Unibet World Grand Prix final preview -
Michael van Gerwen vs Gary Anderson
Tonight sees the top two in the world of darts go head to head again as Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson compete to become World Grand Prix champion.
For van Gerwen, it is a chance to right the wrong of last year when he was beaten in the final by Robert Thornton. It is a tournament he has won twice since his sharp rise up the rankings.
As for Anderson, he can build on his back to back World Championships by adding another major to his collection. This is a tournament where The Flying Scotsman hasn’t even reached the final.
Both players have shown flashes of what they can do, but with the high standards they set themselves, they no doubt will still want to improve.
Without a doubt, both players’ best performances came in the semi-finals as Mighty Mike beat Dave Chisnall 4-2 after coming from 2-1 down with some blistering darts that not even a fluent Chizzy could live with.
The Flying Scotsman made a huge statement in his semi-final with the dismantling of Raymond van Barneveld. Barney hadn’t even lost a set going into the game but was beaten 4-1 by the World Number 2.
Past meetings would indicate a close encounter. Anderson even credits his 2014 World Championship defeat to van Gerwen as the turning point in his career.
The last final the two met in was the 2015 Premier League Final when Anderson won 11-7 but the fact this tournament has been kind to van Gerwen since his PDC breakthrough, should make for a stunning encounter.
By Steven Hughes