• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Gary Anderson and Gian Van Veen Play Out 'Greatest Set in WDC History'

Home> Darts

Updated 22:53 2 Jan 2026 GMTPublished 22:30 2 Jan 2026 GMT

Gary Anderson and Gian Van Veen Play Out 'Greatest Set in WDC History'

The fifth set between Gary Anderson and Gian van Veen will go down in World Darts Championship history.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Gary Anderson and Gian van Veen played out one of the greatest sets in World Darts Championship history during their incredible semi-final clash.

Anderson and Van Veen took to the oche after Luke Littler beat Ryan Searle to book his spot in Saturday's final.

Littler dominated Searle, winning their showdown 6-1 as fans were all in agreement over the 18-year-old's scintillating performance.

The other semi-final between Anderson and Van Veen was a slugfest as they were involved in an Ally Pally thriller.

Advert

Heading into the fifth set, Van Veen led Anderson 3-1.

But the new Dutch No.1 pulled away after winning the fifth set, which is being described as one of the greatest sets in World Darts Championship history.

'The Flying Scotsman' won the opening leg of the fifth set, producing a stunning 10-darter. He then won the subsequent leg with an outrageous Big Fish checkout.

  • If you want to see even more from SPORTbible, make us a preferred source on Google.

Van Veen, however, returned fire as he won three legs on the spin to win the fifth set.

He hit an 11-darter to win the third leg before delivering his own Big Fish checkout to draw level.

Anderson had darts to win the fifth leg and wrap up the set but failed to check out 136, with the 23-year-old securing the leg, winning the set in the process.


Commentator Wayne Mardle couldn't believe what he was witnessing, hailing both players.

"That was unbelievable. A set of darts from Gods," he said on Sky Sports.

"The 4-1 scoreline is unfair of Gary. Van Veen with one of the best sets wins I've ever seen. Anderson averaged 117 in that set and it was not good enough."

Gary Anderson celebrates winning a leg against Gian van Veen. Image: Getty
Gary Anderson celebrates winning a leg against Gian van Veen. Image: Getty

Fifth set -

Leg 1: Anderson - 10-darter

Leg 2: Anderson - 12-darter (Big Fish)

Leg 3: Van Veen - 11-darter

Leg 4: Van Veen - 12-darter (Big Fish)

Leg 5: Van Veen - 15-darter

On Van Veen, Mardle added: "There's nothing Van Veen can do on a dart board. We wax lyrical about Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Van Veen is right up there."

Van Veen went onto beat Anderson 6-3 to reach the World Darts Championship final, setting up a mouth-watering showdown against Littler.

Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports

Topics: Darts, World Darts Championship

Nasir Jabbar
Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

X

@NasJabbar

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

a day ago
5 days ago
6 days ago
7 days ago
  • Getty Images
    a day ago

    PDC star sends warning after suffering injury attempting Winter Olympics sport

    He described it as "the most painful sport I have ever experienced in my life".

    Darts
  • Getty
    5 days ago

    Josh Rock Issues Statement After Commentators Left Baffled During Van Gerwen Game

    Rock fell to a 6-2 quarter-final defeat against MVG on night two of the 2026 Premier League Darts.

    Darts
  • Getty Images
    6 days ago

    Michael Smith Withdraws From Competition And Calls Out 'Horrible Player' in Now-Deleted Post

    The former world champion has decided to withdraw from the ET2 qualifier.

    Darts
  • Dan Istitene/Getty Images
    7 days ago

    Joe Cullen Remark to Mensur Suljovic Picked Up by Mic in First Match Since 'Cheat' Row

    The pair have met for the first time since their controversial match during the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship.

    Darts
  • Darts Fans Are in Agreement After Luke Littler Dominates to Book WDC Final Spot
  • Luke Humphries Calls Out Gary Anderson Decision After Michael Van Gerwen Win
  • Gary Anderson Makes Astonishing Claim After Beating Michael van Gerwen at WDC
  • Fans Stunned by Gary Anderson Backstage Footage Before Van Gerwen Win