Gary Anderson might have ultimately missed
out on a second PDC major victory at the
recent World Matchplay after losing out to
Phil Taylor in a thrilling semi-final, but the
Scotsman showed real signs that he is back in
the hunt to add to his major tally.
Anderson, who finds himself back inside the World’s
top eight after slipping down as low as eighteenth
in the rankings, was also in a confident mood during
the tournament, as his interviews with UK Darts
clearly showed.
“There’s life in the old dog yet, as they say,” he told
us after his impressive opening round victory, before
going on to add, “Things are going well for me so far
this year and it’s been a while since I played like this
on stage. It’s starting to come good again and I’m
enjoying it again.”
Anderson at his best is a potent scorer, as the 11 180s
that he hit during his World Matchplay semi-final loss
to Phil Taylor will testify, but when he start to land
in excess of 40% of his doubles as he did during the
Matchplay he is a real force to be reckoned with.
Anderson’s last major triumph, and his only one since
making the switch to the PDC, came back in 2011
when he claimed victory in the Premier League.
Earlier that season the world number seven had also
reached his only World Championship final, where
he ultimately lost out to Adrian Lewis, but a barren
run since then means that his semi-final appearance
recently is his best in a major tournament for over
three years.
The Flying Scotsman is bound to be at the business
end of major tournaments over coming months, but
whether he can win one will depend a lot on his
doubling and a little bit on the form of a resurgent
Phil Taylor.
That being said, Anderson looks set to excite, delight
and entertain us all for the rest of 2014.
Mike Glover
This bodes well for Anderson, who in truth has never
quite reached his full potential in the PDC, but who
now might well add to his major tally in the near
future.
Signs had been good for a while, with four tournament
victories to his name during the early part of the
2014 season and a promise of plenty more to come,
but it was at the World Matchplay that his resurgence
really began to produce results on TV.
e Major Trail