Gary Anderson has spoken out after he and Raymond van Barneveld did not shake hands after their match at the World Grand Prix on Monday night.
The pair of veterans met in the first round of the unique tournament, with Anderson winning 2-1 to set up a second round meeting with Joe Cullen.
The Scot prevailed in a close match that could have gone either way, with momentum swinging either way.
But to the surprise of many, when Anderson got the job done with a double four - there was no handshake between the two.
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Instead, both collected and organised their darts. There was a moment where Van Barneveld stood looking at Anderson, who had his back to him as as he threw his flights into the crowd.
But after some hesitation, he proceeded to walk past the Dutchman and shook the hands of the officials.
Anderson basked in his glory and played down any tension with Van Barneveld in a post-match press conference.
"No, I don’t get upset,” he said, as per Darts News.
“Maybe once or twice in nine months, but not tonight. I was fine. When I won? Yeah, I was over the moon. Buy yourself a fishing rod for Christmas.”
Later in the press conference, Anderson repeated the stance - commenting: “I don’t get upset. You throw darts, you play the game, you get beat, shake hands, and move on. Simple as that.”
Anderson, a two-time world champion in 2015 and 2016, averaged 90.06 in his win over Van Barneveld.
He has 55 PDC titles to his name since making the switch in 2009 and after retaining his European Grand Prix title following a shock second round exit at the World Championship in January. 'The Flying Scotsman' is enjoying the current run.
He added: “I just love playing darts. It’s in my blood. Some days I play like I’m in my twenties, others I play like I’m ninety! That’s just the way it is. But I still enjoy it.”
Anderson will be back in action on Wednesday when he comes up against Cullen in a five-set contest, with the winner reaching the quarter finals in Leicester.
Topics: Darts, World Darts Championship
Josh Lawless