Flying Scotsman’s Stunning Admission: The Night Gary Anderson “Chose to Lose” After Crowd Chaos
In the high-octane world of professional darts, few moments have blurred the lines between fierce competition and sportsmanship quite like the infamous Premier League clash between Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis in Glasgow. The incident, which saw the “Flying Scotsman” make the startling claim that he “deliberately lost” a match on home soil, remains one of the sport’s most controversial and talked-about chapters. It serves as a stark reminder of the intense pressure players face, not just from their opponents, but from the very crowds that fuel the sport’s electric atmosphere.
The controversy centers on a chaotic night during the 2011 Premier League season. Anderson, a beloved figure in Scottish sport, was playing on home turf in Glasgow, a venue known for its raucous and passionate support. His opponent was Adrian Lewis, the reigning World Champion at the time and a close friend of Anderson’s off the oche. What should have been a celebration of top-tier darts quickly descended into ugliness as the partisan crowd turned their hostility toward the English visitor.
From the moment Lewis stepped into the arena, the atmosphere was poisonous. The jeers were deafening, but the behavior soon escalated beyond vocal disapproval. In a shocking display of unsporting conduct, “Jackpot” was pelted with objects from the stands. Beer was thrown during his walk-on, and as the match progressed, coins began to rain down on the stage while he attempted to throw.
Anderson, typically the beneficiary of the Scottish crowd’s energy, was visibly appalled by the treatment of his rival. The situation reached a boiling point when Lewis, needing 68 to win the first leg, was forced to step back and gesture to the referee that missiles were landing near his feet. Anderson, furious at the disruption, was seen stopping mid-throw to pick up a coin from the floor, pocketing it and shouting angry words at his own supporters in a desperate bid to quell the abuse.
Years later, in a candid interview that sent shockwaves through the sporting world, Anderson addressed the match with blunt honesty. When asked if he had intentionally handed the game to Lewis, his response was unequivocal.
“Yes,” Anderson admitted. “I didn’t want to win a game where that happened. I thought it was a disgrace.”
The Scotsman explained that the hostility leveled at Lewis had stripped him of any desire to claim victory. “It was bad that night,” he recalled. “I’m a proud Scotsman, but when that happened, it sickened me. Aidy is a good friend of mine. It was terrible.”
Anderson’s game collapsed as the match wore on. After taking an early 3-0 lead, he lost eight consecutive legs, eventually falling 8-3 to Lewis. At the time, onlookers assumed the pressure or the distraction had simply gotten the better of him. However, his later comments suggested a moral decision had overridden his competitive instinct. “If I’m going to play a game, I’m going to play it right,” he stated. “With them doing that, Aidy couldn’t play with that going on.”
The admission of “deliberately losing” naturally sparked a frenzy regarding the integrity of the sport. Anderson subsequently clarified his comments to ensure they were not undoubtedly interpreted as match-fixing, but rather as a total psychological shutdown caused by his disgust at the situation. He took to social media to explain that while he would “never intentionally lose a match,” the shame he felt that night destroyed his motivation.
“That night I thought the crowd behavior was so disgraceful I lost all my motivation to win and was completely unable to concentrate,” Anderson later clarified. “It wasn’t a question of not wanting to win, I just found myself without the ability to do so because I felt so ashamed of what was happening I could not focus at all on playing.”
The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) acknowledged the nuance of the situation, expressing confidence in Anderson’s integrity and noting that a “slip in an interview” should not undermine his career.
Ultimately, the match stands as a testament to the bond between the two darting legends. Despite the coins, the beer, and the vitriol, Lewis secured the win, but it was Anderson’s reaction that defined the night. In a sport where mental fortitude is everything, the “Flying Scotsman” proved that honor and respect for a rival could sometimes outweigh the hunger for a win, even if it meant turning his back on a victory that his own fans were trying to hand him.
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