It is a remarkable story of a remarkable career.
And it is a measure of the man that he has battled back from a potentially career threatening injury to claim his place at his 25th consecutive World Championship.
Anderson described his performance in reaching the Semi-Final of the Gold Dart Players Championship in Ireland as: “arguably the best of my career.”
And that is saying something, when you consider ‘The Limestone Cowboy’ has been at the top of the darting tree for nearly 30 years. His landmark birthday (November 7) is just another magical moment.
He explained: “In the circumstances and with the pressure of trying to keep my place in the top 32 to get into the World Championship, it was a great display.”
Anderson beat the likes of fellow Unicorn stars Andy Hamilton and Barrie Bates and then demolished Dave Askew by 3 sets to nil, winning six consecutive legs. “That match against Dave was as good as I have ever played,” he said. “I went out in 11 darts, 12 darts twice and 14 darts in the other two legs and although I lost to Vincent van der Voort in the semi-finals, I knew I was back and firing!”
It was only 18 months ago that Anderson was struck down with what he initially thought was a stiff neck on a holiday flight to Florida. It turned about to be a lot more serious, when it was discovered that he had an impacted disc, which completely cut all the power in his throwing arm.BY STUART PYKE
