Darts results: Andrew Gilding stuns Michael van Gerwen in UK Open ...

6 Mar 2023
Andrew Gilding

Andrew Gilding produced one of the biggest surprises in darts history as he stunned Michael van Gerwen 11-10 in the UK Open final to become a major winner at the age of 52.

Goldfinger was a massive 200/1 outsider at the start of the tournament this weekend but he used his Midas touch in Minehead to make a mockery of those odds and earn his biggest ever payday of £110,000 that sees him soar up to 24 in the world.

His previous best outing at a TV event was a run to the UK Open semi-finals in 2015 but apart from that he'd never even gone as far as a quarter-final, while he'd also spent a couple of seasons off the PDC tour after losing his card at the end of 2018.

Gilding eventually won it back at Q School at the start of 2021 and although he's enjoyed two strong seasons to climb up the rankings and qualify for several of the biggest events, he'd yet to win a title of any kind despite reaching three finals away from the cameras.

So when he found himself 8-5 down in a race to 11 against a player who has won 62 televised titles and 148 overall during a legendary career, few would have given him any chance of bouncing back. But he displayed such a cold finger to bring it back to 9-9 before opening leg 20 with a 180 straight after MVG had hit a 170 checkout to move 10-9 ahead.

Gilding held his nerve to force a deciding leg which he pinched on double top to send the 5,000-strong crowd wild.

Andrew Gilding was 200/1 at the start of the UK Open then comes from 8-5 down v MVG to win his first major at the age of 52!

He'd never won a title of any kind before this weekend and only came back on tour in 2021. Could write a film about Goldfinger!pic.twitter.com/BD1c0RzPrh

— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) March 5, 2023

“I can’t believe it,” admitted Gilding, who had lost all six of his previous meetings against Van Gerwen.

“I didn’t expect to win that game. I played steady all weekend, but I didn’t feel like I played particularly brilliant darts.

“The crowd were absolutely amazing. I have been practising more, working hard and it’s paying off. Now I’ve got to win all of these major titles!”

Van Gerwen was understandably hot favourite ahead of the final on his reputation alone but he'd also produced superb darts throughout the tournament to beat Dave Chisnall, Martijn Kleermaker, Luke Humphries, Nathan Aspinall and Dimitri Van den Bergh with a tournament average just shy of 100.

Gilding's route saw him overcome Darren Webster, Ricky Evans, Luke Woodhouse, Brendan Dolan, Martin Schindler and Adam Gawlas before striking gold against the biggest name of all.

He averaged 95.46 compared to MVG's 96.74 and hit seven thumb-raising 180s while his finishing of 40.7% was more clinical than his opponent's 32.3%.

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