Andrew Gilding (born 7 December 1970) is an English professional

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, missiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dar ...

player who plays in events of the

Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World ...

(PDC). He made his television debut in 2011. Gilding's best result at a PDC major event was reaching the semi-finals of the

2015 UK Open The 2015 Coral UK Open was a darts tournament staged by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was the thirteenth year of the tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competing in a single eliminati ...

Career

Gilding made his television debut at the

2011 UK Open The 2011 Speedy Hire UK Open was the ninth year of the PDC darts tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion. The tournament was he ...

at the

Reebok Stadium The University of Bolton Stadium is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England. Opening in 1997, it was named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming righ ...

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

as a pub qualifier. He defeated

Brendan Dolan Brendan Gabriel Dolan (born 2 August 1973) is a Northern Irish professional darts player from County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is best known for becoming the first player to hit a ...

, Matt Clark,

Andy Hamilton Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, radio dramatist, novelist and actor. Early life and education Hamilton was born in Fulham, southwest London. He ...

before losing 9–2 to Mark Hylton in the last 32 earning himself £2,000 in the process. Gilding's best result of 2012 was getting to the quarter-finals at the UK Open Qualifier 7 at the NIA Community Hall,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

defeating Joe Cullen, Scott Rand, Mark Hylton and

Simon Whitlock Simon Whitlock (born 3 March 1969) is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments, having also played in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) between 2004 and 2009. He uses the nickname T ...

before losing 6–3 to

Kevin Painter Kevin Painter (born 12 July 1967) is an English retired darts player, known as "The Artist". He is arguably most famous for finishing as the runner-up to Phil Taylor in the 2004 PDC World Championship final, now widely credited as one of the ...

. He headed into 2013 ranked world number 73. Gilding failed to qualify for the

2013 UK Open The 2013 Speedy Services UK Open was a darts tournament staged by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was the eleventh year of the UK Open tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a ...

as he finished 142nd on the Order of Merit, outside of the top 96 who claimed their places. In October, he reached his first semi-final in a PDC ranking event at the tenth Players Championship of the year. Gilding saw off the likes of

Dave Chisnall Dave Chisnall (born 12 September 1980) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He began his career in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and was the runner-up in their World Champions ...

and 2008 BDO World Championship winner Mark Webster before losing 6–2 to five-time world champion

Raymond van Barneveld Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player. Nicknamed Barney, although originally known as The Man, he is one of the most successful darts players in history. Van Barneveld is a five-time World Darts Champ ...

. However, at the end of the year his tour card status expired and Gilding was ranked 78th in the world, outside the top 64 who remain on the tour. He entered Q School in an attempt to regain his place and was successful on the first day by beating Jamie Bain 5–0 in his last match.

2014

Gilding reached his first career PDC final at the second UK Open Qualifier, beating the likes of

James Wade James Martin Wade (born 6 April 1983) is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He became the youngest player to win a major PDC title, when he won the 2007 World Matchplay at the ...

and Phil Taylor to face reigning BDO World Champion

Stephen Bunting Stephen Bunting (born 9 April 1985) is an English professional darts player who competes in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Nicknamed The Bullet, Bunting won the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship and is a twice former Worl ...

. He lost 6–5 in a thrilling final but earned £5,000 which saw him qualify for the

UK Open The Cazoo UK Open is a ranking major darts tournament held annually at the Butlins Minehead Resort by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in England. Often referred to as the "FA Cup of darts", the UK Open replicates the abolition of seedin ...

. He entered the tournament in the third round and received a bye as

Wes Newton Wesley Newton (born 27 August 1977) is an English professional darts player. Darts career Newton's first PDC major was the 2003 UK Open where he lost 8–6 to Mark Thomson in the last 32. He was beaten in the semi-finals of the Eastbourne Op ...

withdrew, before being defeated 9–4 by

. He reached his second PDC final just a month later at the first Players Championship in Barnsley. He defeated

Jamie Caven Jamie Robert Caven (born 10 March 1976) is an English former professional darts player who plays in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. He has won seven events on the PDC Pro Tour, including two in the same weekend in May 2013. Caven was a ...

Jelle Klaasen Jelle Klaasen (born 17 October 1984), nicknamed The Cobra, is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and World Darts Federation (WDF) events. In 2006, he became the youngest darts player to win the ...

, Michael Smith,

Darren Webster Darren Michael Webster (born 10 June 1968) is an English darts player nicknamed Demolition Man. Career Webster won the 2005 Open Oust Nederland, beating Co Stompé in the final. Originally nicknamed The Sniper, Webster reached the quarter-fina ...

and

before he lost 6–5 to Gary Anderson despite averaging a superb 107.70. Gilding's performances on the Pro Tour during 2014 saw him make his debut at the World Matchplay, where he was whitewashed 10–0 by

Adrian Lewis Adrian Lewis (born 21 January 1985) is an English professional darts player currently playing in the PDC. He is a two-time PDC World Darts Champion, winning in 2011 and 2012. He is nicknamed Jackpot, as he won a jackpot gambling in Las Vegas ...

. He also played in the World Grand Prix for the first time and beat

2–0 (sets) in the first round. Gilding faced 11-time winner of the event Phil Taylor in the next round and won the first set, but went on to be defeated 3–1. At the

Players Championship Finals The Players Championship Finals is a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament originally featured the top 32 players from the Players Championship Order of Merit, a separate ranking system that only takes int ...

he was beaten 6–3 by Mervyn King in the first round.

2015

Gilding earned £25,000 on the Pro Tour Order of Merit during 2014 to be the highest non-qualified player for the 2015 World Championship. He made his debut in the event against Robert Thornton and could only win two legs during the match in a 3–0 loss. His good year saw him start 2015 ranked world number 38, an increase of 40 places from 12 month ago. A semi-final defeat in the fourth qualifier saw Gilding enter the

at the third round stage and he whitewashed

9–0. Further victories over

(9–5) and

(9–6) followed as he reached the quarter-finals of a major event for the first time in his career. Gilding faced Austria's

Mensur Suljović Mensur Suljović (Serbian Cyrillic: Менсур Суљовић; born 5 March 1972) is an Austrian professional darts player. He plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, having previously played in the British Darts Organisation (BD ...

and beat him 10–8 to set up a semi-final with world number one

Michael van Gerwen Michael van Gerwen (; born 25 April 1989) is a Dutch professional darts player. He is currently ranked number 3 in the world, having been number 1 from 2014 to 2021. He is also a three-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2014, 2 ...

. Gilding played the match of his career to date as he averaged 108.37, hit 10 180s and a 10 darter, but it wasn't quite enough to progress to the final as his tournament ended with a 10–8 loss. The £17,000 in prize money he earned saw him achieve his year's goal of breaking into the top 32 on the Order of Merit. Gilding won his first match at the World Matchplay by holding on from 7–2 ahead of Mervyn King to triumph 10–8. He lost 13–7 to Peter Wright in the second round. Gilding could only win one leg in the first round of the World Grand Prix during a 2–0 set defeat against

2016

After whitewashing

Gerwyn Price Gerwyn Stephen Price (born 7 March 1985) is a Welsh professional darts player and former professional rugby union and rugby league player. Nicknamed "The Iceman", he competes in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), where he is cu ...

3–0 in the first round of the 2016 World Championship, Gilding lost 4–0 to

picking up just two legs in the process. He was beaten 6–5 by

Ryan de Vreede Ryan de Vreede (born 1 September 1992) is a professional Dutch darts player. He plays in the Professional Darts Corporation events. Career PDC De Vreede's first Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) event was the 2009 German Darts Championship ...

in the second round of the

. Gilding reached the semi-finals of the 10th Players Championship which included a 6–0 thrashing of

, but he suffered a 6–0 loss to

. He qualified for the

and was edged out 6–5 by

Vincent van der Voort Vincent van der Voort (born 18 December 1975) is a Dutch professional darts player on the PDC circuit. As of the 2012 PDC World Darts Championship, his nickname is the "Dutch Destroyer", although he used to go by "Grease Lightning". He is bes ...

2017

Gilding was 2–0 down in sets to John Henderson in the opening round of the 2017 World Championship, but rallied to draw level at 2–2. He survived one match dart from Henderson in the deciding set and it would go to a sudden-death leg. Gilding won the bull to throw first and took out a 75 finish to progress. He lost all four sets by three legs to one in the second round against reigning champion Gary Anderson.

2018

Gilding missed out on

2018 PDC World Darts Championship The 2018 William Hill World Darts Championship was a darts event, held between 14 December 2017 and 1 January 2018 at the Alexandra Palace in London, United Kingdom. It was the 25th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporat ...

and that sent him down the rankings. He was seeded to the second round of 2018 UK Open, but was not able to win a single leg against

Gabriel Clemens Gabriel Clemens (born August 16, 1983) is a German professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Career In 2017, Clemens made the semi-finals of the 2017 World Masters (darts), World Masters, and missed matc ...

, who just gained his Tour card. Throughout the year, Gilding struggled on Players Championship tournaments and he was falling out of top 64. He qualified for two European Tour events - PDC German Darts Championship (and made it to the second round) and PDC European Darts Trophy (where he lost in the first round). In November he qualified for 2018 Grand Slam of Darts, where he finished last in his round robin group, after losing to

and

, his only win came in the last match against

Glen Durrant Glen Durrant (born 24 November 1970), nicknamed "Duzza", is an English former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He previously won the BDO World Darts Championship three times consecutively fr ...

. After failing to qualify for the last year's tournament, Gilding secured his sport on 2018 Players Championship Finals as 43rd seed. Again he was eliminated by Gabriel Clemens in the first round. Despite playing on two major events at the end of the year, Gilding did not qualify for

2019 PDC World Darts Championship The 2019 William Hill World Darts Championship was the 26th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at Alexandra Palace in London from 13 De ...

, fell out of top 64 and lost his Tour card.

2019

Gilding went immediately to UK Q-school trying to get his Tour card back. He made it to last 16 on the third day, but failed in other three tournaments and did not retain the card. He started well on PDC Challenge Tour and after making it to quarterfinals and semifinals he was placed high in the rankings of this tour. That gave him a chance to be a substitute for the first two tournaments of PDPA Players Championship. Gilding made an appearance there and placed in last 16 in the first tournament. Gilding used his chance in European tour qualifications and qualified for three events - PDC German Darts Championship, PDC Austrian Darts Open and PDC Czech Open (where placed in last 16). Despite playing on many PDPA Players Championship tournaments throughout the year and three European Tour events, he was not able to break through into top 64 of PDC Order of Merit nor top 2 of Challenge Tour.

2020

Gilding was not successful in UK Q-school for the second time, his best result was last 32 on the second day. He again started well on PDC Challenge Tour, playing the final on the second tournament. This gave him another chance on PDPA Players Championship and also on PDC Summer Series.

2021

On his third attempt to regain the Tour card, Gilding was successful via Q-school Order of Merit. He placed 2nd overall after consistent results throughout all four days of Final Stage, into which he received automatic spot after finishing in the Top 16 of the 2020 PDC Challenge Tour Order of Merit. Gilding featured in the

for the first time since 2018, and was eliminated in the 3rd round.

World Championship results

PDC

* 2015: First round (lost to Robert Thornton 0–3) * 2016: Second round (lost to

0–4) * 2017: Second round (lost to Gary Anderson 0–4) * 2023: Second round (lost to

1–3)

Performance timeline

PDC European Tour

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilding, Andrew Living people English darts players People from Bungay Professional Darts Corporation current tour card holders 1970 births