Gary Anderson renaissance continues with return to World Championship last four
By Jonathan Veal, Press Association
Gary Anderson returned to the World Championship semi-finals for the first time in four years after ending Justin Hood’s dream debut run.
The 55-year-old is enjoying a renaissance and is now just two wins away from lifting a third world title, 10 years after his last.
If he can do so, he would become the oldest player to lift the PDC world title and join Michael van Gerwen in second place in the all-time list of champions.
After beating Van Gerwen on Tuesday night, Anderson looked every bit a potential champion as he dispatched Hood 5-2.
The Scot will now meet Luke Humphries or Gian van Veen in Friday’s semi-final, which will be his eighth last-four encounter at Alexandra Palace.
Hood has been one of the stories of the tournament, reaching the last eight in his first appearance at Ally Pally, but this was a match too far.
Still, it has been a remarkable debut and the 32-year-old walks away with £100,000 in prize money and the cash to fulfil his lifelong ambition of opening a Chinese restaurant.
Ryan Searle also booked his last-four spot and will likely have a tough encounter as he is expected to meet Luke Littler.
Searle had not dropped a set in reaching the last eight and again showed his class in a 5-2 victory over number five seed Jonny Clayton.
The 38-year-old’s run to the last four is made even more impressive by the fact he has Kjer’s optic neuropathy, an eye condition which means he often cannot see where the dart lands.
“It’s a hereditary condition, so I’ve passed it to both, both of my children,” he said. “My son doesn’t have it as bad as as me, but my daughter has it really bad.
“When it gets to about six feet, she can see, but after that her vision gets really bad, so she’s registered as visually impaired.
“So, if I can raise a lot of awareness for that and try and find a cure for it, that means a lot to me.
“It’s only in the last 18 months that I realised what the diagnosis was for my vision. It’s been bad for as long as I can remember, but to have a diagnosis for it is really good.
“There’s no cure for what I’ve got. I’m stuck with it. I wear contact lenses now, just try and take a bit of the blurriness away from my vision.
“But sometimes on stage, I’m asking the caller what I’ve scored, and sometimes I don’t, and it puts me in a bit of a difficult position.
“If I can inspire people who maybe can’t see as well as others to pick up the game and give it a go, then that means a lot to me.”
