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Andrew Gilding

English darts player (born 1970) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Andrew Gilding (born 7 December 1970) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "Goldfinger", Gilding won his maiden PDC title at the 2023 UK Open, defeating Michael van Gerwen 11–10 in the final. He also made the semi-finals at the 2015 UK Open and is a two-time World Matchplay quarter-finalist. After finishing as the runner-up at seven ranking events on the PDC Pro Tour, Gilding won his first Pro Tour title at Players Championship 16 in 2026.

Nickname"Goldfinger"
Born (1970-12-07) 7 December 1970 (age 55)
Earsham, Norfolk, England
Playingdartssince1990
Darts25g Cosmo Goldfinger
Quick facts Personal information, Nickname ...
Andrew Gilding
Gilding at the 2025 World Matchplay
Personal information
Nickname"Goldfinger"
Born (1970-12-07) 7 December 1970 (age 55)
Earsham, Norfolk, England
Darts information
Playing darts since1990
Darts25g Cosmo Goldfinger
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Gold" by Spandau Ballet
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO2010–2012
PDC2012–present
(Tour Card: 2012–2018; 2021–)
Current world ranking(PDC) 27 Steady (30 August 2026)[1]
WDF major events – best performances
World MastersLast 16: 2011
PDC premier events – best performances
World ChampionshipLast 32: 2016, 2017, 2025, 2026
World MatchplayQuarter-final: 2024, 2025
World Grand PrixQuarter-final: 2023
UK OpenWinner (1): 2023
Grand SlamLast 16: 2023
European ChampionshipLast 16: 2024
PC FinalsLast 16: 2024, 2025
MastersLast 24: 2024
World Series FinalsLast 32: 2024
Other tournament wins
Gibraltar Open2011

Players Championships (×1)

2026
Close

Career

A former butcher and factory worker, Gilding was a relative latecomer to darts; he started playing in his 30s as part of a pub team.[2] He made his television debut at the 2011 UK Open at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton as a pub qualifier. He defeated Brendan Dolan, Matt Clark and Andy Hamilton 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 defeating Joe Cullen, Scott Rand, Mark Hylton and Simon Whitlock before losing 6–3 to Kevin Painter.[3][4] He headed into 2013 ranked world number 73.[5] Gilding failed to qualify for the 2013 UK Open as he finished 142nd on the Order of Merit, outside of the top 96 who claimed their places.[6] 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 and 2008 BDO World Championship winner Mark Webster before losing 6–2 to five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

2014

Gilding reached his first career PDC final at the second UK Open Qualifier, beating the likes of Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade and Phil Taylor to face reigning BDO World Champion Stephen Bunting. He lost 6–5 in a thrilling final but earned £5,000 which saw him qualify for the UK Open.[10] He entered the tournament in the third round and received a bye as Wes Newton withdrew, before being defeated 9–4 by Kevin Painter.[11] He reached his second PDC final just a month later at the first Players Championship in Barnsley. He defeated Jamie Caven, Jelle Klaasen, Michael Smith, Darren Webster and James Wade before he lost 6–5 to Gary Anderson despite averaging a superb 107.70.[12]

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.[13] He also played in the World Grand Prix for the first time and beat Darren Webster 2–0 (sets) in the first round.[14] 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.[15] At the Players Championship Finals he was beaten 6–3 by Mervyn King in the first round.[16]

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.[17] He made his debut in the event against Robert Thornton and could only win two legs during the match in a 3–0 loss.[18] His good year saw him start 2015 ranked world number 38, an increase of 40 places from 12 month ago.[19] A semi-final defeat in the fourth qualifier saw Gilding enter the UK Open at the third round stage and he whitewashed Kevin Painter 9–0.[20] Further victories over Jelle Klaasen (9–5) and James Wade (9–6) followed as he reached the quarter-finals of a major event for the first time in his career.[21] Gilding faced Austria's Mensur Suljović and beat him 10–8 to set up a semi-final with world number one Michael van Gerwen.[22] 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.[23]

Gilding won his first match at the World Matchplay by holding on from 7–2 ahead of Mervyn King to triumph 10–8.[24] He lost 13–7 to Peter Wright in the second round.[25] Gilding could only win one leg in the first round of the World Grand Prix during a 2–0 set defeat against Simon Whitlock.[26]

2016

After whitewashing Gerwyn Price 3–0 in the first round of the 2016 World Championship, Gilding lost 4–0 to Adrian Lewis picking up just two legs in the process.[27] He was beaten 6–5 by Ryan de Vreede in the second round of the UK Open.[28] Gilding reached the semi-finals of the 10th Players Championship which included a 6–0 thrashing of Jelle Klaasen, but he suffered a 6–0 loss to Dave Chisnall.[29] He qualified for the Players Championship Finals and was edged out 6–5 by Vincent van der Voort.[30]

2017–2021

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.[31] He lost all four sets by three legs to one in the second round against reigning champion Gary Anderson.[32]

In November 2018, Gilding qualified for the 2018 Grand Slam of Darts, where he finished last in his round robin group, after losing to Gerwyn Price and Simon Whitlock, his only win came in the last match against Glen Durrant.[33]

After failing to qualify for the last year's tournament, Gilding secured his spot in the 2018 Players Championship Finals as the 43rd seed. He was eliminated by Gabriel Clemens in the first round.[34]

Gilding did not qualify for 2019 PDC World Darts Championship, fell out of top 64 and lost his Tour card.

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.

Gilding reached the final of the second tournament of the 2020 PDC Challenge Tour.[35][36]

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.[37] Gilding featured in the UK Open for the first time since 2018, and was eliminated in the 3rd round.

2022

Gilding in 2022

Andrew Gilding reached the final of the 2022 Belgian Darts Open losing to Dave Chisnall 6–8 in legs.[38]

2023

At the 2023 UK Open, Gilding reached a first televised final and won his first PDC major title, surviving a match dart to defeat Michael van Gerwen 11–10.[39] The £110,000 received in prize money saw him rise up to 25th in the world having been 41st prior to the weekend.

At the 2023 World Grand Prix, Gilding reached the quarter-finals for the first time. He won his first two games before losing to Michael Smith 3–0.

2024

Gilding entered the second round of the 2024 World Championship as the 20th seed, but lost 3–1 to eventual runner-up Luke Littler.[40] In his defence of the UK Open, he defeated Josh Payne 10–7 in the fourth round but lost 10–1 to Peter Wright in the fifth round.[41] He reached his first World Matchplay quarter-final with wins over Wright and Krzysztof Ratajski.[42][43] He was eliminated in a 16–10 defeat to Michael van Gerwen.[44] At the European Championship, he achieved a surprise 6–4 victory over Littler in the first round.[45][46]

2025–present

Entering the second round of the 2025 World Championship, Gilding defeated Martin Lukeman 3–1, before losing 4–0 to Nathan Aspinall in the third round.[47][48] In May 2025, he reached the final of the European Darts Grand Prix, but suffered an 8–0 defeat to Gary Anderson.[49] He made a second successive appearance in the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay after defeating Dirk van Duijvenbode 11–5.[50] He was beaten 16–14 by eventual champion Luke Littler.[51]

Following a first-round victory over Cam Crabtree,[52] Gilding defeated eighth seed Chris Dobey 3–1 in the second round of the 2026 World Championship.[53] He was beaten 4–1 by Luke Woodhouse in the third round.[54] In February 2026, he reached the final of Players Championship 6, where he lost 8–1 to Gerwyn Price.[55] In his 442nd Pro Tour event, Gilding won his first Pro Tour title at Players Championship 16 by beating Jonny Clayton 8–3 in the final.[56] He reached his third ranking final of the year at Players Championship 18, losing 8–4 to Woodhouse.[57]

Style of play

Gilding took on the nickname "Goldfinger" because he played with a set of Phil Taylor golden darts and partially because of his surname. In a 2023 interview, he said he would like "Goldfinger" by Shirley Bassey to have been his walk-on song, but that copyright issues prevented him from doing so.[58] To this day he still plays with a set of custom gold darts.

After hitting a double or a 180, Gilding is known to frequently do a thumbs up gesture, which has become a signature celebration of his.[59][60][61]

Personal life

Gilding has spoken about experiencing depression from his late teens to his early thirties, and has stated that both his father and grandfather also experienced the condition. He credited involvement in darts and playing guitar in a church band with helping him recover.[62][63]

World Championship results

PDC

Career finals

PDC major finals: 1 (1 title)

More information Legend ...
Legend
UK Open (1–0)
Close
More information Outcome, No. ...
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1]
Winner 1. 2023 UK Open  Michael van Gerwen 11–10 (l)
Close
  1. (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

Performance timeline

Gilding's performance timeline is as follows:[64]

BDO

More information Tournament ...
Tournament2011
BDO Ranked televised events
World Masters 6R
Close

PDC

More information Tournament ...
Tournament2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
PDC Ranked televised events
World Championship Did not qualify 1R 2R 2R Did not qualify 2R 2R 3R 3R
World Masters[nb 1] NH Did not qualify 1R 1R Prel.
UK Open 4R 2R DNQ 4R SF 2R 3R 2R DNQ 3R 2R W 5R 4R 4R
World Matchplay Did not qualify 1R 2R Did not qualify 1R 1R QF QF 1R
World Grand Prix Did not qualify 2R 1R Did not qualify 1R QF DNQ 1R
European Championship Did not qualify 1R 1R 2R DNQ
Grand Slam[nb 2] Did not qualify RR Did not qualify 2R DNQ
Players Championship Finals Did not qualify 1R DNQ 1R DNQ 1R Did not qualify 2R 1R 3R 3R
PDC Non-ranked televised events
World Series Finals Not held Did not qualify 1R DNQ
Career statistics
Year-end ranking (PDC) - 107 80 38 25 33 57 78 123 146 122 41 18 20 33
Close

European Tour

More information Season ...
Season123456789101112131415
2012 Did not qualify GDM
1R
DDM
DNQ
2013 Did not qualify DDM
1R
2014 DNQ GDM
3R
ADO
2R
DNQ EDG
2R
EDT
2R
2015 GDC
DNQ
GDT
1R
GDM
3R
DNQ EDO
1R
Did not qualify
2016 DDM
DNQ
GDM
1R
GDT
DNQ
EDM
1R
Did not qualify
2017 GDC
DNQ
GDM
1R
Did not qualify GDG
1R
DNQ
2018 Did not qualify GDC
2R
DNQ EDT
1R
2019 EDO
DNQ
GDC
2R
DNQ ADO
1R
Did not qualify CDO
3R
Did not qualify
2022 Did not qualify EDO
2R
CDO
DNQ
EDG
3R
DDC
SF
DNQ BDO
F
GDT
DNQ
2023 DNQ IDO
2R
GDG
QF
ADO
3R
DDC
3R
BDO
2R
CDO
3R
EDG
2R
EDM
2R
GDO
QF
HDT
1R
GDC
DNQ
2024 BDO
1R
GDG
1R
IDO
1R
EDG
1R
ADO
2R
BSD
3R
DDC
2R
EDO
1R
GDC
3R
FDT
2R
HDT
2R
SDT
2R
CDO
DNQ
2025 BDO
DNQ
EDT
2R
IDO
3R
GDG
2R
ADO
1R
EDG
F
DDC
1R
EDO
3R
BSD
WD
FDT
1R
CDO
2R
HDT
1R
SDT
1R
GDC
1R
2026 PDO
2R
EDT
1R
BDO
DNQ
GDG
QF
EDG
2R
ADO
QF
IDO
1R
BSD
2R
SDO
QF
EDO
1R
HDT
2R
CDO
FDT
SDT
DDC
Close

Players Championships

More information Season ...
Season12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
2012 ALI
DNP
REA
1R
REA
2R
CRA
3R
CRA
1R
BIR
3R
BIR
1R
CRA
2R
CRA
3R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
DUB
2R
DUB
1R
KIL
2R
KIL
3R
CRA
1R
CRA
2R
BAR
4R
BAR
1R
2013 WIG
2R
WIG
1R
WIG
DNP
CRA
1R
CRA
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
DUB
1R
DUB
SF
KIL
2R
KIL
1R
WIG
1R
WIG
QF
BAR
2R
BAR
3R
2014 BAR
F
BAR
1R
CRA
1R
CRA
2R
WIG
1R
WIG
4R
WIG
1R
WIG
QF
CRA
1R
CRA
4R
COV
1R
COV
1R
CRA
1R
CRA
2R
DUB
QF
DUB
3R
CRA
1R
CRA
4R
COV
3R
COV
2R
2015 BAR
1R
BAR
SF
BAR
3R
BAR
3R
BAR
2R
COV
2R
COV
1R
COV
2R
CRA
2R
CRA
QF
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
WIG
SF
WIG
1R
BAR
3R
BAR
2R
DUB
2R
DUB
1R
COV
3R
COV
2R
2016 BAR
1R
BAR
QF
BAR
3R
BAR
2R
BAR
3R
BAR
3R
BAR
1R
COV
2R
COV
4R
BAR
SF
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
3R
BAR
1R
BAR
3R
BAR
2R
DUB
3R
DUB
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
3R
2017 BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
MIL
3R
MIL
1R
BAR
DNP
WIG
4R
WIG
2R
MIL
2R
MIL
1R
WIG
2R
WIG
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
DUB
QF
DUB
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
2018 BAR
2R
BAR
DNP
BAR
2R
BAR
3R
MIL
1R
MIL
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
3R
WIG
1R
WIG
2R
MIL
DNP
MIL
2R
WIG
1R
WIG
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
4R
BAR
4R
BAR
2R
DUB
SF
DUB
4R
BAR
3R
BAR
2R
2019
[nb 3]
WIG
4R
WIG
1R
Did not participate BAR
1R
BAR
1R
WIG
1R
WIG
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
HIL
2R
HIL
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
DNP
DUB
1R
DUB
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
2020
[nb 3]
DNP WIG
3R
WIG
1R
WIG
DNP
BAR
3R
BAR
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
3R
MIL
2R
MIL
1R
NIE
2R
NIE
1R
NIE
1R
NIE
2R
NIE
2R
Did not participate
2021 BOL
1R
BOL
1R
BOL
1R
BOL
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
2R
MIL
1R
MIL
2R
NIE
2R
NIE
1R
NIE
1R
NIE
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
2R
MIL
2R
MIL
2R
COV
1R
COV
1R
COV
1R
COV
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
4R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
3R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
2022 BAR
1R
BAR
2R
WIG
1R
WIG
2R
BAR
3R
BAR
3R
NIE
DNP
BAR
F
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
2R
BAR
3R
WIG
4R
WIG
2R
NIE
QF
NIE
1R
BAR
QF
BAR
F
BAR
4R
BAR
2R
BAR
2R
BAR
4R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
4R
2023 BAR
1R
BAR
3R
BAR
QF
BAR
3R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
HIL
2R
HIL
1R
WIG
1R
WIG
4R
LEI
2R
LEI
SF
HIL
2R
HIL
QF
LEI
3R
LEI
QF
HIL
QF
HIL
4R
BAR
4R
BAR
1R
BAR
3R
BAR
3R
BAR
2R
BAR
2R
BAR
2R
BAR
4R
BAR
4R
BAR
3R
BAR
2R
BAR
1R
2024 WIG
3R
WIG
2R
LEI
2R
LEI
1R
HIL
1R
HIL
2R
LEI
2R
LEI
QF
HIL
4R
HIL
3R
HIL
2R
HIL
1R
MIL
QF
MIL
1R
MIL
3R
MIL
1R
MIL
2R
MIL
3R
MIL
1R
WIG
3R
WIG
2R
LEI
1R
LEI
3R
WIG
3R
WIG
SF
WIG
1R
WIG
3R
WIG
3R
LEI
3R
LEI
2R
2025 WIG
SF
WIG
2R
ROS
DNP
LEI
2R
LEI
3R
HIL
2R
HIL
3R
LEI
QF
LEI
1R
LEI
2R
LEI
2R
ROS
SF
ROS
2R
HIL
DNP
HIL
1R
LEI
1R
LEI
2R
LEI
SF
LEI
3R
LEI
SF
HIL
1R
HIL
2R
MIL
2R
MIL
1R
HIL
1R
HIL
2R
LEI
1R
LEI
1R
LEI
4R
WIG
DNP
WIG
1R
WIG
3R
2026 HIL
2R
HIL
1R
WIG
2R
WIG
4R
LEI
2R
LEI
F
LEI
1R
LEI
3R
WIG
SF
WIG
1R
MIL
QF
MIL
2R
HIL
QF
HIL
1R
LEI
2R
LEI
W
LEI
4R
LEI
F
MIL
4R
MIL
2R
WIG
3R
WIG
4R
LEI
1R
LEI
3R
HIL
2R
HIL
2R
LEI
LEI
ROS
ROS
ROS
ROS
LEI
LEI
Close
  1. A non-ranked event until 2025
  2. A non-ranked event until 2015
  3. Not a Tour card holder
More information Performance Table Legend ...
Performance Table Legend
W Won the tournament F Finalist SF Semifinalist QF Quarterfinalist #R
RR
Prel.
Lost in # round
Round-robin
Preliminary round
DQ Disqualified
DNQ Did not qualify DNP Did not participate WD Withdrew NH Tournament not held NYF Not yet founded
Close

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