Gary Anderson celebrated his return to the
European Tour in impressive fashion on Saturday evening. The two-time world champion was in excellent form in the second round of the
Hungarian Darts Trophy and convincingly defeated Krzysztof Ratajski. With an average of more than 105 points, the Scot immediately made it clear that despite his lengthy absence, he still belongs among the absolute elite.
Anderson had not played a European Tour event since the World Matchplay in Blackpool. The Scot subsequently enjoyed a period of holiday, but decided to travel back onto the European circuit for the
Hungarian Darts Trophy. It proved to be an excellent decision.
" I'm surprised I've been on holiday since Blackpool, you know, but no, I've never been to the Budapest one, you know, so I had to come, you know, everyone raves about it," he said on stage post match.
His decision to travel to Hungary was also rewarded with a warm reception. Anderson received one of the loudest ovations of the day when he walked onto the stage. Even the Hungarian fans, who normally give most of their vocal support to their own players, made it clear that they were delighted to see the popular Scot back on the European Tour. "When you see a venue like this and a crowd like this, you've got to come, haven't you, you've got to come."
Biggest ovation
The crowd's love for Anderson is abundantly clear in Budapest. The 55-year-old Scot remains hugely popular and does not have to do much himself to win over the fans. The interviewer pointed out to Anderson that he perhaps received the biggest ovation of all when he walked onto the stage, even compared with the Hungarian players.
Anderson, of course, could not resist responding in his trademark dry fashion. "It's because I'm the only person who's not signed anything, you know, but no, it's great, I mean, youngsters here, there's somebody there by Luke Littler top on, who's he, who's he? No, he's brilliant, but no, hey, good, I've enjoyed it so far."
Anderson's enjoyment is not only noticeable away from the stage. On the dartboard too, the Scot appears to be enjoying his sport once again. His performance in Budapest was one that will provide plenty of confidence for the remainder of the tournament and the months ahead.
Gary Anderson now plays Stephen Bunting.
Clear goal
For Anderson, there is more at stake than just the Hungarian Darts Trophy. The Scot has set himself a clear target for the remainder of the European Tour season. He wants to qualify for the European Championship in Dortmund.
To do so, Anderson needs to collect a significant amount of ranking money over the coming weeks. The Hungarian Darts Trophy has already given him his first prize money of the current European Tour season. Moreover, he still has five opportunities to improve his position further.
His strong performance in Budapest therefore came at exactly the right time. The interviewer pointed out that he currently appears to be embarking on a kind of "Luke Littler mission" on the European Tour. Anderson did not laugh it off, but admitted that he had carefully calculated his chances.
"Yeah, definitely, you know, I do my calculations and I say, we'll come to Budapest, and if it doesn't go well, I'm going to have the rest of the year off, I'm going to miss some and start again next year, but we've got off to a start, so I'm going to have to keep pushing now."
The European Championship is an important target in that regard. Anderson still has five European Tour events in which to improve his position in the rankings and secure a ticket to Dortmund. His performance in Budapest has already proven that, in terms of his level, he can still compete with the very best in the world.