MARDLE BACKS ANDO TO LAND THIRD WORLD TITLE

GARY ANDERSON can still land a World Championship hat-trick at the age of 56, according to Wayne Mardle.

The Musselburgh marksman lost out on his bid for a third crown at the Ally Pally after coming up just short in a breathtaking semi-final with Gian van Veen.

Despite the defeat, it was a blockbuster performance from Anderson who averaged close to 103, hit a 170 and nailed almost 50 per cent of doubles.

At 55, the Dartan Army hero was aiming to become the oldest-ever winner and his age is 14 years less than the combined tally of finalists Luke Littler and van Veen.

Anderson has vowed to keep going and play next year as the venue moves into The Great Hall at the Ally Pally.

Sky pundit Mardle has backed the new World No6 to still land the big one.

He said: “Gary’s been kind of looking like he can win something on the big stage for a while without doing it. He won the World Cup in 2019, but 2018 was his last singles win. So, whilst he wins on tour, he doesn’t do this that often. He really doesn’t.

“But I did say before a dart was thrown in this semi-final that I didn’t think he would buckle at all and he really didn’t. I didn’t foresee him playing that well and still getting beat by that scoreline. Who could foresee that?

“It was a joy to be part of. There’s been a lot of darts that Gary’s had to go through to get to this point and, to bow out like that, he goes out with even more credit. And more people giving it: He can win it next year when he’s 56. It will become a problem eventually. But for him right now, age is not a problem.

“It was captivating. It was everything you want from professional sport. From start to finish, you didn’t want to miss any of it. Some of the standard within it was absolutely ridiculous. For one of them to do it was fine, but they were doing it at the same time against each other. The 140, 180, 140, it was relentless.”

Mardle believes Anderson will know where he went wrong and added: “He will take away that he’s lost, the way he played, he will find fault in it. He will definitely find fault and it wasn’t the perfect game. Of course it wasn’t. Otherwise, he would have averaged 107, 108 and he would have taken every chance, but it doesn’t work that way.

“He and Van Veen with those 25 finishes, the 47, the 59, the 60, whatever they were. He just kept popping them. And in the end, Gary didn’t. But, as for all the scoring, it was just all so close so often. When it went 4-1, you’re thinking: Right, Gary may fold here, may buckle. None of it.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.