Gary Anderson has come up with the ultimate retirement plan which he believes would ’cause a lot of grief’ in the darts community. The veteran Scot is competing at this week’s European Championship, where he will face Ritchie Edhouse in the quarter-finals.
Anderson has been a mainstay on the professional circuit for more than two decades, having made his debut with the BDO in 2000. The 54-year-old will inevitably need to retire at some point and he wants to go out with a bang when the time comes.
Speaking ahead of his match against Edhouse, Anderson outlined his desire to retire on the spot if he ever returns to the top of the world rankings. He also confirmed that he will never be returning to the Premier League as a result of the travel requirements.
“I’d like to get to number one and retire on the spot,” he said. “That would cause a lot of grief! I’m enjoying what I’m doing. I’ve spoken about it with my manager.
“The Premier League, I’ve done it for so many years and it’s fantastic but I couldn’t do it now. You’re 16 weeks away from home and then you’ve got Europeans, ProTours, you know? I just couldn’t do it.
“Hats off to the youngsters who are doing it, because they’ve got some travelling to do in the next couple of years.”
Looking ahead to his meeting with Edhouse at the European Championship, Anderson played down the notion of him being the pre-match favourite. He explained that he struggles with playing several games in one day, putting it down to his age.
“If I wake up in the morning I’m off to a good start,” he said when quizzed on his hopes of victory. “After that, I don’t know. People might have me as the favourite to beat Ritchie but I’m not looking at it that way.
“The final is a long way to go and, at 54, three games in one day is hard work. It’s alright for these youngsters who are bouncing about like jack-in-the-boxes, but when you get old it is hard. The first game is fair enough but then you have that break.
“What do you do, sit about for six or seven hours or do you go back to the room and fall asleep? A few games in one day is hard, but we will try. I’ll give it a go.”