Anderson beats van Gerwen to retain Dubai Darts Masters title

Gary Anderson has ranked his victory at the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters among the best of his career after beating world No1 Michael van Gerwen to retain his title at the Irish Village on Thursday night.

In a repeat of last year’s final, ‘The Flying Scotsman’ defeated reigning world champion van Gerwen 11-7 in an explosive contest in front of a sold out crowd.

Anderson and van Gerwen have made a tradition of producing thrilling finals after serving a masterclass in the World Championships in January – and in Dubai, both players showcased their stellar ability to average over 110.

“It’s a brilliant win for me. The scoring was great and it just shows what an old boy can still do,” said Anderson.

“A few years ago against a player like Michael, I would have just packed in and given up. Now I believe I can catch them and get on a roll.”

Despite winning over 60 trophies – including back-to-back world titles in 2015 and 2016 – Anderson admitted there are only five trophies on the mantelpiece at his home in Somerset, one of which is from Dubai.

“I’ve won a lot of trophies but so far in the house I have five – two world championships, Dubai, Auckland and Tokyo. You get trophies and you get trophies. I keep the ones that stand out. The Dubai trophy is fantastic. I’m over the moon,” said the 46-year-old.

Anderson, who fired 12 180s and averaged 110.88 throughout the contest, battled back from 3-1 and 5-3 down to lead 9-6 with a stunning run of six legs in seven, before a double four sealed his second title in the desert.

He said: “I just kept playing, kept on his tail and hope he’d make a mistake. I think I went into the first break 3-2 down, then 5-5 in the second break and then game on. It was as simple as that.”

“If (Michael) gets in front, he usually steamrolls you. I had to keep the pressure on. The 180s were coming good. I hit the chequers at the right time.”

Van Gerwen, who himself averaged an impressive 110.46 and hit six 180s, had beaten the Scotsman six times in their previous eight meetings.

Their rivalry is among the most intriguing in sport at the moment and will be a fascinating feature on the PDC World Series of Darts for the rest of the calendar year.

“I played some great players, but to play lads like Phil Taylor and Michael, when I retire I can sit back and say I’ve played them and beat them. Not a lot of people can say that,” added Anderson.

Earlier in the evening, Anderson overcame Peter Wright 11-8 in the semi-final, averaging 99.29 and hitting four 180s, while van Gerwen advanced to the the showpiece finale with an 11-3 victory over Wales’ Gerwyn Price.

The PDC World Series of Darts continues in July and the next stop is the Shanghai Darts Masters in China.