"I said: Who the bloody hell is Gary Anderson?" - Incredible story of amateur who unknowingly practiced with two-time world champion for weeks

For many dart players, it’s a dream to one day face a world champion. For English amateur Mike Norton, that happened without him even realizing it. The 62-year-old played practice matches for three weeks against two-time world champion Gary Anderson, without knowing he was up against one of the sport’s biggest names. Only later did Norton discover who he had been playing all that time.

He shared the remarkable anecdote on the Weekly Dartscast podcast, where he looked back on a bizarre spell when he barely watched darts on television. As a result, he had no idea that the Scot who kept beating him was a bona fide world-class player.

According to Norton, it all started one evening in the local Super League, where he came into contact with a player from the area. “I went to the Super League the following month and I met a bloke called Graham Curl,” he said. “I watched him play. He is a really good player locally but he doesn’t play in anything you see on telly."

After that meeting, Norton received an invitation to come along for a training session. It seemed like a fun chance to improve, without knowing what he was getting into. “He said, ‘I’ve seen you, you’re pretty good. Fancy coming to my garage?’ It was just ironic — he lived in Shenan. I said, ‘What for?’ He said, ‘Me and my mate play every Wednesday. We have a practice. Our missus go off to Slimming World.’"

Norton was told there would be another strong player present. “He said, ‘We have a little setup. Fancy coming? The mate I’ve got is really good. I don’t push him.’ He said, ‘I think you can push him.’"

That first training night would turn into a series of meetups with a player he didn’t recognize at all at the time. Norton still remembers exactly how it went. “So, I get there on a Wednesday and we are having a warm-up game. This bloke walks in while I am practising. He went, ‘Alright,’ I shook his hand and we had a little cigarette together. He said, ‘Oh, we’re gonna start now’."

They played a simple format. “It was first to three, winner stays on. So, I said, ‘Yeah, no problem.’ He chalks the first game. Me and my mate play, and I beat my mate. So, I play the bloke who just chalked. He smashes me three-nil. I thought oh he is good, and he never got off the board all night.”

Despite the clear defeats, Norton kept coming back. He was determined to beat the mysterious opponent at least once. “So I phoned my mate and I said, ‘He is good.’ He said, ‘Yeah, are you coming next week?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I have to beat this bloke.’ This went on for several Wednesdays."

Only after several training nights did Norton start to wonder who that strong player actually was. “Then I said, ‘Curly, this bloke, he is an animal. Where is he from?’ He said, ‘You idiot, it’s Gary Anderson.’"

The name meant nothing to Norton at that moment. “I said, ‘Who the bloody hell is Gary Anderson?’ He said, ‘Don’t you watch the telly?’ I went, ‘Well, I have never watched darts on the telly, no.’"

For Norton, it was a moment of pure astonishment. “He said, ‘He is on the telly every week and he is famous.’ So here I am — I played Gary Anderson for three weeks not even knowing who he was.”

The Englishman can laugh about it now, although he realized afterward how special the situation actually was. Anderson is not only a two-time world champion, but has been one of the most respected players on the PDC Tour for years. For many amateurs, a training session with the Scot would be an unforgettable experience, while Norton walked in at the time without any expectations.

That is exactly what makes the story so charming in his eyes. He simply went for an evening of darts in a garage, without knowing he was facing a player who already belonged to the absolute world elite.

He says it also highlights the gap between the very top of darts and the level just below. Only when he learned who Anderson was did he understand why he could barely win a leg. Even so, he looks back on those weeks with pleasure.

For Norton, it remains one of the best stories of his darts career, precisely because he only realized afterward how special it was.