"He becomes unplayable at times": Chris Mason believes Andrew Gilding should be in Premier League contention

The PDC are set to snub Andrew Gilding for the upcoming Premier League, even if he is to win the World Matchplay in 2025. Gilding, known as ‘Goldfinger’ is a former UK Open champion and started his run in Blackpool with a tight 12-10 win over Damon Heta. He averaged 101.82 and threw a ridiculous ten 180s.

Former BDO and PDC tour player Chris Mason believes ‘Goldfinger’ will still “not get into the Premier League” despite winning the Phil Taylor trophy. Gilding has had an impressive year so far, reaching the final of the European Darts Grand Prix, paired with a few good runs in the Players Championship.

Mason was full of praise for Gilding: “He is an unbelievable player. Prior to him winning that UK Open he was hitting 108 and 110 averages with ridiculous regularity. So, when he won it, I think a lot of people within the media expected me and Paul to be shocked. We weren’t we were like look at the numbers pal. They don’t lie. It might be in a different environment but if you can do it, you can do it.

Former Players Championship winner Paul Nicholson was a fan of Gildings performance but believes he has been performing around this level for a while. “If you dig really deep you know Andrew has been doing stuff this year and making the thick end of tournaments. I know he didn’t win the European Darts Grand Prix, but he got to the final match and ran into Gary Anderson where he had run out of steam. He’s having the time of his life” Nicholson claimed.

Gilding is set to face Luke Littler in the next round of Match play, looking to progress to another semi final. Last time out Gilding beat Littler 6-4 and will be hoping for the same outcome over this longer format here in Blackpool.