GARY Anderson, currently ranked No. 14 in the world, is one of the most successful darts players in the history of the game.
Here we get to know “The Flying Scotsman” — who has amassed an impressive fortune after learning to handle the pressure of hostile crowds while running his pub.
Gary Anderson was born in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland on December 22, 1970.
Although he has established himself as one of the top darts players in the sport‘s history, before turning pro he used to be a pub landlord.
Gary used to run the Wellington Arms in Rooksbridge, Somerset, now he’s a two-time PDC World Champion.
He even believes his days playing in the pub helped prepare him for his future successes, particularly in dealing with intimidating atmospheres in venues like Ally Pally.
Gary told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser: “I learnt to play at the pub, that’s where the darts board was.
“It starts in the pub leagues and then through the Super League, international and eventually, for those who are brave enough, into the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation).
“And you’ve still got the heckling in the pubs. In a town with two teams that are rivals, it gets interesting — it’s all fun and games!”
Gary was known as “Dreamboy” during his earlier career in the British Darts Organisation (BDO).
However, he has since expressed his disdain for this nickname.
He stated that he never liked it and felt it became a “nightmare” for him over time.
In 2009, after moving to the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), he officially dropped Dreamboy in favour of “The Flying Scotsman”.
The modified moniker marked a significant turning point in his career.
But he explained that while he prefers the new alias, it’s far more costly to print on his shirts.
Gary said at the time: “I don’t know how I got the Dreamboy name but I always hated it.
“I think it was given to me when I was a lot younger and perhaps better looking. But I just never liked it.
“The Flying Scotsman is not bad, it underlines my patriotism for my country, but it’s going to cost me a fortune in lettering on the back of my shirts.
“I might even have to pile on the weight so I’m a XXXXL so we can get the entire nickname across my back!
“There’s no doubt I’ll get all the puns to go with it. I haven’t been given a new walk-on theme yet, I guess that might even be the Thomas The Tank Engine tune.
“But seriously I’m not a man for nicknames and stuff like that. I just get up there and play my darts and I’m trying to focus as best I can on that right now.”
The walk-on banger he referred to is Jump Around by House of Pain, which he still enters the arena to.
Gary is quite rightly celebrated for his back-to-back World Championship victories, cementing his status as a legend of the game.
Throughout his career, he has amassed numerous titles, including the Premier League, World Matchplay, UK Open and Champions League of Darts.
During his time in the BDO, Gary won four major titles — the Gold Cup and British Classic in 2006, the British Open in 2007, and the International Grand Prix in 2008.
Anderson has won eight PDC majors including:
Known for his smooth throwing style and ability to score heavily, Gary is a formidable competitor on the international stage.
Throughout his career, he’s hit three televised nine-dart finishes and broken numerous scoring records.
His record includes a total of 19 televised titles, as well as 36 non-televised titles.
According to Bet365, Gary‘s net worth is a whopping £4.5million.
His two world titles reportedly amount to 10% of that total figure.
He has collected £440,500 in prize money from the last two years’ ranking tournaments.
