GARY ANDERSON is the most “outstanding” player on the planet right now according to the oche stats guru.

The Flying Scotsman, despite being a lowly World No.21, would also be a favourite to win the World Championship if the tournament began now.

Christopher Kempf, largely regarded as the oracle of the sport, has been waxing lyrical over the prospects of Ando returning to the winning circle.

Prior to this week’s Players Championships Anderson, 53, had an incredible 82 per cent win record on the ProTour, only behind Luke Littler on 83 per cent while world champ Luke Humphries is delivering 76 per cent.

Kempf said: “Winning 90 per cent of one’s matches on the ProTour is almost impossible – since the European Tour was added to the ProTour calendar in 2012, only two players have done it – Phil Taylor (2012) and Michael van Gerwen (2016).

“Even players with statistics as impressive as Taylor’s or Van Gerwen’s in their prime are unlikely to reach that 90% threshold today.”

Anderson recently won another European Tour tournament for the first time since 2014, beating Ross Smith 8-6 in the final.

Kempf added: “Anderson’s 32-7 ProTour record encompasses five wins against current members of the Premier League, nine wins at the quarter-final stage or later and four 6-0 whitewashes.

“The quality of his defeats are revealing as well – in none of his seven losses has ‘The Flying Scotsman’ been defeated by a margin of more than two legs.

“He continues to perform at the same level which won him two Premier Leagues, two World Championship titles and millions in prize money, but now those same victories are vital in his quest to return to the TV stage.”

The Scot is so far the only player in the 2024 season with an average of 100. Moreover, there is almost no major statistic in which Anderson is not currently in the top ten. Kempf continued: “Maybe the allure of a final world title keeps him motivated. It’s not an unrealistic aspiration for ‘The Flying Scotsman’. If the 2025 World Championship were to begin today, Anderson would arguably be the favourite.

“Having aspirations to achieve such greatness at his age, and the stats and victories which put him on the requisite trajectory to get him there, make Anderson the unexpected, unheralded, most outstanding player of 2024 so far.”

Words by Phil Lanning.