Gary Anderson's reaction to losing 3-0 to rival who expected to 'get battered' says it all

Gary Anderson showed his enduring class despite being on the wrong end of a heavy defeat at the World Grand Prix.

The Scottish darts hero was dumped out 3-0 following an inspired display from Mike De Decker, who feared he would get “battered” by the two-time world champion before the match. But Anderson had no answer to the Belgian, who booked a place in a TV quarter-final for the first time.

After seeing De Decker nail the match-winning double, Anderson immediately acknowledged a brilliant display by breaking into applause, underlining the respect the Flying Scotsman, 53, still has for the game. Despite beating Damon Heta in the first round, De Decker wasn’t confident going into the last-16 clash after struggling in practice.

He said smiling: “Honestly, I thought he was going to batter me. I was here four hours up front [before the match]. In the first two or three hours I wasn’t hitting a thing. I was thinking, ‘it can only go better from here’. I’m happy it did on stage.”

The world No.36 added: “I’ve always had a problem playing on stage, but this week it seems to be clicking. I did the right things at the right moments. The 120 finish in the second set was massive. I think that decided the game.”

On facing Wade, who beat Gerwyn Price by the same scoreline, De Decker added: “I just want to play well now. I’m not going to look too far ahead, and hopefully I can perform like I did tonight.”

On his victory over fellow former Grand Prix winner Price, Wade said: “I don’t enjoy playing against Gezzy. It’s tough playing against such a good friend. He’s one of the nicest people in darts, alongside Jonny Clayton.

“I was good enough [to get the win] tonight. There were enough opportunities given to me and I took them, so I’m