Darts star to finally buy own home aged 52 after surprise £110k UK Open triumph

07 March 2023 , 11:35

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Andrew Gilding won the UK Open (Image: Twitter@https://twitter.com/livedarts)

Andrew 'Goldfinger' Gilding has revealed he is hoping to finally "buy a place of my own" after winning a major darts tournament for the very first time at the age of 52.

Gilding currently lives in a council flat, but is now looking to buy a house after winning the UK Open and banking a whopping £110,000 in prize money. In his first televised final, Gilding stunned darts legend and three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen.

He beat Van Gerwen 11-10 in the final after a last-leg decider, earning life-changing money in the process. "I have been trying to save up to buy a place of my own and this will go a huge way towards that," he said.

"I will keep doing what I am doing, keep plugging away. If I have a target on my back, then hopefully some of them will fear me a bit more. It will probably even things out.

"I will have to win another major now – I don't know which one! I lost my Tour Card once as I was getting a bit lazy.

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"Then I took it more seriously and decided to give it a real good go. I have no idea why I do well at Minehead.

Gilding's triumphed over darts legend Michael van Gerwen and plans to use his £110,000 prize money to buy a house (Twitter@https://twitter.com/CazooUK)

"It's a 300-mile plus drive for me. It shouldn't be a good place for me at all – I should be tired when I get here.

"No disrespect to my opponents but I had a fairly comfortable draw. I didn't play any big names until Michael in the final. I was in the zone throughout."

Gilding entered the UK Open ranked 41st in the world, but his victory has seen him jump up to 25th and means he has now earned a spot at the Grand Slam of Darts for the second time in his career.

Matthew Cooper