Gary Anderson has ripped into himself and labelled his performance ’embarrassing’ after being knocked out of the World Darts Championship by Brendan Dolan.

The Scotsman was a big favourite but bowed out in a shock 4-3 loss as Dolan’s fairytale run continued and that side of the draw opened up.

In a brutal verdict of his display, Anderson said: “Listen, I was rotten. I was lucky to get a few darts to push it all the way, but it was my own fault. I was lucky to stay in the game. The first two sets my head and arm were not working together. I was miles off, they were sliding out my hand.

“My throw in the practice room was great. Down there [stage] I could not grip my darts, nothing. That’s got me done. I got to 3-2 and I started throwing darts low again. Once they start going low, my head goes.

“All day long I was throwing a nice angle. Up there [on stage], absolutely all over the place. These things happen. That’s got my head going, I don’t know what the heck went on.

“There were some really bad darts, it was embarrassing. Onto next year, new year, new start.”