Gary Anderson insists he holds key advantage over Luke Littler

Veteran Anderson, 53, heads to the Alexandra Palace for a 24th World Darts Championship appearance this Christmas

Gary Anderson heads to the Ally Pally for a 24th World Championship (Getty Images)

Gary Anderson believes he holds a crucial advantage over Luke Littler and the sport’s other young guns as he gears up for another World Darts Championship this Christmas.

Two-time world champion Anderson has had an impressive season, winning the Players Championship 2 event and the European Darts Grand Prix, while he recently had a run to semi-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts, only being defeated 16-15 by Littler in an all-time classic.

The 53 year old heads to the Alexandra Palace for a 24th World Championship appearance of his career, where he will face Jeffrey de Graaf or Rashad Sweeting in round two – having made his debut in the BDO version back in 2002 – and while acknowledging how impressive youngsters such as Littler, Mike de Decker and Gian van Veen have been, is adamant his experience could prove vital when it counts.

“What I try to tell people is the old guys are still playing well,” Anderson told Sky Sports. “I’m still averaging probably higher than all of them put together.

“So, yes, they’ve got youth on their side, which to us boys is a bit downgrading because we want to be young again, but they’ve got a great future in front of them. Darts is going to be very good in the next four to five, six years.”

“It’s probably the first big stage, especially for the newcomers. And the first time they’re up there, that’s one of the biggest stages that any darts player will play. Well, it is the biggest stage.

“Just the sheer length of the stage and the crowd behind it. So, the first time, it is a bit off-putting and a different atmosphere.”

Luke Littler beat Gary Anderson in a classic Grand Slam of Darts semi-final (PA Wire)

Anderson won his world titles in 2015 and 2016, beating the legendary Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis in the finals respectively. He has also lost in three finals, in 2011, 2017 and 2021.

Although he agonisingly missed out on a hat-trick of titles when he lost that 2017 final to Michael van Gerwen, the Scot believes his Ally Pally success down the years has eased the pressure on him.

“I think when you win it, the pressure’s off,” the Scotsman added. “It doesn’t matter what happens after that, your name’s always going to be on that trophy.

“When I won it the second time, the third time, I did go for the hat-trick. There have been boys that have won it back-to-back. I don’t think they’ve done it three times in a row. But I made the finals - so I’ve done five finals, won it twice, so I’ve done not too bad there.

“Out of the two [finals], it [the one that is most memorable] would have to be playing Phil. You know Phil, the legend that he is, and the amount of times he’s won championships on that stage.

“You’ve got youngsters there now that will never have the chance to play Phil Taylor. So even if Phil had beat me, it wouldn’t have bothered me. I was playing Phil Taylor in the final.”

Anderson acknowledges that he is not as consistent as he once was and hasn’t won a solo, major, televised PDC event since the 2018 Champions League of Darts.

But he says that means expectations are no longer too high heading into tournaments.

“You want to play well in every tournament. For sure,” he added. “But I can play well one day and absolutely terrible the next day. So I don’t expect nothing now. I’ve got no expectations. I just want to go up there and play well.”