ANALYSIS: Grand Slam curse goes on for Gary Anderson after narrow defeat against Luke Littler

Sunday was one of the very best days for darts fans in a long time. Of course, we had the historic final where Luke Littler destroyed Martin Lukeman to win the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts title, winning a mind-blowing 15 straight legs on his way to victory. But, just a few hours before, fans witnessed the match of the tournament as Littler squeezed into the final with a 16-15 victory over two-time world champion Gary Anderson.

The semi-final match-up went down to the wire, and the momentum seemed to switch every leg between the two most in-form players of the tournament. The match proved that Anderson was as close to his best form as we’ve seen in quite some time, but still he couldn’t make things work out for him in the Grand Slam. Littler beat him in the final leg and went on to win the final later that night.

But there’s more to the semi-final than meets the eye, as the 17 year old’s victory comes with a shocking (and for Anderson depressing) stat.

Anderson would have been gutted to miss out on the final yet again, and the Grand Slam title still eludes him after he was runner-up back in 2011 and 2018. But what makes this exit from the Grand Slam so interesting? Well, Anderson’s semi-final with Littler was just the eighth time a Grand Slam semi-final has gone down to the final leg, and guess how many of those eight semi-finals was Anderson beaten in?

Five!

Yep, five of the eight Grand Slam semi-finals that have gone down to the wire featured Anderson on the losing side. It begs the question, is Anderson cursed at the Grand Slam of Darts?

Semi-final loses at the final hurdle are a tough pill to swallow regardless, but for that to happen to you five times? Wow, it’s brutal for Anderson, who will be ruing his missed opportunity on Sunday. You’d have to think he’d have beaten Lukeman in the final, but that ‘what could have been’ mindset will be no consolation for Anderson.

Let’s take a look at the other times Anderson came up short, and why this keeps happening to him.

Anderson's long history of near misses at the Grand Slam semi-finals stretches all the way back to 2007, where his ‘curse’ began. That year he fell to Phil Taylor in a tight 13-11 loss, but he wasn’t alone as Andy Hamilton edged Kevin McDine 13-12 in the other semi-final in another back and forth match. This at least gave Anderson the comfort that he wasn’t the only one who got dumped out so cruelly! But a year later, in 2008, Anderson was once again on the losing end, this time at 16-14 to Terry Jenkins in another agonisingly close contest.

The trend continued in 2014 when Dave Chisnall beat Kim Huybrechts 16-15, as Anderson was given a few years off brutal semi-final losses. But his Grand Slam bad luck was still there, as in 2016 James Wade handed him yet another 16-14 defeat. Just a year later, it was Peter Wright who managed to beat Anderson in a 16-15 thriller, once again proving how painfully close Anderson had come to the final. Most recently, in 2020, it was Wade again who denied Dimitri Van den Bergh in a 16-15 epic, mirroring Anderson’s fate.

When you look at this track record, it really is astonishing how much of a ‘nearly man’ Anderson has been at the Grand Slam of Darts. Victory on Sunday would have given him his biggest win since 2018, and he would have been a truly deserving champion. All week he’d be in red-hot form, and certainly seemed to fancy his chances.

So what were the moments he’ll be looking at now as the moments he lost the match?

Anderson started the semi-final stronger than Littler, who is a staggering 37 years younger than the Scotsman. Anderosn moved into an early 3-2 lead, but Littler responded and took the lead at 4-3. Anderson quickly levelled at 4-4 with a 124 bullseye finish, but Littler answered back with his own 124 checkout to go 6-4 up.

Anderson managed to control Littler’s momentum with an impressive 11-dart hold, and closed the gap to 7-5. He followed it up with a brilliant 164 checkout to make it 7-6 and reclaimed the lead at 8-7 with a 142 finish. This sparked a run of six straight legs, pushing Anderson ahead 10-7. Despite Littler averaging over 105, Anderson extended his lead to 11-7 with a 102 checkout, capitalising on Littler's missed opportunities. At that moment, it really looked like Anderson was going to have his shot at the title that has always slipped through his fingers. Remarkably for someone with so little experience, Littler refused to be fazed.

Littler fought back, hitting consecutive 180s and an 11-dart break to reduce the deficit to 13-11 by the final break. Anderson stayed ahead at 14-12 and was one leg from victory, but Littler forced a deciding leg after hitting back-to-back 180s on Anderson’s throw, before the 17 year old set up double 12 and hit it on his first attempt to secure the win. Anderson definitely had some chances in the last few legs, but by that point Littler was on a role.

It was a win that really summarises Littler’s debut season, but fans can’t help but feel sorry for Anderson. The Scotsman had been in superb form all week, and it would have been great to see him get his hands on the trophy. Against any other opponent on Sunday afternoon, Anderson would have found himself through to the final, but he came up against one of the most exciting talents in British sport in Littler.

You’ve got to say that overall, Anderson will be happy with his week in Wolverhampton. Yes, he may still feel cursed by the Grand Slam, but he’s showing signs that he’s not far off his form that saw him win two world titles nearly a decade ago. Come the World Championships at Alexandra Palace next month, you’d be a fool to write off The Flying Scotsman.