Gary Anderson is relishing his 15th Paddy Power World Darts Championship appearance this year, as he aims to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy for the third time in his illustrious career.
The 52-year-old would become the first Scottish player to win a hat-trick of World Championship titles if he was victorious on January 3, but insists he is not looking that far ahead.
“This is the big one! It would be nice [to become the first Scotsman to be a three-time World Champion] but am I looking that far ahead? No,” declared Anderson.
“The first part is getting over that first game. Ask any dart player, that is the worst game of the tournament.
“Even if they go on to win it, great, but that first game, I bet they were a bit uneasy.
“I need to pick up a bit [for the World Championship] but I’m looking forward to it. If you can't get up for this tournament, you shouldn't be playing the game.
“I’m at that kind of stage now where I can play great one day and rubbish the next. I don’t know how it’s going to be. When they go well, they’re going well.”
Anderson returns to Alexandra Palace following a superb 2023 campaign, which has seen him win three Players Championship events while posting some huge averages along the way.
The two-time World Champion is enjoying his darts again and has heaped praise on practice partner Ryan Searle for helping him rediscover his love for the game.
“I’m playing the best darts since winning the two World Championships, because I’ve probably not played a lot of darts since,” Anderson admitted.
“Practice has been zero, I didn’t want to play. It’s a hard thing to do when you don’t want to be there and don’t want to be playing.
“Since January, I’ve been practicing with Ryan [Searle] and it’s got me out of the house to play darts whereas before that wouldn’t have happened. It’s helped me bundles – I’ve enjoyed it”.
Despite his recent resurgence, Anderson is provisionally set to fall to 27th in the world following this year’s showpiece, as he looks to defend the £100,000 he claimed for making the semi-finals in 2021/22.
However, the Scot is not concerned by his ranking position, and insists his only focus is on producing the goods at Alexandra Palace.
“I’ve not done European Tour events for over eight years, and I still stayed in the top 16,” claimed the former World Cup winner.
“All that ranking money that I missed out on, and I managed to stay at the top.
“I don’t think there will be many players able to do that, so when I sit back and think about it, I think I’ve done alright.
“Rankings mean nothing nowadays; everyone’s got to play me and I’ve got to play everybody.”
Former World Championship runner-up Simon Whitlock is tasked with facing an in-form Anderson in a fascinating second round showdown on Saturday evening.
The Australian narrowly defeated Paolo Nebrida in a deciding-set tussle last night, and concedes he must improve ahead of the blockbuster clash.
“There’s always more in the tank; I need the 180s to start happening,” admitted the 2010 runner-up.
“I’m a big 180-hitter and on Friday they weren’t there, but today is a different day. Maybe they’ll turn up, maybe I’ll turn up and we’ll have a great game.
“I need to average somewhere near 100 just to be competitive, but sets is a different game. There’s something in the tank which won’t let me give up.”
2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Jamie Hughes v David Cameron (R1)
Keane Barry v Reynaldo Rivera (R1)
Scott Williams v Haruki Muramatsu (R1)
Gary Anderson v Simon Whitlock (R2)