Fit, firing, fantastic! Gary Anderson put his injury woes behind him to sweep to victory at the fourth UK Open qualifier on Friday.
After all the trials and tribulations and back problems, the Unicorn star followed up his superb Premier League victory over Gerwyn Price on Thursday with a classy display in the qualifier in Wigan.
He beat Dutchman Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-2 in the final for a 41st PDC title. After missing the first three UK Open qualifiers with those back problems, Gary is now guaranteed to be one of the top seeds at the Finals in Minehead next month.
“I can’t really believe how good it’s been to be honest. I came here with no expectations and it all came right for me. The back is a bit sore but no pain no gain!”
He used two different sets of his Unicorn darts throughout the day and it paid rich dividends for him.
“I couldn’t have imagined this at the start of the week. To win a tournament is a huge bonus,” he added
He was brilliant all day! The Scot dropped only nine legs on his way to the quarter-finals where he won a thrilling all Unicorn affair with James Wade 6-4.
Anderson then edged a dramatic semi-final against a resurgent Rob Cross. The World Champion missed two match darts in a deciding leg before the Unicorn ace sealed the win.
In the final, Anderson was terrific. He raced into a 4-0 lead including an 11 darter and two 12 dart legs. De Zwaan, who was playing in his first big PDC final, hit back with a couple of legs but Gary won it in style with a 102 finish.
Hopefully we will see a lot more of Anderson in that winner’s circle over the coming months. But he can relax now, safe in the knowledge he is in the UK Open Finals.
By STUART PYKE
Image courtesy PDC
