Andrew Gilding continued his quietly impressive 2026 campaign on Saturday afternoon at the Austrian Darts Open, overcoming Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 to book yet another place in a European Tour Sunday. The performance rather perfectly summed up the strange but effective rhythm Gilding has found this season. One week, the former UK Open champion is producing some of the biggest averages seen anywhere on the ProTour. The next, he is grinding through scrappy battles averaging in the 80s. Then suddenly, another ton-plus display appears from nowhere.
Even Gilding himself seems unsure what version of his game will arrive on any given day. “I mean, I thought I was quite consistent, but I had a huge average on the ProTour recently, then 80 yesterday and then 100 today,” Gilding told Dartsnews.com after defeating Wattimena in Graz. “So, I never really know what I’m going to do.” Against Wattimena, Gilding started strongly and quickly raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to finishes of 24 and 55. Although Wattimena repeatedly fought back into the contest, including levelling at 3-3 after a 110 checkout and a break via double 16, Gilding consistently found another response whenever momentum threatened to shift fully away from him. The Englishman restored his cushion at 4-3, capitalised on missed doubles from Wattimena to move within one leg of victory, and eventually sealed the win with a 46 checkout.
Only days earlier at Players Championship 13, the 54-year-old produced the standout performance of the entire event with a stunning 118.66 average in a 6-0 demolition of Joe Cullen. It was one of the highest averages recorded anywhere on the ProTour this season and underlined the extraordinary ceiling Gilding can still hit at this stage of his career. But asked how he explains jumping from mid-90s averages one day to near perfection the next, Gilding admitted there is not always much logic behind it. “Yeah, it just depends what happens really,” he shrugged. “Those big averages just come every now and again. I mean, I’m no Phil Taylor. I can’t do them back to back.”
Despite his calm and often emotionless demeanour on stage, Gilding also admitted the Austrian crowd had rattled him during Friday’s opening round victory over home favourite Nick Zwittnigg. After revealing on stage that he had needed breathing techniques to settle himself during that match, Gilding was asked whether nerves still regularly affect him this deep into his career. “Not very often now,” he explained. “Just yesterday I felt it because the crowd was behind the home nation player, so that really got the nerves going.” Gilding also clarified that the visible breathing exercises were not something he had specifically trained. “No, not at all,” he said. “That was just because I was under pressure yesterday. I knew I wasn’t playing well, so I just had to try and find my form from somewhere.”
In typical Gilding fashion, the interview also veered into more unusual territory as discussion turned towards his famously oversized platform shoes. For years, the Englishman’s footwear has become something of a cult talking point among darts fans, but Gilding revealed he has now made a practical adjustment. “Nobody’s noticed that I’m not wearing the platforms anymore,” he joked. “I wanted something a little bit easier to take off and put on at airports, so I got some ankle-length ones instead of the platforms.” Whether averaging 80 or 118, changing shoes or calming nerves, one thing remains increasingly consistent for Gilding in 2026: results. And once again, 'Goldfinger' will be back on a Euro Tour Sunday.
