Gary Anderson is looking to roll back the years as he takes part in his astounding eighth semi-final at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
The former back-to-back World Champion defeated debutant Justin Hood 5-2 in the quarter-finals with an average over 99 to set up a last four clash with new Dutch number one Gian van Veen.
Indeed, the Flying Scotsman’s run to his first World Championship semi-final since 2021/22 has been far from straightforward.
“It has been a hard run, hasn’t it?” admitted Anderson. “I’ve seen some runs where I thought, ‘Oh, you’re lucky!’
“Adam Hunt, Connor Scutt, Jermaine Wattimena, Michael van Gerwen, and the way Justin has played, it’s not been easy.
“Connor Scutt, I knew that was going to be a hard one. Jermaine was going to be a hard one because I’ve got high hopes for Jermaine. I think he’s going to be right up there, and the same with Connor.
“Young Justin, he’s been absolutely brilliant. I can’t say enough about him. You can’t look at him without smiling because he’s going to come back with something. He’s just a lovely bloke.
“The other night, when I played Michael, I was panicking. I shouldn’t panic; it’s just one of these things. It’s good to be back in the semis.”
The 55-year-old has provisionally risen to number six in the world rankings as a result of his quarter-final victory, rounding off a strong year for the 14-time Premier event winner.
Across 2025, Anderson scooped up his third European Tour trophy and remarkable 30th Players Championship title, as well as making a quarter-final run at the World Grand Prix.
Averaging over a ton and pinning a whopping 45 180s across the tournament, the Scot is remaining level-headed before the semi-finals.
“I’m still milling about,” said Anderson. “It’s nice; I sit and watch a lot around darts, and they look at the rankings, the averages.
“Averages are good; if you’ve got a high average, you’re playing well, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to win a game.
“I’ve done it many times, I’ve had 100+ averages and I’ve been beaten by a 91 average. So, in theory, it doesn’t mean anything, does it?”
Anderson may need to deliver yet another strong performance when he faces Van Veen in the semi-finals, who demolished world number two Luke Humphries 5-1 in the last eight.
The 23-year-old – who has provisionally moved up to world number three – averaged over 105 in dispatching the 2023/24 champion and holds the second-highest tournament average of 101.81, behind Luke Littler.
Despite the fact their clash will be Anderson’s eighth semi-final and Van Veen’s first, the Scot insists experience makes little difference at this stage.
“I don’t think it makes any difference now,” Anderson confessed.
“The talent of players now… I just play darts, I take each game as it comes. You wait until I’m 60!”
“I’d like to keep playing and hopefully my son can play on these stages. It’d be great to stand up there with him.”