Gary Anderson stunned darts fans moments before he smashed Michael van Gerwen 4-1 to reach the World Darts Championship quarter-finals on Tuesday night.
After a shock second round exit last year when he lost 3-0 to Jeffrey de Graaf, the two-time world champion has been in excellent form at Alexandra Palace this time around and has guaranteed £100,000 in prize money.
He saw off Van Gerwen to set up a clash with impressive debutant Justin Hood in the last eight on 1 January and will play the winner of Luke Humphries and Gian van Veen in the semi-finals if he keeps his winning run going.
The 55-year-old is playing so well that Humphries has made a plea for him to participate in the 2026 Premier League.
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He averaged 99.10 against Van Gerwen and had a doubles percentage success of 38%.
But arguably his best bit of play on the dartboard came in the practice room prior to his clash with 'Mighty Mike'
Cameras panned to 'The Flying Scotsman' throwing backstage and he produced a perfect nine-darter while practicing, rushing to the camera in a comical celebration.
Fans lapped up the nine-darter, with one user on X writing: "So he can hit one in the practice room but he can’t hit one on stageAbsolutely love Gary Anderson!
A second added: "He just knew camera is recording and he threw 141."
Another commented: "If I was MVG and saw this I’d have just not bothered going on stage…"
Nine-darter absence in World Darts Championship
Had Anderson produced the perfect leg on stage in a contest, he would have been £60,000 richer. That's because Paddy Power pledged to handed out £60,000 to any player who achieves a nine-darter, a random fan in the crowd and the Prostate Cancer UK charity as part of the 'Even Bigger 180' campaign.
£1,000 is also being donated for every 180 thrown.
However, with just seven games remaining in the tournament, there has not been a single nine-dart finish. Last year, both Christian Kist and Damon Heta bagged the £60,000 after recorded nine-darters - with the latter splashing out on a Rolex.
On the final day of January, Paddy Power commented: "Happy to confirm that, like the rest of us, Heta's been paid today. Enjoy your Rolex, Damo!"
Before the pair, the last man to get a nine-darter was Michael Smith in the 2023 final.
Anderson has been on a strong but is not getting ahead of himself and is delighted just to reach the last eight given the standard of players.
“I’m not starting to believe,” he stated.
“I’ve got to get the next game past first. If I get to the final, I’ve got a chance. If I don’t get there, then I’ve had a good run.”
He added: "Getting past the first round nowadays is tough. The standard of players now is through the roof. It’s phenomenal. To get into the last eight, I’m quite happy with that.”
Topics: Michael van Gerwen, World Darts Championship, Darts
Josh Lawless