ANALYSIS: Scotland sees resurgent Gary Anderson leading the way with Cameron Menzies as Peter Wright fears the drop

Scotland has had a lot of recent success in darts. They boast two of the greatest players to throw a dart in Gary Anderson and Peter Wright, along with six other tour card holders - only bettered by England (43), Netherlands (21) and Germany (12).

Despite depth in numbers, the quality at the top is not what it has been, with no Scottish players in the Premier League for the first time since 2010. The last Scottish player to win a major was Wright back in 2023, when, despite a drop off in form went and won the European Championships.

With these two greats of the sport getting on in age, there is now pressure from other Scottish talents to rise through the rankings to fill the huge boots that may be left soon.

After the disappointing 2023 Premier League campaign, in which Anderson finished at the bottom of the table, there were questions about whether his best days were long gone. Despite this, the Flying Scotsman has proved to his critics that he is still able to throw with the big boys.

A return to playing the European Championship since 2016 was a surprising one, but winning his first title on the tour proved that Anderson was still a force to be reckoned with. He followed it up by defending the European Grand Prix this year, whitewashing Andrew Giling 8-0 in the final.

Along with this, he has impressed on the pro tour, consistently averaging huge numbers. He has won three titles on the pro tour since 2024, the most recent one in mid-March in Hildesheim. He records the highest average on the pro tour across the last year, on an average scoring 98.73 while hitting the third most ton+ averages.

This reguvination has seen Anderson rise up the rankings back up to 12th in the world. With some of the darts he has been playing, there is an expectation for him to rise higher, but the problem is his TV form. The back-to-back World Champions have failed to consistently go deep into majors. His best result was at last year's Grand Slam of Darts, where he was pipped in a last-leg decider against Luke Littler in the semi-finals.

Apart from that, the only other notable run was the quarter-finals at last year's European Championships. He was touted to be one of the underdogs for the World Championships, but lost out in his opening game to Jeffrey de Graff.

Early exits at the Masters, UK Open and World Matchplay prove that Anderson has failed to take his impressive floor form and implement it on the big stage. Despite this, with the Scot not defending much prize money at the end of the year, this is a big opportunity for him to make a charge up the rankings.

Back in 2022, after Wright won his second World Championships, he was promoted to world number one and looked to be unbeatable. Almost three years later, that Snakebite looks like a distant memory.

Now down to 16th in the world, he has a big job in regaining his place among the best. After his opening round loss in the World Championships to Jim Williams, Wright got rid of all his trophies to move past the disappointment and to motivate himself for the future.

A big part of that was Littler, and Wright showed that he could compete with the teenage sensation, defeating him in the German Darts Championships final to win his ninth European tour title. Wins like that are becoming rarer for Snakebite, who, despite still looking good on the doubles, has struggled with his scoring, exposing himself to other players on the oche.

His major form has also been poor, with a semi-final at the World Series of Darts his best result. He did get to the quarter-finals of the World Championships after famously beating reigning World Champion and number one in the world, Luke Humphries, with a 70% double checkout.

Once these performances from the Scot were the norm, now they are quite rare. With just one title in two years, it is expected that Wright will fall instead of rising in the rankings. He is at risk of no longer being the number two Scot, as Cameron Menzies threatens to take his place.

It has been a big year for Menzies, quitting his job to go all-in on the sport. So far, it looks to have paid off with him currently ranked just outside the world top 32 in 33rd. He made last year's Grand Slam quarter-final, narrowly missing out to Mickey Mansell in a last-leg decider, but this game shows his growth emotionally in the sport. Always known as someone who could mentally lose their head, he has shown signs of maturing despite always wearing his heart on his sleeve.

He has tasted success twice on the Players Championship, having won twice in Leicester over the last year. This coincides with him quitting his plumbing job, already showing the improvement. Along with two European Championships quarter-finals, Menzies is one to keep an eye on for the future.

Another Scot who won their first PDC title in 2024 was Alan Soutar, who tasted victory on the floor in Hildesheim. It has not gone brilliantly from then, getting knocked out of the World Championships in the first round whilst also only qualifying for two European Championships in 2025, both first-round exits. The number 54 in the world finds himself in a comfortable position to regain his place in the top 64.

Number 77 in the world, Darren Beveridge has been on the tour for two years now and is in need of a good run to extend his time on the tour. He has qualified for the upcoming Hungarian Darts Trophy, which will give him the opportunity to earn some much-needed money. He is currently in the pro tour OoM, qualifying him for the World Championships.

William Borland famously hit a nine-darter at Ally Pally a few years ago, but failed to carry on that ascent. Regaining his tour card in 2024, the number 94 in the world is also in a tricky position where he may lose it if he does not get into the top 64 soon. He is £13,000 off a qualifying spot for the World Championships, so he will need a few big runs to get himself back in the driving seat.

104th in the world, Andy Boulton and 123rd-ranked Greg Ritchie do not have the same fear as their fellow countrymen, as they qualified through Q-school at the start of the year, meaning they will be on the tour next year as well. Boulton is just under £2000 off a World qualifying slot, which would put him in a fantastic position going into this time next year, while

Conclusion: Scottish darts is not in the strongest of places. Anderson's return to form is a big plus, and Menzies looks to be the next one to carry the flag. Wright is struggling to stay in the top 16, but for now, he will be in most of the big tournaments due to his ranking. Soutar should be free in their mind that his tour card will be safe, but Beveridge and Borland have work to do if they want to keep theirs. Scotland's tour card numbers may suffer going into 2026.