Gary Anderson marked his return to the European Tour in spectacular fashion on Saturday evening, delivering a dominant performance at the Hungarian Darts Trophy. The two-time world champion averaged over 105 points as he convincingly defeated Krzysztof Ratajski in the second round, proving that despite his lengthy absence from the circuit, he remains among the sport's elite.
Anderson had not competed in a European Tour event since the World Matchplay in Blackpool, having enjoyed a period of holiday. However, his decision to travel to Budapest for the Hungarian Darts Trophy proved to be an excellent one. "I'm surprised I've been on holiday since Blackpool, you know, but no, I've never been to the Budapest one, you know, so I had to come, you know, everyone raves about it," he said on stage after his win.
The Scot received one of the loudest ovations of the day as he walked onto the stage, with even the Hungarian fans showing their appreciation. "When you see a venue like this and a crowd like this, you've got to come, haven't you, you've got to come," he added. When the interviewer pointed out that he may have received the biggest ovation of all, Anderson responded in his trademark dry style: "It's because I'm the only person who's not signed anything, you know, but no, it's great, I mean, youngsters here, there's somebody there by Luke Littler top on, who's he, who's he? No, he's brilliant, but no, hey, good, I've enjoyed it so far."
Anderson's enjoyment is evident both on and off the stage, and his performance in Budapest has given him plenty of confidence. He now faces Stephen Bunting in the next round. But there is more at stake than just the Hungarian Darts Trophy. Anderson has set himself a clear target: to qualify for the European Championship in Dortmund. To do so, he needs to collect significant ranking money over the coming weeks, and his strong showing in Budapest has given him his first prize money of the current European Tour season.
With five more European Tour events remaining to improve his position, Anderson admitted he has carefully calculated his chances. "Yeah, definitely, you know, I do my calculations and I say, we'll come to Budapest, and if it doesn't go well, I'm going to have the rest of the year off, I'm going to miss some and start again next year, but we've got off to a start, so I'm going to have to keep pushing now." His performance has already proven that, in terms of level, he can still compete with the very best in the world.
