Barry Hearn sees Gary Anderson making serious bid for world title: "He’s really discovered his love of darts"

PDC president Barry Hearn expects Gary Anderson to be a serious contender to capture his third world title at the upcoming World Darts Championship.

Just a year ago, Anderson was written off by many people, but thanks to a good season, 'The Flying Scotsman' has come back into the spotlight in a big way. Hearn, too, has not let Anderson's resurgence go unnoticed.

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“Gary’s come from nowhere. He’s got a fishing lake, he leads a nice life. These last six months he’s really discovered his love of darts, and he has the stage experience but he’s still going to be a massive price. So I would look at Gary Anderson," Hearn stated in conversation with LuckyBlock. "He’s a strange type of competitor as far as he gives the impression that he doesn’t really care. There’s nothing quite like that rush of adrenaline when you’re competing at the sharp end. I think he’s re-discovered that recently. He won two Pro Tour events in a short space of time recently."

However, the English businessman does see a stumbling block for Anderson. ''The only danger for Gary, is the fact that the tournament takes 17 days. On a one day event, he would be a good price for me – anything over 16/1. However, it’s the mental stamina that is really crucial.”

According to Hearn though, Michael van Gerwen is the big favourite to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy. "I think will always definitely be the favourite. For big events he pulls out something special. Luke Humphries, now he’s got the monkey off his back having won the World Grand Prix – he’s suddenly what we call the big stage player.”