Darts: Gary Anderson advances to third round of the World Championship

Gary Anderson on his way to a 3-1 victory over Adrian Lewis
(photo from Getty Images)

Day two of the 2022 World Darts Championship finished with one of the standout ties of the second round, as Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis faced off. Both double world champions (Lewis in 2011 and 2012, Anderson in 2015 and 2016), the two had twice faced each other in world championship finals. In 2011, it was Lewis who came out on top, beating Anderson 7-5 to win his first world title. In 2016, Anderson had his revenge, beating Lewis in an exact reversal of the scoreline (7-5) to secure his second title. There was therefore much anticipation by the time the two players’ walk on songs began.

When the match began, Anderson, using new darts, initially had the upper hand, taking out a 116 checkout to go 2-1 up in legs. And, leaving himself with 57 in the next leg, it looked as though Anderson would have a good chance to take the first set. However, Lewis then checked out 96 (treble 20, double 18) to bring the score to 2-2 in legs, before taking the next leg to go into the break leading 1-0 in sets. Once the two players returned to the stage, though, Anderson quickly set about making amends, taking the next three legs without reply (and narrowly missing a 167 checkout, hitting the treble 20 and treble 19 before just falling short on the bull, in the process) to level the score at 1-1.

The next set would prove to be pivotal. Anderson and Lewis both visibly improved their game at this point, with both their averages in the third set standing at over a ton. Lewis had the darts in the first leg, but Anderson would be the one to hit the double, breaking the throw. This then seemingly set the trend for the set, as Lewis broke back in the next leg, only for Anderson to break again in the one after. At this point, the set stood at 2-1. Hold his throw in the next leg and Anderson would take the set and be one away from the win. If Lewis broke, the scoreline would go to 2-2 and he would be throwing for the set. And this key leg would indeed go down to the wire. Anderson stepped up requiring 92, with Lewis waiting on 93, and hit a single 20 followed by two double 18s. The ‘Flying Scotsman’ had won the set, and with some style.

In the fourth set Anderson now looked to move towards victory, and established a 2-0 lead. Lewis then had a chance to save the match, reaching a checkout first, but then missed four darts to take the third leg. Anderson proceeded to take out 60 (single 20, double 20) and it was game, shot, and the match. In the battle of the two-time champions, Anderson beat Lewis by 3 sets to 1.

In his post-match interview, Anderson was hedging his bets – ‘I’ve got to take each game as it comes, I’ve not got any high hopes’. Looking back, 2021 has been something of a lacklustre year for Anderson. After reaching the final of last year’s World Championship, the ‘Flying Scotsman’ has been seemingly absent from the business end of major tournaments, although he showed signs of returning to form at the Grand Slam. Of course, Anderson has already achieved a massive amount in his career – two world titles and two Premier League titles, along with a World Matchplay and a UK Open title. He is undoubtedly one of the greats of the game, and has nothing left to prove.

But Anderson is often at his best when he has a point to make. After seemingly falling off after his Premier League triumph in 2011, it was a narrow 4-3 loss to Michael van Gerwen in the 2014 World Championship that motivated Anderson to return to his best, culminating in his first world title the following year. And last year, after getting through a controversial third round match against Mensur Suljovic, in which Suljovic attempted to slow the game down and put the Scotsman off, Anderson ploughed through to reach his fifth world final. Could new darts and a desire to put the previous year behind him give Anderson the motivation to go far at this championship?