Gary Anderson secures European Tour return at the Dutch Darts Championship
Gary Anderson ended his seven-year European Tour sabbatical by securing qualification for April’s Dutch Darts Championship.
Anderson’s most recent appearance in a Euro Tour event came at the 2016 European Darts Open in Düsseldorf, and his sole Euro Tour title to date came at the 2014 German Darts Championship.
The two-time World Champion dropped to 22nd in the PDC Order of Merit following the World Championship but has made a promising start to the season, reaching the final of Players Championship Five on Saturday.
The 52-year-old hinted during January’s Masters in Milton Keynes that he could be prepared to return to the European Tour providing there is minimal travel involved.
The Scot initially entered the Tour Card holder qualifier for the German Darts Grand Prix (ET4) last month but was beaten by Andrew Gilding.
On Monday, he came close to securing a place in April’s Austrian Darts Open, but was denied in the final qualifying round by Raymond van Barneveld.
Anderson led 4-2 and landed a sensational 167 checkout to force a deciding leg, but only for Van Barneveld to land a timely 180 and take out 72 to clinch qualification.
However, the Scotsman responded superbly in the ET6 qualifier later in the day, defeating Tony Martinez and Devon Petersen in last-leg deciders to book his place in the Dutch Championship – which takes place in Leeuwarden from April 28-30.
Elsewhere, Daryl Gurney maintained his record as the only player to have qualified for the first six European Tour events of 2023 via the Tour Card Holder qualifiers.
The two-time major champion was joined by Krzysztof Ratajski, Kim Huybrechts, Madars Razma and Jim Williams in coming through both of Monday’s qualifiers.
A resurgent Ian White and young duo Dylan Slevin and Ricardo Pietreczko also sealed a memorable double qualification.
Ten-time major winner James Wade, former Grand Slam champion Jose de Sousa and two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis missed out on both events, while 2021 World Champion Gerwyn Price opted not to compete in Monday’s double-header.
This year’s PDC European Tour features an increased prize fund of £175,000 per event, including £30,000 to the winner.
Austrian Darts Open (ET5) Tour Card Holder Qualifiers
William O’Connor
Ian White
Cameron Menzies
Jim Williams
Maik Kuivenhoven
Bradley Brooks
Ricky Evans
Daryl Gurney
Owen Roelofs
Simon Whitlock
Madars Razma
Dylan Slevin
Ricardo Pietreczko
Nick Kenny
Krzysztof Ratajski
Jeffrey de Zwaan
Chris Dobey
Matt Campbell
Kim Huybrechts
Luke Woodhouse
Raymond van Barneveld
Brendan Dolan
Mickey Mansell
Dutch Darts Championship (ET6) Tour Card Holder Qualifiers
Dylan Slevin
Adam Smith-Neale
Stephen Bunting
Martin Lukeman
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Jim Williams
Gabriel Clemens
Steve Beaton
Ross Smith
Daryl Gurney
Madars Razma
Ian White
Alan Soutar
Ricardo Pietreczko
Krzysztof Ratajski
Graham Hall
Adam Gawlas
Arron Monk
Kim Huybrechts
Gian van Veen
Gary Anderson
Keane Barry
John O’Shea
George Killington
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