Many viewers have already given the British Open to three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen. He played the final against the little-known Andrew Gilding at Minehead on Sunday night. Completely unexpectedly, the British won the British Open title.
Gilding threw tops after his opponent Van Gerwen’s darts match. He won a major title and even a PDC Major for the first time in his career. “I hope some darts players are a little more afraid of me now,” he tells OnlineDarts.
What should have been a relatively easy match for “Mighty Mike” turned into a frustrating duel. The men fought until the last minute, but Van Gerwen was the first to hit a match dart in double 16. He missed it and gave Gilding the best of three chances. To loud applause from an enthusiastic audience, it turned out that Goldfinger just needed an arrow for that.
With this critical dart, Gilding clinched victory at the UK Open. Match darts didn’t make much of an impression on him. “Did I throw a top? I didn’t think about what I was doing.”
stand on the left
He played the game of his life, averaging seven 180 seconds and three darts of 95.46.
He throws these three darts in his own way. Where most darts stand in the middle of the oche, the shooting line, Gilding stands far left. This creates difficulties as the dart player is not at the same distance in every pair. So he tried to move towards the middle. Still, it always turns to the left side of the oche.
Gold plating is not something completely unknown in the darts world. He made his television debut at the British Open again in 2011. He then made it into the last 32 but was eliminated by compatriot Mark Hylton.
No more watching darts
It was watching darts legend John Lowe who inspired him to get into darts. However, since he is also a professional darts player, he has switched to other channels more often. “I already spend every day staring at a dartboard. At a certain point you stop looking and just practice,” Gilding laughs in an interview with PDC Darts.
And because of all that work, his career has been revived last year. His good form helped him reach two finals in the Players Championship. But he lost both: The body of the two Dutch Danny turned out to be too large. Gilding lost his first final against Danny Jansen 8:6 and his second against Danny Noppert 8:6 again.
In September, Gilding also made a surprise appearance at the televised Belgium Darts Open. Even then, he unexpectedly reached the final. She met the British Dave Chisnall, who was in shape. Gilding bowed to his opponent and lost by the now infamous 8-6.
But the highlight was last night. The man from Bungai had never won such an important game before. “But I didn’t think about that while playing.” He wasn’t nervous. “You have to experience it a few times and then you get used to it.”
With the trophy in hand, he glanced at PDC Darts, where he’d really given darts a shot over the past few years. “I really decided to give it a try.” And that’s where this title comes from. Gilding searches for words: “Incredible.”
Save for home
The title, the recognition and the amount of money earned have not yet all reached him. Besides the prize, Gilding could also bring home £110,000. “I am trying to save money for my own house and this amount helps me a lot.”
What’s on your schedule now? “I must take another major title,” Gilding sighs with a grin. “I don’t know which yet.”
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
