"I probably am playing better than ever" - Gary Anderson full of confidence towards potential 3rd World Darts Championship victory

Two times a world champion, Gary Anderson has been waiting for another title since 2016. But after a quieter few years, the 53-year-old Scot heads to the Alexandra Palace for the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, as one of those most fancied to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy.

Anderson is looking forward to the start of the World Darts Championship. "The World Championship…Ally Pally - it’s what every dart player aims for," said Anderson, tells the PDC's official website. "It’s an iconic building and it’s perfectly suited for the World Championship. Driving up that hill and seeing the Palace up there, it is some feeling. That’s when the stomach starts to churn, and I’ve done it for many years, so imagine the feeling for a first-timer coming up that hill and seeing it. That is what it’s all about.”

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'The Flying Scotsman' has had a strong year in 2024, with three ranking titles including a return to glory on the European Tour. "I probably am playing better than ever,” assesses Anderson happily. “The amount of 110+ averages I’ve hit – I’ve had averages over 120, I’ve had 114s, 113s, 112s. I just turn up and enjoy it. The Pro Tour events I love. We have a bit of a banter and then I chuck a few arrows, and it seems to be working a treat for me!”

Gary Anderson goes on the hunt for a third world title

As a result, Anderson seems ready to take a shot at a third world title. "I’m not on stage as much nowadays, but it’s coming good,” he notes. “If my floor game goes on to the stage every game, it would be looking good, but whether that happens is a completely different story. It would be nice to win this title again, but I don’t look that far ahead!"

“Before, you could pick a dozen potential winners - now you’ve got two or three dozen players who could possibly lift the title,” continues Anderson, who himself starts at 10-1 odds with tournament sponsors Paddy Power. “You’re going to have your favourites – Luke Humphries, [Michael] Van Gerwen, young Luke Littler. Then you’ve got outsiders like Mike De Decker, Ritchie [Edhouse], Ryan Searle. It’s going to be an interesting one I think."

“I think there’s going to be that many top players all at the same level, and it’s going to be some battle," he concludes. “It could kick up some stink. There could be someone who comes from out of the blue to win it.”

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