Gary Anderson completed a remarkable double by winning the second Dutch Darts Trophy in Nuland, as he beat Andy Smith in the final.
It is some achievement to win both events on a PDC Pro Tour weekend and the Unicorn man joins an elite band of players to do just that, including Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis, Wes Newton, Mervyn King and Robert Thornton.
Anderson followed Saturday’s Dutch Darts Trophy success against Wes Newton with a 6-3 win over ‘The Pie Man’!
And the Scot had to do it the hard way, as he staged an amazing recovery to win a dramatic quarter-final against Dennis Smith, after nearly losing to unknown Dutch teenager Rico Dera in the 1st Round.
Against Dera, he came from 2-5 behind and against Smith, he trailed 0-4 and 1-5 before winning five consecutive legs to pinch the win! After that, you always thought it was going to be his day.
And that remarkable win over Smith saw Anderson do his Team Unicorn stablemate Andy Hamilton a massive favour!
If Smith had beaten the Scot, he would have stolen the last qualifying spot for the World Matchplay from Hamilton! ‘The Hammer’ was left biting his nails because he had been knocked out of the world’s top 16 which means automatic qualification for Blackpool, and he was hanging onto the final place through the Players Championship Order of Merit!
Hamilton managed a nervy 6-3 win against Magnus Caris – his main rival for a World Matchplay spot in the 1st Round, but when he was beaten by Mensur Suljovic in the 2nd Round, he was left sweating on other results.
And in the ultimate irony, Hamilton was drawn to play Anderson in the 1st Round at the Winter Gardens!
But Anderson’s back-to-back tournament victories mark a fantastic feat in his career.
“It means a lot to me,” he said. “I always seem to do well in Holland. It must be something in the water! I know I should have lost in the 1st Round and quarter-finals but luckily for me, I found a way to win and I can’t wait for Blackpool now.”
Mickey Mansell, Adrian Gray and Co Stompe were among Anderson’s other victims before that remarkable comeback win over Smith, when ‘The Flying Scotsman’ hit a hat-trick of 12 darters to deny Smith his spot at Blackpool.
He then beat Simon Whitlock in the semi-finals for a second day running, before claiming the title in style.
He was 2-0 ahead, before ‘The Pie Man’ hit back to level taking out 116…..a 14 darter and 96 check-out restored Anderson’s advantage and the 6th leg proved to be the turning point.
Anderson had left 36, but missed the D18, instead hitting D1 and he recovered brilliantly to nail D17 and break the Smith throw….that soon became 5-2 and Anderson actually missed a dart at ‘tops’ to win the final 6-2.
However, there was no mistake in the next leg. Anderson had left 76 after only nine darts and after missing D8 and D4, he clinched the win on D2.
The Unicorn duo of Kevin Painter and Colin Osborne reached the quarter-finals in Nuland.
Osborne’s second consecutive quarter-final clinched his spot at the World Matchplay, although he lost 6-3 against ‘The Pie Man’ and Painter was beaten 6-2 by Vincent van der Voort.
Painter had beaten Wes Newton in a last leg decider in the last 16 and at the same stage, Osborne accounted for Jamie Caven 6-1, while James Wade was unlucky to lose 6-4 to Whitlock.
In round three, Osborne beat Justin Pipe 6-4 but there was a landmark moment for Pipe, who hit his first ever 9 darter in competition.
Elsewhere, Raymond van Barneveld endured a disappointing weekend on home soil. He lost in the 2nd Round again – this time beaten 6-3 by John Part.
Devon Petersen was unfortunate to lose a last leg decider to Whitlock, while Peter Manley and Michael Rosenauer lost at the same stage.
In the 1st Round, there were disappointing defeats for both Joe Cullen and Kirk Shepherd.
All eyes are now firmly focused on the World Matchplay on July 16!
Sunday Dutch Darts Trophy results:
Quarter-Finals:
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Kevin Painter
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Steve Beaton
Andy Smith 6-3 Colin Osborne
Gary Anderson 6-5 Dennis Smith
Losers - £1,000
Semi-Finals:
Andy Smith 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Gary Anderson 6-2 Simon Whitlock
Losers - £2,000
Final:
Gary Anderson 6-3 Andy Smith
Winner - £6,000
Runner-up - £3,000
By STUART PYKE
Main photo courtesy Chris Sargeant
Photo below courtesy Cartsten Alt, www.pdc-europe.net
Image Gallery
Winner Gary with runner-up Andy Smith