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'Youngsters are boring, absolutely boring' - Gary Anderson misses camaraderie of Taylor, Painter and Adrian Lewis era

Originally posted on Dartsnews.com | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 12:00 PM ET

Gary Anderson made a winning return to the Winter Gardens stage on Saturday night—but it was his vintage post-match interview including with DartsNews that really caught attention.

He fired shots at the younger generation for sitting there with headphones in instead of having banter, reflected on darting struggles, and shared a nostalgic longing for the days of Ian White, Adrian Lewis, Phil Taylor and Kevin Painter.

“Youngsters are boring. Absolutely boring,” said Anderson after his 10–7 victory. “You talk to them, they’re too busy looking at their phone. They’re sitting on their phones with their bloody earphones in. Don’t talk to you. It’s a completely different life.”

Asked whether the atmosphere backstage is the same as it was in his heyday, Anderson didn’t hesitate to say the sport has changed—and not necessarily for the better.

“I was sitting thinking the other day, having a talk with (Ian) White, (Adrian) Lewis, (Phil) Taylor, (Kevin) Painter, we used to sit and have a cracking laugh. Nowadays, I’d rather sit like this,” he gestured. “Nobody talks to anybody. You don’t have a good laugh, you don’t have a bit of banter. You need to have a laugh. Doesn’t matter what you do in life, on a building site, office, you’ve always got to have a laugh. Nowadays, there’s not much of that going about.”

He conceded that many of today’s pros are more serious and professional but that isn’t always a good thing especially given this is their only profession and it becomes life over just work.

“The youngsters, they’re here to do their job. They’ve realised they’ve got a great chance in life to make a lot of bloody money, buy their first house, then their second house. But they need to calm down and think: right, this is my job. That’s it.”

Gary Anderson	VS	Luke Woodhouse
98.02	Average (3 Darts)	94.11
22	100+ Thrown	12
10	140+ Thrown	5
2	180 Thrown	6
101	Highest Checkout	167
1	Checkout 100+	1
66.7	Checkout percentage	41.7
10 / 15	Checkout	5 / 12

“I'm Fighting… It’s a Struggle, But We're Getting There”

Anderson showed grit and composure on stage, despite some early frustrations. He admitted that for much of the match, things weren’t quite clicking—and he was even switching between two sets of darts mid-game.

“I tried the long darts, they were going sideways. Went back to the short darts, they were going sideways too. So I just went back to the first ones from the start. The last five legs, after 5–5, they went alright.”

He added that bringing both sets of darts up on stage was a necessary precaution. “It’s the only set of long points I’ve got at this moment in time. We’re working on it, but it’s the only set I’ve got. If they snap, I need another set of darts with me.”

Despite a solid performance and a near-98 average, Anderson says life outside darts is limiting how much time he can devote to the game.

“I’m trying. People say, ‘Oh, get on with it,’ but I’m struggling. It’s hard graft, it’s hard work. I’ve got a few things going on in my life, and darts is not at the top. So when I say I don’t practise and everybody does practise, come and live with me. If you want to pay me a lot of money, come and live with me, and I’ll show you how much darts I play.”

“For what I do play, to myself, I’m doing alright. I’m fighting, and it’s a struggle, but we’re getting there.”

Asked what it would mean to win this title again, Anderson didn’t pretend he’s expecting it.

“Hard work! Listen Winter Gardens, Blackpool, it’s Matchplay. It’s one of the best tournaments, second biggest tournament on the circuit. You’ve got the Worlds, Matchplay... Premier League’s kind of a different tournament altogether. But as it goes on, ranking-wise, it’s the next biggest one.”

Darts Going Sideways, Practice Going Great

Anderson gave insight into his mid-match adjustment and frustrations at the second break.

“I’d like to tell you what I said to myself, but I can’t—I’ll get in trouble. Dave’s sitting here, so I definitely can’t say it! The practice board was going so well—upstairs, downstairs—but up on that board, my darts were going in at an angle to the right. And it was really cheesing me off. I went back to the short points, and they were doing the exact same thing, so I just went back."

He’s also been trying 52mm points for the first time. “Somebody showed me them. I went and stuck them in—tried them for one game in Leicester. Simple as that and they gave me a set of darts, try them. I would do it in a tournament, because that’s the best place to try them.”

In practice, he insists the numbers are better than ever. “I was talking last week, and I’m saying the amount of times I’m in 115-plus averages—over the last two years, I’ve probably not done that in the last eight years. When they go, they go well. When they go wrong—trust me—they go wrong.”

Asked if that kind of form could take him all the way: “No. Never that confident. Each game at a time.”

"When I'm done, I'm done": No Seniors Tour for Anderson

Off the board, Anderson’s basing himself out at Ribby Hall with his wife and kids and making the most of time away from the board.

“We went to the zoo. The kids love it. We stay out at Ribby Hall, fantastic. If you’ve got a family, come to Blackpool, stay out there. No, I’m not getting paid for it!”

He still holds the Winter Gardens in high regard, but it’s the Civic in Wolverhampton that holds the crown for him as he yearns too for a return to venues like it.

“There’s venues and there’s venues. To me, the Grand Slam at the Civic Hall is the best tournament ever. But we don’t play there anymore. We go to Ally Pally, it’s got to be the Worlds here, no matter what. The Matchplay at Blackpool, Grand Prix at CityWest in Dublin, they were all sorted for that. But this place, it’s an achievement. The Matchplay as Simple as that.”

Asked if he’ll stick around to watch Ryan Searle later in the evening: “How the hell would I? Nah, I’ll probably hang about and watch Ryan. When we practise, honestly, he’s a classic, classic player. Last week against Humphries, I was practising with him 20 minutes before—he’s muscled, he’s absolutely brilliant. So, like you say, it was a big shock. Wouldn’t be a shock to me if he beats like that.”

And when told Adrian Lewis tipped him as a dark horse to win but said “age might catch him,” Anderson grinned.

“My mates said that a long time ago, it already has! Yeah, it’s getting hard. People think, ‘What’s he on about?’ It’s hard. You get up in the morning, can’t move.”

“People say, ‘Get a decent job’—I work 12 to 16 hours a day at the lakes when I’m not at darts. Cutting trees down, doing the groundwork. If I’m not there, my mate’s doing it. It’s hard graft. They say, go seniors tour—no. Once I’m done, I’m done. I don’t think you’ll see me playing seniors. No, no, no. I’ll take up hockey or golf or something.”

Even mid-match, Anderson made sure to connect with fans during the interval as a new trend has emerged which sees kids get autographs on the walk-ons on their signs.

“It’s the bloody kids, isn’t it? It’s not the adults, it’s the kids. They love darts now. The little ones came along, and it’s done a great thing for darts. All the youngsters are playing now. So if you’ve not got five minutes for kids, to spend time with them and give them a smile, then you shouldn’t be doing the job. They might only be here once, so you might as well give them a bit of your time. It’s not going to kill you.”