Darts star risks fine with incredible act of sportsmanship to rival

Gary Anderson has been praised for his sporting gesture against Callan Rydz at Players Championship 26.

The pair met in the round of 16 in Hildesheim, Germany, with Scottish star Anderson claiming a 6-4 victory over his English opponent.

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What did Gary Anderson do against Callan Rydz?

The scoreline might have been even more comfortable for Anderson, had it not been for an extraordinary act of fair play.

With no crowd in attendance due to the tournament’s floor event format, this means players expect silence when throwing.

This differs to stage competitions, where fans are present.

However, at one point in the match, the quiet was disrupted by a noise from somewhere in the venue.

This came at a key time for Rydz, who left himself on 78 and had a dart at double 20 to win the leg, with the score at 3-3.

But just as the Englishman took aim at double tops, Anderson tried to address the noise.

He shouted at someone: “People are playing darts here, f**k off.”

Rydz then missed his dart at double 20, with Anderson also needing tops to win the leg when he returned to the oche.

Admirably, though, Anderson felt he had unfairly distracted Rydz during his throw and immediately looked to make amends.

So, when the ‘Flying Scotsman’ needed double 20 to win the leg, he deliberately decided to bust his score by hitting the bullseye.

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This gave Rydz another shot at winning the leg, and he wore a stunned expression as he watched Anderson hand him back the advantage.

And the ‘Riot’ made the most of the gesture, as he returned to the oche to hit double 10 and take a 4-3 lead.

What did people make of Anderson’s gesture?

Commentator Dan Dawson explained: “Right, so Gary Anderson’s got annoyed with some noise.

“He’s stepped around the booth to go and tell people to stay quiet. He’s done that while Callan Rydz is throwing. He’s missed the darts.

“He’s [Anderson] come back needing 40, thrown it straight in the bullseye to bust his score first dart, and then Callan Rydz has stepped in to break.”

Fans were left in awe of Anderson’s sportsmanship at a crucial stage in the encounter, and took to social media to praise him.

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A viewer reacted: “Great to see from Gary. A proper show of sportsmanship.”

With Anderson risking a fine for deliberately missing his shot, another commented: “That was absolute class, both the gesture and the fact he just hit the bull so nonchalantly.

“If they fine him it’s a disgrace.”

One more hailed Anderson’s skill and character: “Tells people to shut up, hits bull to bust himself, straight into a 180.”

As mentioned, Anderson’s performance wasn’t affected by his decision to deliberately drop a leg.

He remarkably responded by hitting 180 with his next throw, before winning the next three legs to book his spot in the quarter-finals.

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The Scot then edged past Danny Noppert of the Netherlands with a 6-5 victory, before he was eventually knocked out by another Dutchman, Gian van Veen, suffering a 7-4 semi-final defeat.