ANDERSON SLAMS PLAYERS FOR MOANING ABOUT RANKING SYSTEM
21/07/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
GARY ANDERSON has slammed darts stars for moaning about the sport’s ranking system.
The Werner Rankings Ladder is based on prize money earned in PDC ranking events over a two-year period, rewarding players for long-term consistency rather than one-off results.
But two-times World Champion Anderson has little sympathy for those who complain about sliding down the ladder — especially after winning a big title and failing to build on it.
World No. 12 Anderson insists the system is fair and accurately reflects a player’s form over time.
He said: “You see a few things about the rankings and moaning rankings need to change.
“Until Barry [Hearn] said £1million first prize for winning the World Championship, if we take that out of the equation, they moan about it because they drop so far.
“What they forget is when they win it, they jump so far.
“Say they win £100,000 and it shoves them up to the top four in the world — they have two years and a lot of tournaments to defend that money that they have just won.
“So, if they can’t do that, it is nothing to do with the ranking system — it is to do with the player.
“You have to remember the players were down before they win and that pushes them up.
“You have 100 tournaments to make up £100,000 that you won at a big major.
“If you can’t do that, then you can’t take your arse off the seat.”
Anderson rolled back the years to defeat Luke Woodhouse 10-5 at the Winter Gardens with a stellar 98.02 average and a near-clinical 10 out of 15 on the doubles.
‘The Flying Scotsman’ ended a run of FOUR consecutive defeats at major tournaments to book a last-16 spot and spark hope of another deep run on the big stage.
Eight-times major winner Anderson will face Stephen Bunting in round two of the World Matchplay on Tuesday.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
