Gary Anderson Beats Adrian Lewis to Defend His World Title


By Guest Author    12-Jan-2016 22:33 UTC+02:00
Image: Sky Sports.

Gary Anderson. Image: Sky Sports.

The PDC World Championship came to a close last week and it was Scotsman Gary Anderson who lifted the title for the second year in a row as he earned a 7-5 victory over Adrian Lewis in the final of the competition. At the start of the tournament, many expected Michael van Gerwen or Phil Taylor to feature in the showpiece event but both players suffered shock defeats and were eliminated midway through the competition. Here is how the PDC World Championship panned out.

In the early stages, it was all very straightforward for the majority of the big names. There were no real shocks and it looked as though fans were going to be treated to a quarter-final with all of the best players in the world still in the tournament. However, Raymond van Barneveld knocked out the world number one and Coral’s odds-on favourite Michael van Gerwen in the last-16 stage of the competition. On his day, van Barneveld is as good as anyone and the five-time world champion certainly showed that against Van Gerwen.

And just to ramp up the drama that little bit more, Phil Taylor was also eliminated at the same stage as Jelle Klaasen earned a shock 4-3 victory over the Englishman. Klaasen was simply sublime in that contest and Taylor had no answer for the Dutchman’s speed and accuracy throughout the clash. Meanwhile, both Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis knew that the route to the final was now much more straightforward – and both players took their opportunity to secure a place in the showpiece event on January 3rd.

From there, it was pretty obvious that Lewis would face Anderson in the final of the competition. And when the final arrived, fans were treated to a thrilling battle between two of the best scorers in the game. Both players broke the record for the number of 180s thrown in a single match while the averages flirted with the 100 mark. Overall though, Anderson was just too good on the doubles and finished when it mattered the most. The Scot has been the dominant force in darts throughout the last 12 months and must be pushing Michael van Gerwen close to the world number one spot.

Next up for Anderson and co is the Premier League. The Scot is the reigning Premier League champion but will come under severe pressure from Michael van Gerwen, who will be chomping at the bit to make a statement on the biggest stage of all. The world number one is priced at 6/5 with Coral to get his hands back on the Premier League trophy while Anderson is 3/1 to defend his crown. Both players will bring their A-game and punters will be keen to check out the nine dart finish odds throughout the competition. One thing’s for sure: if nothing else, it’s going to be an incredibly entertaining tournament.

So, Gary Anderson retained his world title but what can we expect from ‘the Flying Scotsman’ in 2016? Well, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see him defend his Premier League crown despite plenty of pressure from Van Gerwen and Taylor. From there, it’s all about form and the build-up to next year’s World Championship. Can he win a third straight crown? Of course he can but for now, Anderson should enjoy some time off and celebrate his latest success – he’s certainly earned a break.


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