Gary Anderson is the 2018 UK Open champion (Picture: Chris Dean/PDC)

Gary Anderson wins his first UK Open darts title after beating Australian sensation Corey Cadby 11-7 in the final

Darts

Mon March 05, 2018 · 7y ago

Gary Anderson won the the first UK Open title of his illustrious career after defeating Australian sensation Corey Cadby 11-7 in Sunday's final in Minehead.

The two-time world champion, who has also won a pair of Premier League titles, last reached the final in this tournament back in 2010 but now finally adds this prestigious tournament to his trophy cabinet.

It's a great achievement for Anderson, 47, considering he nearly pulled out of this season's Premier League due to injury but his body held up throughout a hectic weekend at the Butlin's Minehead Resort to take the £70,000 top prize.

Anderson's triumph also ends his growing wait for another big TV title which dates back to when he claimed the second of his two world crowns at the start of 2016. This was his sixth final at the highest level since that glorious night at the Ally Pally so he'll now be confident of picking up a few more.

The Flying Scotsman won't have lifted a trophy in more unusual circumstances, with the event being played behind closed doors all weekend without spectators due to the adverse weather conditions caused by Storm Emma.

An unforgettable weekend will also be remembered for the incredible underdog stories of John Part, David Pallett and Robert Owen as well as the shock exits of Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright on opening night.

Former world youth champion Cadby, who was backed at 28/1 each-way by our darts expert Chris Hammer pre-tournament, was playing in his first major televised ranking final having only turned professional in January after winning hisPDC Tour card at Q School - so to run Anderson this close in just his ninth event since then underlines his rich potential in the sport.

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Anderson had earlier defeated world champion Rob Cross 10-5 in the quarter-finals before overcoming David Pallett 11-7 in the evening's semi-finals but found himself 4-1 down against the confident 22-year-old.

He hit back to lead 5-4 with a four-leg burst of his own, before finishing a key 108 to lead 8-6.

Cadby, who beat Gerwyn Price and Robert Owen earlier in the day, hit back before finishes of 70 and 91 moved Anderson to the brink of a victory which he sealed with a 14-dart leg on double 18.

Anderson said: "It's fantastic for me. I've come here to win the tournament and managed to do it, and it's great. In the last three games I've been lucky - it's been a struggle. Corey is good and I've got a lot of time for him, he's a class act.

"I knew exactly what to expect and he's going to be about for a long, long time. It's getting harder every year with all the youngsters coming through and they'll take it in their stride."

The Tasmania-born Cadby will now return to Melbourne ahead of his wedding to fiancee Breana in a fortnight - on his 23rd birthday - and said: "What a year 2018 has been and I'm looking forward to the rest. I'm only young, I've got a lot to learn and I'm pretty happy to make the final. I'm not happy to be runner up but I'll take it.

"I gave everything but you've got to hit the doubles at crucial times, you can't afford to miss and Gary came through and won."

Scroll down for semi-final round-up and full tournament results

Semi-final round-up

Gary Anderson booked his place in the UK Open final after defeating 1000/1 pre-tournament outsider David Pallett in Minehead.

The Flying Scotsman is bidding to win his first TV major since claiming the second of his two world titles at the start of 2016 and will start as marginal favourite against Corey Cadby, who is appearing in his first big final just weeks after turning progressional.

Anderson was highly-expected to see off the world number 89 but he had to come from 3-1 and 5-3 down before finding another gear to triumph 11-7.

The 47-year-old, who earlier won six legs on the trot to defeat world champion Rob Cross 10-5, hit four 180s, averaged 95.31 and hit 47.83% of his doubles.

Victory tonight would not only be Anderson's first UK Open crown but he would also become only the seventh player to win 10 major darts tournaments behind Phil Taylor (77) Michael van Gerwen (28), Eric Bristow (24), Raymond van Barneveld (21), Trina Gulliver (18) and John Lowe (10) (Stat from Burton DeWitt).

Cadby averaged 100 as he romped to an 11-3 victory over surprise semi-finalist Robert Owen although it could have been a severe whitewash, with the Australian sensation missing a dart to go 10-0 up.

The result was great news for followers of our Chris Hammer's darts tips as he backed the 22-year-old at 28/1 each-way in his pre-tournament preview (Click here to read) so profits are now guaranteed regardless of the final result.

The former world youth champion only earned his PDC Tour card back at Q School in January but he does already have experience of landing a senior title after winning the fifth of the six UK Open Qualifying events.

And although this is unchartered territory for Cadby, who is currently ranked 70 in the world, he's brimming with confidence and victory against Anderson will firmly underline his potential to reach the very top of the game.

Meanwhile the stunning runs of Pallett and Owen, have been one of the success stories of an unforgettable weekend of shocks at Butlin's Minehead resort which will also be remembered for being played behind closed doors without spectators due to the adverse weather conditions caused by Storm Emma.

Pallet, who beat Steve West in his first televised quarter-final earlier on Sunday, hasn't even got a PDC Tour card having failed to earn one at Q School earlier this year but the prize money of £17,500 earned this weekend will see the 28-year-old from Shropshire shoot up the rankings.

Welshman Owen was 400/1 before a dart was thrown on Friday but enjoyed a terrific journey which also saw him end the fairytale run of three-time world champion John Part, who was another 1000/1 outsider like Pallett, in the quarter-finals.