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Gary Anderson turned his latest adventure at Ally Pally into burns night with a scorching 3-0 demolition of Simon Whitlock in 36 minutes.
The Flying Scotsman, who won back-to-back titles here in 2015-16, produced the most polished display to date at the Paddy Power PDC World Darts Championship to sink the Wizard of Oz. And on the stage where he has won more games than anyone bar Michael van Gerwen, Anderson took the chequered flag in style.
He nailed five 180 maximums and took out 116 on double top to join defending champion Michael Smith in the third round. The big guns are on the march.
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Anderson, who crashed out in the third round against Chris Dobey last year, said: “What's the difference between this year and 12 months ago? Coffee – lots of coffee.
“I played well in the first set, but I've known Simon a long time and he was really struggling up there. I'm trying to get back to where I was and I'm enjoying it again. I'm not worried about stamina – fingers crossed, the more I play, the more I'm going to get used to it.”
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Afforded a hero's reception, Anderson's first three arrows hit the treble 20 lipstick – and the rest was pure gloss. He reeled off the first set in seven minutes, and instead of neeps and tatties, Anderson looked like a man in the mood for the whole haggis.
Although he turns 53 on Friday, in this form the two-time champion is capable of becoming the oldest man to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy in the PDC's 30-year-history.
Phil Taylor was 52 when he won the last of his incredible 16 world titles back in 2013, but Anderson – who would have preferred to be tucked up in his hotel room with a cup of coffee instead of walking on stage at 10.40pm – could undercut the 'Power'.
Whitlock, a finalist here in 2010, has cultivated an impressive Dumbledore beard, but when he put public opinion to the test, eight out of 10 patrons of Ally Pally didn't fancy whiskers.
- Darts
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