Gary Anderson edged out Jermaine Wattimena in a seven-set thriller at Alexandra Palace to reach the last 16 of the World Darts Championship.Anderson missed a nine-dart attempt but eventually came through against Wattimena 4-3 in the third round, winning the deciding set 5-3 in legs.
The 2015 and 2016 world champion averaged 102.24, hit 14 180s and a high checkout of 124 in his victory with a potential tie against Michael van Gerwen awaiting him next.
World Championship Round Three Results: Sunday, December 28
Afternoon Session
Martin Schindler
0-4
Ryan Searle
Damon Heta
0-4
Rob Cross
Gary Anderson
4-3
Jermaine Wattimena
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Highlights of a DRAMATIC final set between Anderson and Wattimena…
‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson defied three maximums from Wattimena to win the first set 3-1 in five minutes and 23 seconds, with the Dutchman spurning 10 darts at double.Wattimena wrapped up the second stanza without reply to restore parity before Anderson wheeled out the heavy artillery to seal the next with an extraordinary 121.28 average.
‘The Machine Gun’ missed two set darts in the deciding leg of the fourth set, which Anderson punished to move two clear.
The 55-year-old then missed three match darts, allowing Wattimena to pounce with an 87 finish to edge the fifth set and save his skin.
In a topsy-turvy clash, Wattimena survived a fourth match dart to force a seventh and final set.At 3-3 in the tie-break, Anderson missed double 12 in a nine-dart attempt and then missed a fifth dart at double in the eighth leg before eventually sinking double one for a famous victory.”It’s not good for my age. I went 3-1 up and missed darts at double then Jermaine went on a roll,” Anderson told Sky Sports. “It’s hard but what a game.”The last two games were boring. I’m going to go and lie down now. I bottled the nine-dart attempt. I got excited and…
2025-12-28 16:29:00
