Flying Scotsman Gary Anderson celebrated his birthday in style by extending his record run at the Alexandra Palace and progressing at the Cazoo World Championships.
The two-time champion reached both the age of 52 and also the third round after sinking talented Madars Razma in an intriguing tussle. Anderson made it 49 match wins on the Ally Pally stage as he secured a 3-1 success having been pushed by the dangerous Latvian.
The Scot had to produce some classy stuff at times to get the job done and, although a lack of action this year has seen him drop to 11th seed for the big one, he’s up for a title battle. Anderson said: “World No.1 or No.128, I don’t care. At the end of the day, you’ve still got to beat me.
“I’ve been doing a lot of practising with Ryan Searle. The Grand Slam, my favourite tournament, I never qualified which I usually do, so I never deserved to play in it. I was sick as a pig when I missed it. That's the way it goes.
“The second set I gave myself a few chances at tops and he banged in two big finishes which hurt. But I got there in the end.”
Anderson started stylishly and, despite narrowly missing finishes of 170 and 136, was strong enough to claim the opening set. However, with 121 and 134 out-shots, the Latvian hit straight back to level at the PDC World Darts Championship.
Razma had his tail up at that stage and, when Anderson missed a key double in the third, his rival’s blistering 154 threatened to turn the tide his way. But, as both players had darts to win the critical set, the Scot punished the World No.34 for misses by pinning two fours to go ahead again.
Anderson sensed blood and a bull finish to give him the break in the third leg of the fourth allowed him the opportunity to serve out the match and progress. He missed five match darts to do it then, but a 110 in the deciding leg saw off Razma and he added: “His treble 19s are fantastic. He’s always been a good player. There’s just a few bits in between where he goes off form, thank God.”
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