ANDERSON BACKED BY HENDO FOR THIRD TITLE
14/12/2024 By Aaron Nijjar
By Phil Lanning
GARY ANDERSON is ready to give Scotland a FIFTH World Darts Champion in a decade.
That’s according to his oche pal John Henderson, who believes Ando can upset the favourites Luke Littler and Luke Humphries and win at the Ally Pally.
The Paddy Power World Championship begins tomorrow with defending champion Humphries the focus of attention. Anderson will begin his bid for glory on his 54th birthday in a week’s time.
But Hendo, the World Seniors Champ, is convinced that his fellow countryman can win a hat-trick.
He said: “Well, his game is definitely there. I know there’s a certain Luke Littler and Luke Humphries he’s got to watch out for.
“He showed in the Grand Slam that he’s up there with him. He gave Luke a really good game, so Anderson’s game is there and, hopefully, he can have a good run and when he’ll get a third title.”
The first Scots in action are Alan Soutar and Cameron Menzies on Monday. Hendo is also convinced that they can deliver good runs in London – but admits Rangers-daft Menzies is a “lunatic”!
He added: “Soots is Soots. He’ll play well. He’ll just do his own thing. He just gets on with it and I’ll support him in every way I can.
“Cammy is brilliant. He really is. He’s good for the crowd. He’s magic. He’s a lunatic, but he’s a nice lunatic and he’s got the game.
“And if he just concentrates on his darts rather than the whole pantomime thing, I think Cameron can have a really good run.”
The biggest worry for the Tartan contingent is Peter Wright who is tipped by many to suffer an early exit when he plays on Tuesday night.
Hendo fears for his World Cup-winning pal, adding: “It’s a horrible watch at the moment. I know Peter quite well. I got close to him, obviously, playing with him in the World Cup. We spent a lot of time together and he was good for my game.
“He gave me a lot of big pointers, so it’s a horrible watch for me at the moment.
“But Peter being Peter, he can turn it around. It’s a big World Championship for him and, hopefully, he does. He’ll work it out.
“He’ll get the right set of darts for this competition and hopefully he has a good run, gets his confidence back, and has a good 2025.
“It’s a painful watch to watch him just now. I watch him and he keeps changing his darts, but that’s something he’s always done.
“I know how good Peter Wright is. Everybody knows how good Peter Wright is. So to watch him losing games that he wouldn’t normally lose in the past, it is painful.
“But only he can resurrect that and I’m sure he will. He’s just having a wee bad patch at the moment, But hopefully the Ally Pally is a thing he’s always played well in and so hopefully this kind of spurs him on to getting back to where he should be.”
Hendo also believes Scotland is still in the middle of a golden era.
He said: “Scottish darts are in a good place now. Cammy’s doing well, Soots is doing well. We’ve got wee Willie Borland, he’s coming through, he’s trying his hardest, bless him. And there’s so many good players out there.
“Obviously, we’re all going to look for Gary to lift the title for the third time. That would be brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.”
Sunday December 15 (7pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Thibault Tricole v Joe Comito (R1)
Jermaine Wattimena v Stefan Bellmont (R1)
Kim Huybrechts v Keane Barry (R1)
Luke Humphries v Tricole/Comito (R2)
Images by Taylor Lanning
