Adrian Lewis
Encyclopedia
Adrian Lewis is an English professional darts
player for the Professional Darts Corporation
(PDC) who is the reigning PDC World Darts Champion. He is nicknamed Jackpot, following a visit to a casino whilst competing at the 2005 Las Vegas Desert Classic
when he "won" a $72,000 jackpot but was unable to claim the money as he was under-age by US gaming laws – despite being eligible in the UK. During the early part of his career until 2007, he was a protégé
of multi-world champion Phil Taylor having practised together in their home city Stoke-on-Trent
and made his television
debut in 2004, aged 19 at the UK Open.
he joined the PDC
without ever qualifying or playing in the Lakeside World Championship
.
Lewis reached a semi-final of the regional qualifiers for the UK Open in 2004, which provided his opportunity for a television debut at the 2004 UK Open
in Bolton, where he narrowly lost his last 64 match to Dennis Harbour. His next television appearance came against his mentor Taylor at the 2004 Las Vegas Desert Classic
where he went out 0–2 in the first round. He then went on to win his first match on television at the 2004 World Grand Prix
beating former world champion Richie Burnett
.
He failed to qualify for the 2005 PDC World Championships but back at Bolton for the UK Open he produced one of the rare whitewashes in the tournament history, beating Colin Monk 11–0 before falling to Chris Mason
in the last 16. His World Matchplay debut came in 2005 and reached the quarter-finals before losing to Colin Lloyd
.
. Towards the end of 2005, he matched Phil Taylor by winning both PDC Pro Tour
events during a weekend in Scotland by taking the PDPA Players Championship and the UK Open Scottish Regional titles.
But his biggest breakthrough came in May 2006 when he joined the 15 other PDC players in the top 16 competing against 16 American qualifiers in the World Series of Darts
which was broadcast on ESPN
. Lewis' performance in this tournament has made others refer to him as a major threat in years to come. He beat Lloyd, Denis Ovens
and Priestley before falling in the final to Taylor.
His ranking continued to rise by reaching the later stages of the non-televised PDC Pro Tour
events during 2006 as well as the quarter-finals of the UK Open in 2006 where he beat Wayne Mardle
11–10 in the last 16, before losing to John MaGowan 11–8 in the last eight.
in Blackpool where he beat the incumbent world champion Raymond van Barneveld
16–14 in the quarter finals before losing heavily 7–17 in the semi finals to James Wade
.
At the 2008 European Darts Championship
, Lewis played his first-round match against Hannes Schnier
with three plasters on his non-throwing hand – having attempted to catch a falling glass backstage but shattered in his hand. After winning the match 5–2, Lewis was taken to hospital for checks on two deep cuts. Lewis went on to beat Ovens 9–5 in the 2nd round, before producing arguably the best performance of his career with a 9–2 victory over van Barneveld in the quarter-finals. An 11–7 victory over Manley set up a final with Taylor. Lewis lost 11–5 but his performance in the tournament guaranteed him a place in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts
.
A title drought was ended in September 2009, when he won his first PDC Pro Tour
event in three years at the Austrian Players Championship, where he beat Carlos Rodriguez
6–4 in the final, including a nine dart finish
. He dedicated victory to his one month old daughter. He added another Pro Tour title the following month at the Irish Open Players Championship beating Andy Hamilton in the final by 6 legs to 4.
His form on television also improved during 2009 reaching the quarter finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay and World Grand Prix. During 2010 he also made the last eight of the World Championship, Players Championships and UK Open before reaching his first televised final on Sky Television in the 2010 World Grand Prix
where he beat Phil Taylor for the first time on television in the semi finals but lost to James Wade
in the final. There were further title successes in 2010, when he won Players Championships in Crawley and Germany to bring his overall Pro Tour title tally to seven.
where he faced Gary Anderson
. During the first set of the match, Lewis became the first player to throw a nine dart finish
in a World Championship final. Lewis went on to win the match 7–5 and with it the championship, guaranteeing him a place in the 2011 Premier League. Adrian is now under the management of former World Champion Keith Deller and under his guidance he has appeared in three major finals including the World championship win. He has also risen to his highest ranking of no.2 under Deller
In the 2011 Players Championship Finals Lewis lost 6-4 to Steve Beaton
in the first round.
Lewis signed a one-year sponsorship deal with pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond in January 2011.
He got of to a winning start in the 2011 premier league of darts by beating the 2010 champion Phil Taylor 8-2, only to lose to Taylor 8-3 in their second meeting. Week 4 saw him get his first heavy defeat of the 2011 campaign, losing 8-2 to Mark Webster. He went on to defeat Gary Anderson in Anderson's home country of Scotland after both players were distracted by the crowd. Lewis was being booed and coins were thrown at him but he went on to win the match 8-3 and both players stated their disappointment with the crowd. During his walk on he had beer thrown over him. Lewis proceeded to make it to the final of the 2011 Premier League but lost 10-4 to Gary Anderson after beating Phil Taylor 8-3 in the semi final in the same night.
Lewis was eliminated in the third round of the 2011 U.K. Open by Terry Jenkins, who took a 9-7 match. He lost 17-10 in the semi-finals of the 2011 World Matchplay to James Wade.
He hit another perfect 9 dart leg on the 31st July 2011 at the European Darts Championships against Raymond van Barneveld during their semi- final match which he won 11-10. He played Phil Taylor in the final and lost 8-11.
In the World Grand Prix, he played John Part in his first round match. He lost 2 sets to 1 after leading 1-0 in sets and 2-0 in legs.
6-4 in a hard fought match, he had defeated Ronnie Baxter 6-5 in the semi final.
. Earlier in the tournament he had beaten former world champion Dennis Priestley
and number four seed Roland Scholten
and began to raise prospects of a possible final clash against Taylor before Manley ended his hopes.
In the 2007 PDC World Championship
, he reached the last 16 stage losing 3–4 to Andy Jenkins
. Despite a disappointing result, Sky Sports
invited him into the 2007 Premier League
, the prestigious tournament for eight top PDC players, with their wildcard
selection. Lewis reached the quarter-finals again in 2008
, losing 2–5 to Kevin Painter
and in 2010
when he was whitewashed by Taylor.
Lewis's victory in the 2011 PDC World Championship
came courtesy of victories over Tony Eccles
, Mark Dudbridge
, Robert Thornton
, Vincent van der Voort
and Mark Webster
en route to the final against Gary Anderson. Before that year, only four different players had won the PDC version of the World Championship, and all of them were former winners of the rival British Darts Organisation
's version of the World Championship
. Lewis playing Anderson in the final ensured the streak would be broken, and Lewis's run to the final was also the first time in PDC history that a player had reached the World Championship final having never played full-time on the BDO circuit. In addition, at 25 years old Lewis became the fifth youngest player to win a World Championship, behind Jelle Klaasen
(21 in 2006), Eric Bristow
(22 in 1980), Keith Deller
(23 in 1983), and Mark Webster (24 in 2008), as well as the youngest ever PDC World Champion.
he decided to leave the stage part-way through the match as he alleged Manley had been trying to upset him whilst he was throwing.
At the 2009 World Grand Prix
Lewis was playing Gary Anderson in the second round and during the first set the two players exchanged words after Anderson felt Lewis went into the exclusion zone while Anderson was throwing. Lewis won the match 3–2.
The final of the 2010 World Grand Prix
saw Lewis in an ill-tempered clash which eventually he lost 3–6 to James Wade
. Lewis accused Wade of putting off his throw, by "stamping" on the oche. The pair exchaged a brief handshake, which Wade appeared to look reluctant about. Lewis had also been involved in an incident with Taylor, just 24 hours earlier, during their semi-final match, where Taylor accused Lewis of playing up to the crowd to put him off.
Lewis has also been known to hit 'blind' shots during matches, most notably during 180 attempts. Videos showing him successfully hitting the 180 without looking against Peter Manley
and repeatedly failing to do so against Raymond van Barneveld
are popular on Youtube
.
In Week 6 of the 2011 Premier League Lewis faced off against the Scot Gary Anderson
in front of a rowdy home crowd in Glasgow, where a couple of audience members threw beer at Lewis during his walk-on and proceeded to throw coins at him whilst he was throwing. This, however, seemed to distract Anderson more than Lewis, and despite being 3-0 down, Adrian managed to win the match 8-3.
– the PDC's world ranking system, and is now ranked second after beating Gary Anderson
in the world championship final. He has won £880,000 during his five year career.
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
player for the Professional Darts Corporation
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
(PDC) who is the reigning PDC World Darts Champion. He is nicknamed Jackpot, following a visit to a casino whilst competing at the 2005 Las Vegas Desert Classic
2005 Las Vegas Desert Classic
-1st Round: best of 3 sets best of 5 legs * John Part - Darren Webster 2 - 0* Alan Warriner - Erik Clarys 0 - 2* George Walls - Wes Newton 0 - 2* Kevin Painter - Adrian Lewis 2 - 0* Ronnie Baxter - James Wade 1 - 2* Andy Jenkins - Andy Smith 2 - 0...
when he "won" a $72,000 jackpot but was unable to claim the money as he was under-age by US gaming laws – despite being eligible in the UK. During the early part of his career until 2007, he was a protégé
Mentorship
Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....
of multi-world champion Phil Taylor having practised together in their home city Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
and made his television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
debut in 2004, aged 19 at the UK Open.
Early career
Lewis had shown his potential at the age of 18 by winning the 2003 British Teenage Open and after competing at the 2003 Winmau World MastersWinmau World Masters
The Winmau World Masters is one of the longest running and most prestigious professional darts tournaments, which began in 1974 - even before the current World Professional Championship...
he joined the PDC
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
without ever qualifying or playing in the Lakeside World Championship
BDO World Darts Championship
The BDO World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the British Darts Organisation . It began in 1978, and was the only world championship tournament until 1994...
.
Lewis reached a semi-final of the regional qualifiers for the UK Open in 2004, which provided his opportunity for a television debut at the 2004 UK Open
2004 UK Open Darts
The 2004 Budweiser UK Open was the second time the Professional Darts Corporation held the tournament which had quickly earned the nickname the "FA Cup of Darts". It was held at Bolton Wanderer's Reebok Stadium between 4 and 6 June 2004. Budweiser became the tournament's first title sponsor...
in Bolton, where he narrowly lost his last 64 match to Dennis Harbour. His next television appearance came against his mentor Taylor at the 2004 Las Vegas Desert Classic
2004 Las Vegas Desert Classic
The 2004 Las Vegas Desert Classic, promoted at the time as the Las Vegas Desert Classic III, was the third year that the Professional Darts Corporation held a major darts tournament in the United States. It was held between 30 June and July 4, 2004....
where he went out 0–2 in the first round. He then went on to win his first match on television at the 2004 World Grand Prix
2004 World Grand Prix Darts
-Results:...
beating former world champion Richie Burnett
Richie Burnett
Richie Burnett is a Welsh darts player who was the 1995 Embassy World Darts Champion and currently plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. His nickname is The Prince of Wales.-BDO career:...
.
He failed to qualify for the 2005 PDC World Championships but back at Bolton for the UK Open he produced one of the rare whitewashes in the tournament history, beating Colin Monk 11–0 before falling to Chris Mason
Chris Mason (darts player)
Christopher John Mason is an English darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Mace the Ace for his matches.- BDO and first PDC spell :...
in the last 16. His World Matchplay debut came in 2005 and reached the quarter-finals before losing to Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd , nicknamed Jaws, is an English professional darts player on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit. He is a former world number one ranked player and he has won two major television titles in the PDC - the 2004 World Grand Prix and 2005 World Matchplay...
.
Major Breakthrough
During 2005, Lewis began to produce some promising results including a run to the quarter-finals of the 2005 World Matchplay2005 World Matchplay Darts
The 2005 Stan James World Matchplay was the 12th staging of the major darts tournament by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was held at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool between July 24 and July 30, 2005....
. Towards the end of 2005, he matched Phil Taylor by winning both PDC Pro Tour
PDC Pro Tour
The PDC Pro Tour is a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . They comprise Professional Dart Players Association Players Championships and UK Open Regional Finals.-Players Championships:...
events during a weekend in Scotland by taking the PDPA Players Championship and the UK Open Scottish Regional titles.
But his biggest breakthrough came in May 2006 when he joined the 15 other PDC players in the top 16 competing against 16 American qualifiers in the World Series of Darts
World Series of Darts
The World Series of Darts was a Professional Darts Corporation event which was introduced in 2006. The event was not a ratings success in the United States and the PDC decided to replace it with another new tournament, the US Open for 2007....
which was broadcast on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
. Lewis' performance in this tournament has made others refer to him as a major threat in years to come. He beat Lloyd, Denis Ovens
Denis Ovens
Denis Ovens is an English darts player currently ranked number 29 in the PDC Order of Merit. He is nicknamed The Heat and is now based in Stevenage. Ovens is widely regarded as one of the most consistent players in the circuit, though he has as yet failed to convert his form from the circuit to...
and Priestley before falling in the final to Taylor.
His ranking continued to rise by reaching the later stages of the non-televised PDC Pro Tour
PDC Pro Tour
The PDC Pro Tour is a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . They comprise Professional Dart Players Association Players Championships and UK Open Regional Finals.-Players Championships:...
events during 2006 as well as the quarter-finals of the UK Open in 2006 where he beat Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle is a darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, and former player in the BDO. He now lives in Romford...
11–10 in the last 16, before losing to John MaGowan 11–8 in the last eight.
2007–2010
Between 2007 and 2010, Lewis produced inconsistent form and was often unable to follow up on big wins such as the 2007 World Matchplay2007 World Matchplay Darts
The 2007 Stan James World Matchplay was the 14th annual staging of a professional darts tournament by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was held at its traditional home, the Winter Gardens, Blackpool between July 22 and July 29...
in Blackpool where he beat the incumbent world champion Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...
16–14 in the quarter finals before losing heavily 7–17 in the semi finals to James Wade
James Wade
James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...
.
At the 2008 European Darts Championship
2008 European Championship Darts
The 2008 European Championship was the inaugural edition of the PDC tournament, the European Championship, which allowed the top European players to compete against the highest ranked players from the PDC Order of Merit...
, Lewis played his first-round match against Hannes Schnier
Hannes Schnier
Johann "Hannes" Schnier is an Austrian darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events.In June 2006, Schnier won the Austrian National Championship, beating Dietmar Burger in the final...
with three plasters on his non-throwing hand – having attempted to catch a falling glass backstage but shattered in his hand. After winning the match 5–2, Lewis was taken to hospital for checks on two deep cuts. Lewis went on to beat Ovens 9–5 in the 2nd round, before producing arguably the best performance of his career with a 9–2 victory over van Barneveld in the quarter-finals. An 11–7 victory over Manley set up a final with Taylor. Lewis lost 11–5 but his performance in the tournament guaranteed him a place in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts
2008 Grand Slam of Darts
The 2008 Grand Slam of Darts was the second staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 15–23 November 2008 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall...
.
A title drought was ended in September 2009, when he won his first PDC Pro Tour
PDC Pro Tour
The PDC Pro Tour is a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . They comprise Professional Dart Players Association Players Championships and UK Open Regional Finals.-Players Championships:...
event in three years at the Austrian Players Championship, where he beat Carlos Rodriguez
Carlos Rodriguez (darts player)
Carlos José Rodríguez Sequera is a Spanish professional darts player, playing in Professional Darts Corporation events.-Darts career:...
6–4 in the final, including a nine dart finish
Nine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
. He dedicated victory to his one month old daughter. He added another Pro Tour title the following month at the Irish Open Players Championship beating Andy Hamilton in the final by 6 legs to 4.
His form on television also improved during 2009 reaching the quarter finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay and World Grand Prix. During 2010 he also made the last eight of the World Championship, Players Championships and UK Open before reaching his first televised final on Sky Television in the 2010 World Grand Prix
2010 World Grand Prix Darts
The 2010 Bodog.com World Grand Prix was the thirteenth staging of the World Grand Prix. It was played from 4 October to 10 October.James Wade won his second World Grand Prix title, defeating Adrian Lewis in the final. Defending champion Phil Taylor was aiming to win his tenth World Grand Prix, but...
where he beat Phil Taylor for the first time on television in the semi finals but lost to James Wade
James Wade
James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...
in the final. There were further title successes in 2010, when he won Players Championships in Crawley and Germany to bring his overall Pro Tour title tally to seven.
2011–present
Lewis reached the final of the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship2011 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2011 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 18th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation.Phil Taylor was the defending champion, having won the 2010 tournament...
where he faced Gary Anderson
Gary Anderson (darts player)
Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player from Eyemouth, Scottish Borders, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation, and a former BDO and WDF world number one. His nickname is The Flying Scotsman...
. During the first set of the match, Lewis became the first player to throw a nine dart finish
Nine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
in a World Championship final. Lewis went on to win the match 7–5 and with it the championship, guaranteeing him a place in the 2011 Premier League. Adrian is now under the management of former World Champion Keith Deller and under his guidance he has appeared in three major finals including the World championship win. He has also risen to his highest ranking of no.2 under Deller
In the 2011 Players Championship Finals Lewis lost 6-4 to Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation...
in the first round.
Lewis signed a one-year sponsorship deal with pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond in January 2011.
He got of to a winning start in the 2011 premier league of darts by beating the 2010 champion Phil Taylor 8-2, only to lose to Taylor 8-3 in their second meeting. Week 4 saw him get his first heavy defeat of the 2011 campaign, losing 8-2 to Mark Webster. He went on to defeat Gary Anderson in Anderson's home country of Scotland after both players were distracted by the crowd. Lewis was being booed and coins were thrown at him but he went on to win the match 8-3 and both players stated their disappointment with the crowd. During his walk on he had beer thrown over him. Lewis proceeded to make it to the final of the 2011 Premier League but lost 10-4 to Gary Anderson after beating Phil Taylor 8-3 in the semi final in the same night.
Lewis was eliminated in the third round of the 2011 U.K. Open by Terry Jenkins, who took a 9-7 match. He lost 17-10 in the semi-finals of the 2011 World Matchplay to James Wade.
He hit another perfect 9 dart leg on the 31st July 2011 at the European Darts Championships against Raymond van Barneveld during their semi- final match which he won 11-10. He played Phil Taylor in the final and lost 8-11.
In the World Grand Prix, he played John Part in his first round match. He lost 2 sets to 1 after leading 1-0 in sets and 2-0 in legs.
Players Championships 2011
He reached the final of the first players championship in Derby and was defeated 6-2 by Jamie Caven. In the Crawley Players Championship he was defeated in the final by Paul NicholsonPaul Nicholson (darts player)
Paul Nicholson is a British born darts player, who holds Australian nationality. He aims to project the image of the 'bad boy of darts'- 2008-2009 :...
6-4 in a hard fought match, he had defeated Ronnie Baxter 6-5 in the semi final.
World Championship performances
Although Lewis had made his televised debut in 2004, he didn't make his PDC World Championship debut until 2006 when he went on to reach the quarter finals and lost a controversial match 3–5 to Peter ManleyPeter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
. Earlier in the tournament he had beaten former world champion Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...
and number four seed Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten is a Dutch professional darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly for the British Darts Organisation. He is nicknamed Tripod or The Flying Dutchman and uses Hey Ya by Outkast as his walk-on. He is currently ranked 45th in the PDC...
and began to raise prospects of a possible final clash against Taylor before Manley ended his hopes.
In the 2007 PDC World Championship
2007 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2007 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship was the 14th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The tournament began on Monday 18 December 2006 and the final was played on Monday 1 January 2007...
, he reached the last 16 stage losing 3–4 to Andy Jenkins
Andy Jenkins
Andy Jenkins is an English darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. Jenkins had trials for Southampton Football Club while at school.-BDO career:...
. Despite a disappointing result, Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
invited him into the 2007 Premier League
2007 Premier League Darts
The 2007 Holsten Premier League was a major darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . The prize money for the 2007 event increased by almost £100,000 compared to 2006. The overall fund was £265,000 with the eventual winner taking home £75,000...
, the prestigious tournament for eight top PDC players, with their wildcard
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
selection. Lewis reached the quarter-finals again in 2008
2008 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2008 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship, sponsored by Ladbrokes, was the 15th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation...
, losing 2–5 to Kevin Painter
Kevin Painter
Kevin Painter is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, where he is known as "The Artist"...
and in 2010
2010 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2010 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 17th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation....
when he was whitewashed by Taylor.
Lewis's victory in the 2011 PDC World Championship
2011 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2011 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 18th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation.Phil Taylor was the defending champion, having won the 2010 tournament...
came courtesy of victories over Tony Eccles
Tony Eccles
Tony Eccles is a Winmau sponsored darts player currently residing in Hartlepool. He uses the nickname The Viper.-BDO career:...
, Mark Dudbridge
Mark Dudbridge
Mark Daniel Dudbridge is an English professional darts player.-Darts career:He started playing in his very early teens, citing Dennis Priestley as one of his heroes...
, Robert Thornton
Robert Thornton (darts player)
Robert Thornton is a Scottish darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events after his switch from the BDO in May 2008. He won the prestigious Winmau World Masters in November 2007.-BDO career:...
, Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort is a professional darts player.-Playing style:Vincent is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world...
and Mark Webster
Mark Webster (darts player)
Mark Webster is a left-handed Welsh darts player who lives in Denbigh. Known as Webby, he plays in Professional Darts Corporation events, having previously won the 2008 BDO World Championship. Mark became a full time professional in 2009, having previously been a fully qualified Gas registered...
en route to the final against Gary Anderson. Before that year, only four different players had won the PDC version of the World Championship, and all of them were former winners of the rival British Darts Organisation
British Darts Organisation
The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....
's version of the World Championship
BDO World Darts Championship
The BDO World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the British Darts Organisation . It began in 1978, and was the only world championship tournament until 1994...
. Lewis playing Anderson in the final ensured the streak would be broken, and Lewis's run to the final was also the first time in PDC history that a player had reached the World Championship final having never played full-time on the BDO circuit. In addition, at 25 years old Lewis became the fifth youngest player to win a World Championship, behind Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship. His nickname is The Matador. He lives in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands...
(21 in 2006), Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
(22 in 1980), Keith Deller
Keith Deller
Keith Deller is an English darts player, who won the Embassy World Professional Darts Championship in 1983. He was the first qualifier ever to win the championship and remains one of the youngest champions in history...
(23 in 1983), and Mark Webster (24 in 2008), as well as the youngest ever PDC World Champion.
World Championship Results
- 2006: Quarter-Finals (lost to Peter ManleyPeter ManleyPeter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
3–5) - 2007: Third Round (lost to Andy JenkinsAndy JenkinsAndy Jenkins is an English darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. Jenkins had trials for Southampton Football Club while at school.-BDO career:...
3–4) - 2008: Quarter-Finals (lost to Kevin PainterKevin PainterKevin Painter is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, where he is known as "The Artist"...
2–5) - 2009: Second Round (lost to Paul NicholsonPaul Nicholson (darts player)Paul Nicholson is a British born darts player, who holds Australian nationality. He aims to project the image of the 'bad boy of darts'- 2008-2009 :...
3–4) - 2010: Quarter-Finals (lost to Phil Taylor 0–5)
- 2011: Winner (beat Gary AndersonGary Anderson (darts player)Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player from Eyemouth, Scottish Borders, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation, and a former BDO and WDF world number one. His nickname is The Flying Scotsman...
7–5)
Controversies
Lewis has been involved in several controversial matches during his career, including his debut World Championship in 2006. During his quarter final with Peter ManleyPeter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
he decided to leave the stage part-way through the match as he alleged Manley had been trying to upset him whilst he was throwing.
At the 2009 World Grand Prix
2009 World Grand Prix Darts
The 2009 Skybet World Grand Prix was the twelfth instance of the darts tournament held by the Professional Darts Corporation, the World Grand Prix. It was held from October 5 to October 11. It was staged at the Citywest International Event & Convention Centre in Dublin...
Lewis was playing Gary Anderson in the second round and during the first set the two players exchanged words after Anderson felt Lewis went into the exclusion zone while Anderson was throwing. Lewis won the match 3–2.
The final of the 2010 World Grand Prix
2010 World Grand Prix Darts
The 2010 Bodog.com World Grand Prix was the thirteenth staging of the World Grand Prix. It was played from 4 October to 10 October.James Wade won his second World Grand Prix title, defeating Adrian Lewis in the final. Defending champion Phil Taylor was aiming to win his tenth World Grand Prix, but...
saw Lewis in an ill-tempered clash which eventually he lost 3–6 to James Wade
James Wade
James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...
. Lewis accused Wade of putting off his throw, by "stamping" on the oche. The pair exchaged a brief handshake, which Wade appeared to look reluctant about. Lewis had also been involved in an incident with Taylor, just 24 hours earlier, during their semi-final match, where Taylor accused Lewis of playing up to the crowd to put him off.
Lewis has also been known to hit 'blind' shots during matches, most notably during 180 attempts. Videos showing him successfully hitting the 180 without looking against Peter Manley
Peter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
and repeatedly failing to do so against Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...
are popular on Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
In Week 6 of the 2011 Premier League Lewis faced off against the Scot Gary Anderson
Gary Anderson (darts player)
Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player from Eyemouth, Scottish Borders, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation, and a former BDO and WDF world number one. His nickname is The Flying Scotsman...
in front of a rowdy home crowd in Glasgow, where a couple of audience members threw beer at Lewis during his walk-on and proceeded to throw coins at him whilst he was throwing. This, however, seemed to distract Anderson more than Lewis, and despite being 3-0 down, Adrian managed to win the match 8-3.
Ranking and earnings
Lewis has risen to the top two in the PDC Order of MeritPDC order of merit
The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation . Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded for performances in ranking tournaments.-Previous world...
– the PDC's world ranking system, and is now ranked second after beating Gary Anderson
Gary Anderson (darts player)
Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player from Eyemouth, Scottish Borders, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation, and a former BDO and WDF world number one. His nickname is The Flying Scotsman...
in the world championship final. He has won £880,000 during his five year career.