Gary Anderson has opened up about his recent absence from the European Tour, citing a frustrating travel experience in Poland as a key factor. Speaking to Online Darts at Somerset County Cricket Club in Taunton, the two-time world champion explained, "I enjoyed it, until I went to Poland and it took us three and a half hours to get through customs. That was it, I lost the plot after that." Anderson expressed his disdain for lengthy queues, stating, "It's hard enough having to travel now, but standing in queues for three and a half hours... I can't do that. If it's another three and a half hours, you won't see me." He contrasted this with his ideal scenario: "We've all got passports, quick look at it, 'on you go, have a good time.'"
Despite limited appearances, Anderson impressed at the World Championship, reaching the latter stages, which he attributed to "just luck, I think, luck of the draw for me." He admitted to being out of practice ahead of his return, saying, "I'm panicking about tonight, I've not even practised yet, and it's been since Poland that I've thrown a dart, so God knows what's going to happen." On the Premier League, which he was not selected for, Anderson confirmed he had no regrets, noting, "At my age now, and with the amount of tournaments that are on... the boys that are doing it are all youngsters, and if they're pulling out of events already, it's a heavy schedule." He did praise Josh Rock, predicting, "He's going to be a top-four player very shortly in the future of darts."
Anderson took a relaxed view of the emerging young talent, including fellow Scot Mitchell Lawrie, joking, "He'd better hurry up, because I'm not going to be hanging about forever." He acknowledged the shift in the sport, saying, "It's going to be your Michael Smiths and your Nathan Aspinalls that are the old boys, with the amount of youngsters coming through." Reflecting on his own status, Anderson quipped, "I'll be classed as a dinosaur." In a lighter moment, he revealed his unusual YouTube habits, stating, "I watch things like old Japanese craftsmen making things out of wood, carvings and that. Or if I need to tie a new fishing knot, that's it."
Looking ahead, Anderson is likely to represent Scotland at the World Cup of Darts alongside Cameron Menzies, remarking, "At this moment in time, yeah, we'll give it a go, babysitting Cameron." He downplayed expectations but highlighted his enduring quality, recalling a recent match: "I was 4–2 down, he was averaging 116, I was on 128, and I still ended up winning 6–4. So it's still there." On Luke Littler's rise, Anderson compared him to legends, saying, "Oh, he's good, isn't he? The way he's winning tournaments, he's racking them up like what Van Gerwen did, like what Taylor was doing." When asked if records could be broken, he replied, "If he wins every year now for the next 14 years, he will." The interview closed with a humorous anecdote about his son Tai, who called Paul Lim a "legend" but told Anderson, "You're just an old man, Dad."
