Anderson just lost 17–15. Anderson stated that the quality of his darts was beginning to scare other players again and his successful week took him back into the world's top 10.[96] In September he averaged 115.62 in thrashing Lewis 6–0 in the semi-finals of the 13th Players Championship and then fought back from 5–3 down in the final against Richie Burnett to take the title 6–5.[97] He also reached the final of the 16th event but lost 6–2 against Brendan Dolan.[98] Anderson's successful season in the floor events concluded at the final Players Championship where he sealed the title by throwing a 10 dart leg to edge Peter Wright 6–5. He finished the season top of the Pro Tour Order of Merit and was therefore the number one seed for the Players Championship Finals, something Anderson said he had worked his heart out all year to achieve.[99] He produced his very highest standard throughout the event beginning with a 6–5 win over Christian Kist with an average of 110.62. In the quarter-finals he beat Taylor for the first time since 2007 in a televised knockout match and then eliminated Vincent van der Voort 11–7 and Lewis 11–6 in the final.[100] It was Anderson's fourth major title and he ended the tournament with an overall average of 104.72.[101]

In his quarter-final match with Dave Chisnall at the 2017 World Championship 33 180s were thrown, just one shy of the record. With the match tied at three sets apiece, Chisnall was ahead in the seventh set 2–0, but missed four darts to take it and Anderson would win 5–3.[154] After Peter Wright equalised their semi-final at 3–3 after trailing 3–1, Anderson won nine of the next ten legs to reach the final for the third year in a row with a 6–3 victory. He was on a 17-game unbeaten streak at the event and missed two darts to take a 3–1 lead over Michael van Gerwen in the early stages of the final.[155] Van Gerwen then won 12 of the next 14 legs in taking four sets in a row and, though Anderson pulled one back, his reign as world champion ended with a 7–3 loss. Anderson had not averaged over 100 in his two previous wins in the final, but averaged 104.93 in this defeat, as well as hitting 22 180s which is a record in a single match. The pair smashed the record for the most 180s in a match with 42 and Anderson's 71 for the entire tournament is also a record.[156][157]

Anderson and Van Gerwen also met in the final of the Masters, with Anderson losing 11–7.[158] He was level at 7–7 with Van Gerwen in the semi-finals of the Premier League, before being defeated 10–7.[159] Anderson and Wright suffered a surprise first round 5–2 defeat to Singapore at the World Cup.[160]

Anderson began his 2018 season with a loss to eventual runner-up Phil Taylor in the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Championship, failing to reach the finals for the first time in 4 years.

With Rob Cross breaking into the top 3 in Order of Merit with his World Championship victory over Taylor, Anderson would play the 2018 season ranked 4th in the world. This would queue him up for a series of semi-finals matches against Michael van Gerwen, the first of which would be a 5–11 loss in the Masters. Anderson returned 2 weeks later to win the 4th UK Open Qualifier and enter the UK Open as the 6th seed. Having not reached the final since his 2010 loss to Taylor, Anderson reached the final for a second time to defeat Corey Cadby 11–7. Just a week later, Anderson followed up with back to back victories in Players Championships 3 and 4.

In the 2018 Premier League, Anderson had an 8–5–3 (W–L–D) record to finish 3rd in the league table and reach the playoffs for the 5th year straight, but would fall to Michael Smith in the semi-final. Nevertheless, Anderson would turn around two days later to win his third Players Championship title of the year. Another two weeks later, Anderson would join Peter Wright for the fourth time to represent Scotland at the 2018 World Cup. With the pair having only lost one set before the finals, they fell to the reigning champions, Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld of The Netherlands with MVG's 4–0 defeat of the Flying Scotsman.

Anderson kicked off the second half of the year with an 8–4 victory over Rob Cross in the final of the US Darts Masters where he hit the tournament high checkout of 164 in the final leg. The following week, his World Series success would come to an end after a first round defeat in the Shanghai Darts Masters. His form was soon to return in the World Matchplay where he hit a £45,000 nine-dart finish against Joe Cullen in the semi-finals. With a defeat over Cullen and Jeffrey de Zwaan, who had beaten other two-time world champions Michael van Gerwen and Adrian Lewis in the first two rounds, Anderson met Mensur Suljović in the final. In the longest match in Matchplay history, Anderson defeated Suljović 21–19 in the best of 35 match with the stipulation that the game must be won by 2 clear legs. The tournament saw Anderson hit 52 180s, the most ever in a winning effort at the Matchplay, and second overall only to the 56 that Adrian Lewis hit in his 2013 campaign that ended in defeat by Phil Taylor.

After taking second in his group with victories over Michael van Gerwen and Dave Chisnall, but a loss to Daryl Gurney, Anderson would meet Suljović again in the semi-final of the 2018 Champions League of Darts. The Scotsman secured an 11–4 victory over the Austrian to avenge his defeat in the 2017 Final where the Austrian won 11–9. Anderson was quick to follow up with another 11–4 victory in the final against his fellow countryman Peter Wright to become the third champion in as many stagings of the tournament. A week later in the World Grand Prix, Anderson would again struggle when he fell to the reigning champion Daryl Gurney for the second time in two weeks, with a 3–0 defeat in the quarter-finals.

In November, Anderson went undefeated in the group stage of the Grand Slam and met MVG in the semi-final having only lost 12 legs combined in the prior rounds. Anderson took the set 16–12 before meeting Gerwyn Price in the final. After at one point leading the match 11–8, Anderson was visibly distracted by Price, and only won 2 of the next 10 legs, to lose 13–16 in the controversial final.[161] The following week in the 2018 Players Championship Finals, Anderson once again met MVG in the semi-finals with each of them having only given up 9 legs in the tournament so far. This time around, Van Gerwen would get the advantage, winning 11–9 before losing to Daryl Gurney by the same margin in the final.[162]

Anderson entered the 2019 World Championship as the fourth seed and won his opening match against Kevin Burness 3–1. He led his third round match against Jermaine Wattimena 3–1, before losing the next two sets, then had to survive match darts to take the game to a tie break before eventually prevailing 5–3 in the deciding set. In the fourth round, Anderson recovered from a 2–0 deficit to Chris Dobey to win the final set in another tiebreaker with a score of 4–2 legs. In the quarter finals, Anderson appeared to have gotten his game back with a 5–2 victory over Dave Chisnall and a 103.03 average, his first over 100 in the tournament. Anderson visibly struggled however in his semi-final match with Michael van Gerwen. The world number one put up a 104.76 average to Anderson's 97.98 to secure a 6–1 victory and only giving up 7 legs.[163]

Anderson had been struggling with back problems for a couple of years at this point, and took the decision to withdraw from the Masters at the start of February 2019 due to these issues.[164] He then had to take the decision to also pull out of the Premier League, meaning that he'd miss the tournament for the first time since 2010.[165] However, Anderson stated that a specialist had found the problem with his back and that he hoped to be back in action within a couple of months after receiving treatment. On 25 February, it was announced that Anderson would make his yearly debut at the 2019 UK Open in March.[166]

Anderson, alongside teammate Peter Wright, won the 2019 PDC World Cup of Darts, the first time Scotland had won the tournament.[167]

Anderson exited the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship in the fourth round, losing to Nathan Aspinall.[168] He returned to the Premier League after a year away.

Anderson won his first ranking title since the 2018 Matchplay at the first Players Championship event of 2020; beating Jeff Smith in the final.[169] At the 2020 World Matchplay, Anderson made his first televised singles final since 2018, losing to Dimitri Van den Bergh.[170]

Anderson went into the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship as thirteenth seed; and dismissed his chances of a third world title after an opening win over Madars Razma, describing 2019 & 2020 as "rotten".[171] He beat Mensur Suljović 4–3 in a controversial game, with Anderson accusing his opponent of gamesmanship.[172] Anderson then whitewashed Devon Petersen to reach the eighth PDC World Championship quarterfinal of his career.[173] Dirk van Duijvenbode won the first set against Anderson in the quarter-finals, but Anderson turned the game around including a run of ten legs in a row to win the match 5–1.[174] Anderson secured a 6–3 win over Dave Chisnall in the semi-finals to qualify for his fifth World Championship final and set up a repeat of the controversial 2018 Grand Slam of Darts final against Gerwyn Price.[175] Anderson went on to lose the final 7–3 to Price.

Originally from Musselburgh, East Lothian, Anderson moved to Eyemouth, Berwickshire, after meeting his ex-wife Rosemary.[176] The couple have two children.

Having previously worked as a builder, Anderson and his partner Rachel moved south to run the Wellington Arms public house in Rooksbridge, Somerset, for fellow PDC player Steve Grubb.[177] The couple have a son Tai (born 2014),[178] and in October 2017 welcomed a baby girl. Regulars at the Wellington Arms included former world champions, Trina Gulliver and Mark Webster.[176] After handing over running of the pub in 2016 to a new manager to allow Anderson to fully commit to his darts career, the family have since resided in Burnham on Sea, Somerset.

Anderson's father Gordon died in March 2012.[179]

Anderson is a supporter of Scottish football club Hibernian.[180]

Having initially gone under the moniker 'Dreamboy' earlier in his darts career, Anderson is now known as 'The Flying Scotsman',[176] having adopted the nickname after it was passed on to him by Scottish darts legend Jocky Wilson in 2009.[181]

BDO

PDC

Anderson has received eight awards at the annual PDC Awards Dinner.

• Gary Anderson profile Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
• Gary Anderson profile Unicorn Darts.
• Player profile on Gary Anderson from Dartsdatabase
• Player profile on Gary Anderson from DartsMad.