Perth Darts Masters: Gary Anderson beats Raymond van Barneveld 11-7 in final
Gary Anderson won his second World Series of Darts title of the season with an 11-7 victory over Raymond van Barneveld in a high-quality Perth Darts Masters final on Sunday.
The Flying Scotsman averaged just under 104 and hit seven 180s during a superb performance which sees him add a further crown to the one he claimed in Dubai back in May, where he sunk world number one Michael van Gerwen.
He hadn't reached any of the following four finals in this globe-trotting series since then in Shanghai, Las Vegas, Auckland and Melbourne but his form in Perth shows he could be hitting top form once again ahead of the remaining months of the season.
Anderson is Sky Bet's 6/1 second favourite behind MVG, who was absent at these last three tournaments due to his partner recently giving birth to their first child, at the World Championship while you can also back the 46-year-old at 9/2 to win next month's Champions League of Darts.
Van Barneveld was aiming to land his first ever World Series crown at the 25th attempt and a first individual PDC title since the 2015 Hong Kong Masters but he can take some heart from a fine run here which consisted of gripping wins over Aussie sensation Corey Cadby and old foe Phil Taylor as well as a terrific comeback against Daryl Gurney in the semi-finals where he had to win the last three legs.
Barney averaged 101.87 against Anderson and hit three 180s while he also brought the fans to their feet with a bullseye finish when taking out 121 as he closed the gap to 7-6 in what was proving to be a closely-fought final until the Scotsman's late burst helped him take four of the next five legs as he lifted the fifth World Series trophy of his career.
Anderson, who had earlier seen off James Wade 11-9 in the semi-finals at the HBF Stadium, also hit the highest checkout of the match with a 136 and was also slightly better on his doubles with a checkout percentage of 36.67% compared to Barney's 33.33%.
Anderson, whose partner Rachel is expecting the birth of their second child next month, told the PDC's website: "It’s great to win here, this is my kind of town, nice and relaxed! It’s been a long three weeks and I just can’t wait to get home and see my son. Raymond is a legend of the game and beating him at any time is fantastic, so to do it in a final is even better.
"There’s some big things coming up in my personal life and on the dart board over the next few months so I can't wait to get going."
Wade had given the two-time world champion a real scare in the last four when fighting back from 4-1 down to draw level at 5-5 while back-to-back finishes from 80 and 96 from the Machine later squared it up at 9-9 before Anderson finally got the job done.
Barney failed to hit a single maximum in his clash with US Darts Masters runner-up Gurney, who also reached the last four at the World Matchplay, but after surviving three missed match darts from the Northern Irishman in the deciding leg, he kept his cool to take out 87 in two.
By Chris Hammer
Perth Darts Masters 2017 results
Friday August 25
First Round (Best of 11 legs)
Michael Smith 6-2 Adam Rowe
Peter Wright 6-2 Rhys Mathewson
Daryl Gurney 6-0 Koha Kokiri
James Wade 6-0 Darren Hayes
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Justin Thompson
Phil Taylor 6-4 Kyle Anderson
Gary Anderson 6-1 Rob Szabo
Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Corey Cadby
Click here for full review
Saturday August 26
Quarter-Finals (Best of 19 legs)
James Wade 10-5 Michael Smith
Gary Anderson 10-5 Simon Whitlock
Phil Taylor 9-10 Raymond van Barneveld
Peter Wright 4-10 Daryl Gurney
Click here for full review
Sunday August 27
Semi-Finals (Best of 21 legs)
Gary Anderson 11-9 James Wade
Raymond van Barneveld 11-10 Daryl Gurney
Final (Best of 21 legs)
Gary Anderson 11-7 Raymond van Barneveld
World Series of Darts: Tournament calendar
Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters (May 24-25) - Gary Anderson
Shanghai Darts Masters (July 13-15) - Michael van Gerwen
US Darts Masters (Last Vegas) - July 14-15 - Michael van Gerwen
Auckland Darts Masters - August 11-13 - Kyle Anderson
Melbourne Darts Masters - August 18-20 - Phil Taylor
Perth Darts Masters - August 25-27 - Gary Anderson
German Darts Masters - October 20-21
World Series Finals (Glasgow) - November 3-5
Click here now for the full PDC tournament calendar for 2017