Gary Anderson has admitted that he is aiming to continue playing for long enough to have the chance to come up against his son Tai. The 55-year-old has his eyes set on five years time, when his son will be 16, and he’s 60. 

Anderson booked his place in the third round of the PDC World Championships on Tuesday, coming out as 3-1 winner over Connor Scutt. He will take on 19th seed Jermaine Wattimena on Sunday, 29 December. Following the game, Anderson outline how his son’s interest in the game is spurring him on.

He said: “I do like playing darts.“Tai’s playing now, so I need to show a bit more interest and kick him up the backside and get him a bit better.”

Anderson then hinted about his ambition to keep on playing. “If Tai’s good enough to play on that stage when he’s 16, I’ll be 60, so we’ll try to do it,” he said. “I just want to give him such a hammering on that stage.”

He added: “We came up on Saturday, so me and Tai have been in the room for the last three days, and he’s been dragging me out for a throw, playing 1 2 1.

“He’s addicted to it. It’s got me out of the room instead of just sitting there, rocking back and forward on the end of my bed.”

Even before the match against Scutt, Anderson spoke of how Tai is making his way into the sport. “I was having a laugh with Tai. The way wee Tai’s playing now and I do not practise with him. He does it all himself. He puts in his own practice.

“Monday night, he plays in a pub, a tournament. Tuesday, he plays for a pub. Thursday, he plays JDC. Friday, he plays for a pub. And Saturday, Sunday, he plays tournaments and he does it all off his own back.

“We might have an odd game of 121 for about 10 minutes and that’s it, but, I tell you what, if I can keep going to 60, he might be on that stage, I might get a shot at him.

“There is a chance, yeah. If I make 60 and can stand upright, but there is a chance. 

“I mean, the way he’s going, I think he’s about 1,600 points clear at the JDC on the things that they do over the eight or 12 weeks. He’s going alright.”