In the smoky haze of a packed pub or the glaring floodlights of a sold-out arena, darts has always been a game of inches, angles, and audacious claims. But when Gary Anderson—the grizzled Scottish veteran with a World Championship runner-up medal and a penchant for straight-talking—drops a bombshell, the oche falls silent. At 54, with arms like coiled springs and a career spanning more than three decades, Anderson isn’t one to mince words. In a recent candid interview that sent ripples through the darts world, he dismissed the hype surrounding teenage sensation Luke Littler as the sport’s undisputed top dog. Instead, Anderson pointed squarely at Michael van Gerwen, the Dutch destroyer who’s redefined dominance with a ferocity that borders on the supernatural. “That’s easy,” Anderson quipped with his trademark dry wit, his eyes twinkling behind the glasses that have become as iconic as his 180s. The question? Who’s the best darts player on the planet right now? His answer: not the kid from Warrington who’s been breaking records faster than you can fetch a pint.
It was a moment straight out of darts’ colorful folklore, the kind that fans dissect over late-night replays and forum threads. Anderson, fresh off a gritty performance in the European Tour where he clawed his way through qualifiers with averages north of 95, was in no mood for the Littler love-in that’s gripped the sport since the 18-year-old’s meteoric rise. Littler, the self-styled “Nuke” with a burger-fueled frame and a walk-on song that could power a nightclub, exploded onto the scene last year at Alexandra Palace. His run to the PDC World Championship final—capped by a 7-4 demolition of Luke Humphries—turned him into a global phenomenon overnight. Crowds chanted his name from London to Las Vegas; sponsors lined up like arrows on a bullseye; and his social media exploded with memes of him celebrating checkouts bigger than his age. By early 2025, Littler had racked up Premier League triumphs, a World Series scalp in Bahrain, and a string of nine-dart finishes that left commentators grasping for superlatives. At just 18, he was the face of darts’ youthquake, the prodigy who made the game cool for TikTok scrolls and casual viewers alike.
Yet Anderson, who’s seen it all—from the split of the BDO and PDC to Phil Taylor’s reign of terror—saw through the dazzle. “Luke’s a little thing, isn’t he? Talented as hell, but Van Gerwen’s on another level,” he elaborated, his Scottish burr cutting through the noise like a perfectly aimed treble 20. It’s classic Anderson: blunt, unfiltered, and laced with that undercurrent of affection for the underappreciated grinders. Van Gerwen, the three-time world champion from ‘s-Hertogenbosch, has been the benchmark since his 2014 Ally Pally glory. At 36, he’s a titan who’s amassed over 100 PDC titles, including a record seven Premier League wins. His style is poetry in motion—explosive bursts of 170 checkouts, unerring doubles under pressure, and an average that can flirt with 110 on a good night. Just last month, in the Dutch Darts Masters, Van Gerwen dismantled Gerwyn Price in the final with a 109.94 average, his third leg a blistering 11-darter that had the Ahoy Arena in frenzy. “Mighty Mike” doesn’t just win; he annihilates, leaving opponents shell-shocked and scoreboards smoking.
What makes Anderson’s endorsement so compelling isn’t mere nostalgia for the old guard—it’s rooted in the raw metrics of mastery. Van Gerwen’s career earnings eclipse £10 million, his checkout success rate hovers at 45%, and he’s the only player to hit multiple nine-darters in a single World Championship. Littler, for all his flair, is still building that resume. His 2025 season has been electric—a Players Championship double in Milton Keynes, a semi-final run at the Grand Slam where he potted 14 maximums against Rob Cross—but consistency eludes him in the majors. A quarter-final exit at the World Matchplay stung, and whispers of burnout from his relentless schedule have surfaced. Anderson, who’s mentored young guns like Peter Wright and faced his own battles with form and fitness, knows the difference between a comet and a constant. “Littler’s got the world at his feet, no doubt,” he conceded, leaning back with a grin that suggested he’d buy the kid a drink. “But right now? Van Gerwen’s the man. He’s the one you’d back in a cage match on the oche.”
This isn’t sour grapes from a veteran sidelined by youth; Anderson’s still slinging arrows with the best of them. His 2024 comeback—culminating in a UK Open last-16 run where he edged out Damon Heta in a thriller—proved the fire still burns. And he’s no stranger to hyping the next generation; he’s praised Littler’s “insane talent” in past chats, predicting he’ll snag a world title by 20. But in this instance, Anderson’s call feels like a reality check for a sport drunk on novelty. Darts thrives on rivalries—Taylor vs. Barney, Van Barneveld’s farewell tears—and Littler’s emergence has injected fresh blood. Yet elevating him prematurely risks overshadowing Van Gerwen’s stranglehold, a dominance that’s as much mental as mechanical. Remember 2017? Van Gerwen’s 7-1 whitewash of Peter Wright in the Worlds final, where he averaged 104 and never missed a double? That’s the bar, the blueprint Littler must scale.
As the 2025/26 PDC calendar ramps up toward the lucrative World Championship at Ally Pally, the debate rages on. Littler, ever the showman, fired back on his podcast with a cheeky, “Gaz knows I’m coming for everyone—give it time.” Van Gerwen, stoic as ever, simply posted a bullseye emoji on Instagram, letting his arrows do the talking. Fans are split: the Littler legions see a generational shift, while purists nod to Anderson’s wisdom, arguing experience trumps precocity every time. It’s this tension that keeps darts pulsating—a blend of boyish bravado and battle-hardened savvy, where every tournament is a proving ground.
Anderson’s offhand genius lies in distilling it all to “that’s easy.” In a sport where legs can swing on a whisper and legacies on a double, his verdict cuts to the core: talent dazzles, but greatness endures. As winter looms and the Christmas cracker of the Worlds beckons, one thing’s certain—whether it’s Littler’s fireworks or Van Gerwen’s furnace, the board will crown its king. And Gary Anderson? He’ll be there, pint in hand, ready with the next zinger. Because in darts, as in life, the best shots are the ones that stick.
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