SEVENTEEN years of graft and toil, almost two decades of tantalising but ultimately torturous near misses.
It is more than enough time to dream up a long list of rich rewards should the Holy Grail finally be claimed.
So now that Gary Anderson has reached the promised land, he can live out those dreams and celebrate like he has been planning to for some time - with, ehm, a cup of coffee and some DIY.
Scotland's newest world champion emerged yesterday, the morning after the delight before, with not a hint of bleariness in his eyes. Hemay have been feted from some of the biggest names in sport late into Sunday night and the early hours of Monday but the man himself was tucked up in bed mere hours after his moment of glory.
"I got quite a bit [of sleep] actually. We got back to the hotel at about 1am and it was straight to bed. Feet up, bed, that's me," said Anderson, who even in a business where men who throw tungsten at a red and green slivers for a living, has always been the easiest of the easy-going.
That's not to say he wasn't able to recognise the gravity of Sunday night, his stunning 7-6 defeat of the near-mythical omni-champion of the oche Phil Taylor a defining moment for the 44-year-old from the Borders.
"For the length of time I've played darts and with people doubting me, I was starting to doubt myself," said Anderson yesterday. "I have been doing this for 17 years now. The years are flying by and I did wonder if I would ever get my hands on the trophy. The way I have played this year, I fancied my chances to finally touch the trophy and get my hands on it."
In doing just that, Anderson became the first Scotsman to win the PDC version of a darts world championship. While the late great Jocky Wilson and Les Wallace both claimed the BDO version in decades past - Wilson doing so twice - this was a first Scottish victory in the all-singing, all-dancing Sky Sports and Barry Hearn-produced PDC carnival.
It is not only in glitz and faux-glamour where the PDC dwarfs its older rival but in the numbers too. Sunday's pulsating final peaked with an astonishing 1.64 million TV viewers, a huge jump on the then-record 1.23million who tuned in to the 2013 decider. The prize-money was also at record levels with Anderson taking £250,000 of a total pot of £1.25m home as champion, a moniker which he will gradually become more accustomed to.
"It's taken me time to get used to [being champion] and I am still getting used to it," he said. "I'm going to get the overalls on when I get home and do some DIY. I might treat myself to a coffee with [the prize-money].
"It's going to be a hard year and it all starts again in a few weeks. It will be back to practice boards, not rest for the wicked, and get stuck in for this year."
The return of the premier league season will put Anderson back on a collision course with Taylor. The 16-time world champion has never been to everyone's tastes and his actions on the oche again rubbed many observers up the wrong way on Sunday night.
Those who don't care for The Power tend to herald every defeat as the beginning of the end. And when Taylor does pitch up at the Alexandra Palace next December he will do so with just one world title to his name in the previous five years. Anderson, though, refuses to foresee a future without Taylor at the forefront.
"Phil will be back," he insisted. "I am probably one of the only people that wants to see Phil win another title, I just didn't want him to win last night. He could get another two or three under his belt, he's definitely not finished yet and he's still the most dangerous player on the circuit.
"I get on great with Phil. I have got the utmost respect for him, he's got the game to where it is in this day and age along with Sky and (PDC Chairman) Barry Hearn.
"We have a bit of niggle and banter but that just makes it easier. It is always an honour to be on the same stage with that man, he's one of my biggest heroes so to get one over on him is even better."
Now for that cup of coffee.
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