SCOT TO BE KIDDING
I don’t practice and just beat Michael van Gerwen at the Grand Slam of Darts – but nobody believes me
The pro has tipped Luke Littler for big things too
GARY ANDERSON sank Michael van Gerwen 5-4 to go top of his Grand Slam of Darts group, and he did it without even practicing.
Anderson, 53, has claimed he is the most naturally-gifted darts player around after beating MVG yesterday.
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The Scot, who has won 19 TV titles, is currently ranked as the 20th best player in the world.
While Van Gerwen is considered the third best tungsten thrower on the planet.
But after an enthralling match-up saw Anderson get the better of his old foe, The Flying Scotsman has explained why he is the most gifted player around.
When asked if he was the sport's most gifted player, he said: "I'm going to say yes.
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"Because I'll tell you, I don't practice. I don't practice, but nobody believes me!"
He added: "Stick a camera and follow me about for a year and we'll see.
"Get some other boys to do it and we'll see what happens. I really don't [practice].
"But I've played darts for a long time, 30-odd years. If you don't know where the treble 20 is by now… take up another hobby."
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Anderson certainly knew where the treble 20 was yesterday, racking up five 180s as he beat Van Gerwen with an average of over 105.
He may feel he's put himself in good stead to go on and win the tournament now, especially after reigning champ and favourite Luke Humphries crashed out in the group stages yesterday.
Fuming Gary Anderson rants at lack of 'respect' for world's top darts player
But he will still have to compete with the like of Luke Littler for the title, a player that Anderson has tipped for big things in the future.
He said: "I’ve been fortunate in this world to stand on stages with Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Luke Humphries, who knows who the next one is going to be.
“Money is on Luke Littler. But the amount of players who are coming through, I think it’s going to be a hard few years for these boys.
“Ryan Joyce, Mike De Decker, Ritchie Edhouse, he was fantastic in the Europeans. There’s so many more. Luke is special but there’s a lot of these boys not far off him."
List of all-time Darts World Champions
BELOW is a list of Darts world champions by year.
The list does not include winners from the pre-Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era or BDO world champions.
That means Raymond van Barneveld, for example, is only listed once - Barney also won four BDO titles - and none of Eric Bristow's five BDO titles are included.
- 1994 - Dennis Priestley
- 1995 - Phil Taylor
- 1996 - Phil Taylor (2)
- 1997 - Phil Taylor (3)
- 1998 - Phil Taylor (4)
- 1999 - Phil Taylor (5)
- 2000 - Phil Taylor (6)
- 2001 - Phil Taylor (7)
- 2002 - Phil Taylor (8)
- 2003 - John Part
- 2004 - Phil Taylor (9)
- 2005 - Phil Taylor (10)
- 2006 - Phil Taylor (11)
- 2007 - Raymond van Barneveld
- 2008 - John Part (2)
- 2009 - Phil Taylor (12)
- 2010 - Phil Taylor (13)
- 2011 - Adrian Lewis
- 2012 - Adrian Lewis (2)
- 2013 - Phil Taylor (14)
- 2014 - Michael van Gerwen
- 2015 - Gary Anderson
- 2016 - Gary Anderson (2)
- 2017 - Michael van Gerwen (2)
- 2018 - Rob Cross
- 2019 - Michael van Gerwen (3)
- 2020 - Peter Wright
- 2021 - Gerwyn Price
- 2022 - Peter Wright (2)
- 2023 - Michael Smith
- 2024 - Luke Humphries
Most World Titles
- 14 - Phil Taylor
- 3 - Michael van Gerwen
- 2 - John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
- 1 - Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries
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