Darts star declares he’s the ‘most gifted player ever’ after shocking Michael van Gerwen

Darts star declares he’s the ‘most gifted player ever’ after shocking Michael van Gerwen

Darts star declares he’s the ‘most gifted player ever’ after shocking Michael van Gerwen

One darts icon has claimed he is the most gifted player in the sport after beating Michael van Gerwen.

Darts legend Michael van Gerwen was beaten by Gary Anderson (Image: Getty)

Darts icon Gary Anderson has claimed he is the most naturally-gifted player in the world after beating Michael van Gerwen at the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.

The 53-year-old edged out his great rival Van Gerwen on another dramatic day in the competition where world No 1 Luke Humphries was dumped out of the group stage.

Humphries is one of several players to have praised Anderson as one of the best darts players around due to his impressive consistency, despite being ranked 20th in the world for his prize money in 2024.

And the in-form Scot was inclined to agree after claiming he doesn’t even practice playing darts when preparing for tournaments.

When asked if he is the most gifted darts player in the world, Anderson paused for a moment before replying: “I’m going to say yes, because I’ll tell you, I don’t practice. I don’t practice, but nobody believes me!”

The Scot challenged any doubters to film a documentary of his life away from the big stage to witness how little he practices and explained why he chooses not to hone his craft in his spare time.

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“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],” he added.

“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.”

Anderson made it two wins from two in Group G with a deciding-leg victory against the three-time Grand Slam winner, averaging 105.19 and landing five 180s in the process. He also succeeded with a 136 checkout.

The Scot, who averaged 113.2 against Ryan Joyce on Saturday, admitted that this performance against Van Gerwen wasn’t at the same level but he managed to maintain his composure to edge out his rival.

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“It wasn’t quite as good as last night!” he joked. “There were a few loose darts and missed doubles, but I stuck in there, kept calm and nicked it.”

Their rivalry has bubbled underneath the surface in recent months after Van Gerwen labelled Anderson a ‘part-timer’ at the European Championship in Dortmund in October.

But he was made to eat his words after Anderson pulled off a dominant 10-4 victory to reach the quarter-finals, despite playing in the tournament for the first time since 2016.

He went on to lose to eventual winner Ritchie Edhouse in the last eight, but the Flying Scotsman’s recent run of form against Van Gerwen suggests he has the edge for now.

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