Bang in darts! Andrew Gilding sensationally won the UK Open. During his surprising triumph, the “Goldfinger” also set a new record.
In a dramatic final, Andrew Gilding prevailed 11:10 against the big favorite and three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen.
The Englishman capitalized on his chance at double tops after MvG previously missed a match dart on double tops. At 52 years old, Gilding was the oldest player to make it into a Major final for the first time in PDC history.
Nevertheless, the “Goldfinger” showed nerves of steel in the duel with van Gerwen, playing an average of 95.46 in the end.
“I just stopped being lazy!”
Gilding has been part of the darts tour for years. After the veteran had meanwhile found himself in a big slump, he now celebrated the greatest success of his career.
“I just stopped being lazy! I started practicing more and taking it seriously,” Gilding told “ITV Sport” about his triumph at the UK Open.
At the same time, he admitted: “I can’t believe it. I didn’t expect to win this game. I played consistently all weekend, but I didn’t feel like I was playing particularly good darts.”
Darts: Andrew Gilding beats Martin Schindler
Winning £110,000 in prize money has catapulted the right-hander to 25th in the world rankings.
On his way to winning the tournament, Gilding knocked out Martin Schindler 10:4 in the quarter-finals. The other six German starters had already been eliminated on Friday. Gabriel Clemens lost his fourth round game against Dimitri van den Bergh 5:10. Florian Hempel lost 9:10 to Richie Burnett despite a 9:6 lead in the meantime.