Gary Anderson reached the World Darts Championship semi-final for the eighth time in his career with a win over Ally Pally’s cult hero Justin Hood on New Year’s Day.
Hood is set to make his Chinese restaurant dreams a reality after making a big impression at the World Championships and securing £100,000 for reaching the quarter-finals.
But Anderson proved to be too much as the Scot ended his fairytale debut with a 5-2 win, averaging 99.4 points, five 180s, a 43% checkout percentage and over three tons of finishes at 161, 127 and 121.
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Anderson hit this 161 in the quarterfinals against Hood.
Anderson averaged 98 points and 3/5 in doubles and easily took the first set, but Hood leveled things up with three 180s and a ton of checkouts.
‘The Flying Scotsman’ regained the upper hand with a smooth third set, but ‘Happy Feet’ fought back from a 2-1 deficit to regain parity with a clutch 120 checkout in the deciding leg of the fourth set.
After impressively defeating Josh Locke in the final round, Hood, who said he was planning to open a takeaway in China in 2026, was struggling to hold on to Anderson, who won three straight in the next round. And he then hit a combination of 72 and 98 and a delightful 121 to storm into a 4-2 lead with an incredible set average of 112.38.
The 55-year-old ignited the afterburners in the seventh set, firing a stunning 161 at the bullseye for a set average of 107.36 and riding high into a matchup with either former world champion Luke Humphries or Dutch star Jan van Veen.
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Anderson said he was “over the moon” to reach the semifinals at Ally Pally.
“I felt controlled at certain stages,” said Anderson, who won back-to-back world titles in 2015 and 2016. “But if I messed up, he would come back and the next minute it would be 2-2.”
“I finally started to find a rhythm, so I’m really looking forward to getting through it!”
As for facing either Humphries or Van Veen next, he said, “Luke Littler is the greatest guy on the planet right now, but he’s right there or there, just like Luke Humphries has guarded his money the last three years. He’s a top-class player.”
Durant: Anderson was great
Glen Durrant of Sky Sports Darts:
“The crowd today was incredible. Justin Hood will never forget the last few weeks of darts. The important thing is that he kicks on.”
“He showed all the qualities of a top player. Gary Anderson’s experience, firepower and heavy artillery were great. He managed the match superbly.”
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Sarr advances to the semi-finals
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Highlights of the World Championship quarterfinal match between Ryan Searle and Johnny Clayton
Ryan Searle scored a stunning 5-2 victory over Welsh hero Johnny Clayton in the biggest match of his life.
‘Heavy Metal’ was guaranteed £200,000 and his win, with an average of 91 points and three top scores, checkouts of 125, 116 and 111, would see him move up to at least seventh place in the world rankings, but ‘The Ferret’ was penalized for failing to make 30 double attempts.
“That means a lot! I don’t think either of us played particularly well. We were really nervous and there’s a lot at stake!” said the 38-year-old Devon-born star.
“I thought we finished pretty well under pressure. Johnny missed a lot of doubles early on, but that was the difference.”
“The 111 checkout was huge. I always do that during practice, but it’s different on stage. Getting to the semifinals is huge.”
“I think I’m provisionally number seven in the world, which is crazy for me. It’s a message to the rest of the world: I’m not very blind, but don’t let that hold you back. I try to be an inspiration to them.”
Searle will face the winner of the match between defending champion and world number one Luke Littler and Polish number one Krzysztof Ratajski.
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Searle said he strives to be an inspiration to people with low vision. He lives with a rare disease called Dominant Optic Atrophy, a genetic eye disease that affects vision.
Turner: Searle punished Creighton.
Laura Turner of Sky Sports Darts:
“It was a great start for Ryan. He went down in the middle of the game and that reflected in his .91 batting average.”
“But his double the percentage compared to Johnny Clayton who missed chances, he’s going to be frustrated. He’s also been punished by Sarr and his timing.”
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Sarr won the first set of the quarterfinals against Creighton with this finish…
What’s going on at Ally Pally on Thursday night?
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Glen Durant and Laura Turner discuss Luke Littler’s violent reaction to boos from the Ally Pally crowd during his match against Rob Cross
The World Championship quarterfinals continue Thursday night, with Littler continuing his title defense against Ratajski, and Humphries and Van Veen also facing off.
The Dutchman defeated Humphries in the European Championship final earlier this year.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407 from 10 December on Sky Channel 407) until 3 January. Stream darts and other top sports now.
