March 2015 and Gary Anderson is just coming to terms with his new title: Champion of the World.
It’s slowly sinking in, almost three months after beating Phil Taylor in an epic clash, that he is the master of his art. There are none better.
A lifetime goal accomplished at the age of 44.
He’s back in Dublin, eight weeks into the hectic Premier League schedule and the Scot is honest enough to admit that he’s not driven by the sport anymore.
“If I never win another tournament in my life – so be it, I don’t care, my name’s on the big one,” he declares.
Fast forward 11 months and he has picked up another Betway Premier League title and, of course, held on to his crown, winning what is considered by many to be the greatest ever World Championship back at Alexandra Palace.
He's a double World Champion, but how will @Jackpot180 get on with @Betway’s all-new Flight Map Challenge?https://t.co/uFDgeYMby2
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 17, 2016
It’s too hard to resist asking the famous question, where did it all go wrong?
“I’ve now done it twice so I’m even happier,” Anderson tells RTÉ Sport. “It still feels like I’ve done everything I want to do in darts.
“You kind of get that feeling, which is wrong. But some days, with the travelling and that, you just go, ‘you know what, if I retired now I’d be happy because I’ve done everything'. It’s just been non-stop.
“I think I’ve had about 27 days at home last year. It does catch up on you.”
The PDC schedule is getting busier and busier. It means less time at home but the time spent with his family is what’s most important to the Somerset-based thrower.
“I’ve got a family to get back to and darts is about third on my list," says the Scotsman, who won almost £900,000 in the last two years, candidly.
“I’m a family man. Anyone who tells me that darts comes before anything else, they can disappear. I’ve got young kids and my oldest son stays with me so I want to get back and see them.”
So while the world number two enjoys his job, that’s what it is, a job.
Some rivals, including world number one Michael van Gerwen, seem to eat, drink and sleep on the oche, but Anderson prefers to “stick on the Discovery Channel” when he gets home.
“I never watch darts,” he says, echoing similar sentiments expressed by Barcelona stars Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr about football.
“The baby watches darts. He’s only coming up for two years old. He can do the watching on the telly for me.
“When I’m in the practice room, the earplugs go in. I might watch a bit to see what the score is and how long I’ve got before I play.
“I play my game and then I disappear, back to the hotel and then that’s me until the next night I play. I’m like a hermit; I like to get back and do my own thing.”
Anderson says he occasionally gets to the boxing and enjoys snooker on TV but, typically, doesn't get too excited about a current controversy.
On Ronnie O’Sullivan’s 146 at the Welsh Open earlier this week, Anderson says: “People can do what they want, can’t they?”
Back at the board, the Flying Scotsman, who will look into laser surgery at the end of the Premier League season to improve his eyesight, faces Taylor in the 3Arena tonight.
Last year, the 16-time World Champion failed to win any PDC majors and had personal issues off the stage as well. The Power has found some form at the start of this season and Anderson predicts a battle.
“He will have his off years,” he says of Taylor, who lost to Raymond van Barneveld and beat James Wade in the first two weeks.
“You’ve got to remember Phil has been winning everything for 20 or 30 years. He is allowed to have a year off without winning any titles.
“I’m a big fan of Phil’s. I’m looking forward to playing him. He knows what he’s going to get and I know what I’m going to get so we’ll just get the head down and the best player on the night is going to win.”
It’s round three of the £725,000 tournament but Anderson missed out in Leeds two weeks ago due to flu that he still “cannae seem to shake”, and plays just his second match tonight.
Last week he lost to MVG, recording a 106 average, which the Dutch man outdid with an average of 111 and a 100% checkout rate.
Look at the RIDICULOUS match stats as @MvG180 beat @GaryAnderson180. pic.twitter.com/6KNYOFp1Dx
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 11, 2016
“I was over the moon with the way I played,” beams Anderson. “I had two hours’ practice in nine days before I played Michael. The way it went, I was over the moon.”
It’s a funny old game sometimes and one of the main shocks in last season’s drama was the failure of Van Gerwen to pick up any of the Premier League, World or Grand Prix titles.
He won 18 tournaments but after a quarter-final loss at Ally Pally to compatriot Van Barneveld, said he’d hand them all back for a second World Championship victory.
Can Anderson account for MVG’s inability to carry his normally ruthless form into crunch clashes?
“You can win all the tournaments under the sun but there’s two main ones: the World Championship and the Premier League and he’s not got them.
“Of course, Robert Thornton’s won Dublin in the Grand Prix. I would quite happily pass on all the other wee ones and win one of these three.
“Every day is different. There are days that you play well, there are days that you don’t play well. It’s as simple as that.”
Order of play, 7pm
Peter Wright v James Wade
Dave Chisnall v Michael Smith
Phil Taylor v Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen v Adrian Lewis
Robert Thornton v Raymond van Barneveld
(Note: No Luas service due to strike)
