Kyle: Take a running jump Gaz
KYLE ANDERSON admits namesake Gary helped keep his World Series of Darts title tilt on track as he struggled being apart from his wife and son.
But the Aussie won’t be talked into accepting any Scottish eating dares to repay him after Gary bottled out of chasing kangaroos Down Under.
Kyle is a headline act in this weekend’s Finals at the Braehead Arena after a second televised nine-darter at the European Championship on Sunday.
He said: “Gary calls me his Aussie cousin and we’ve become great pals. I was in my shell a bit when I first came to the UK but he always spoke to me.
“Being away from my Tara and Charles is unbelievably hard. I’m the happiest man on stage and the unhappiest off it missing my family.
“Thankfully FaceTime is the best invention ever. I FT my wife and son every day and night. Charles had a bit of a strop the other day because he was playing his Xbox when I wanted to talk to him.
“He said, ‘Dad you can’t tell me off or get to me through the phone’.
“I had to tell him Santa wouldn’t come for him but it’s tough trying to discipline your son from 13,000 miles away!
“It’s very hard dealing with being away from the family and Gary has helped me with that as he lived away from his children when on tour.
“When he came out to Perth for the World Series I jokingly told him we needed to go kangaroo hunting and shoot a few to eat. He was having none of that – he said he could not shoot an animal ever. So if he bottled that then there’s no way I’m eating haggis or black pudding when I come to Scotland – absolutely no chance.”
Anderson is relishing his run of form having wondered if he’d get to mix with the elite again.
The Aussie missed the World Championship at Alexandra Palace at the turn of the year amid visa issues but went on to win the World Series event in Auckland in August.
He said: “I was about to stack shelves in my local supermarket to get a wage. Thankfully my manager Mac gave it another go and the visa was rubberstamped.
“Now I’ve won a major and I’m so happy the way I’m progressing.”