Martin Adams
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| Martin Adams | ||
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| Personal information | ||
| Nickname | Wolfie | |
| Date of birth | June 4, 1956 | |
| Place of birth | Sutton, Surrey,  |
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| Home town | Deeping St James, Lincolnshire, |
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| Darts information | ||
| Playing darts since | 1981 | |
| Darts | Engraved 22 Gram Datadart M3 | |
| Walk-on music | "Hungry Like the Wolf" (Duran Duran) | |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | ||
| BDO | 1982 to present | |
| PDC | 1999 to 2001 | |
| Current World Ranking | 2 (BDO) 6 (WDF) |
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| BDO Grand Slam Events - Best Performances | ||
| World Ch'ship | Winner 2007 | |
| World Masters | Finalist 2006 | |
| World Darts Trophy | Finalist 2004, 2006 | |
| Int. Darts League | Quarter finalist 2006 | |
| PDC Majors - Best Performances | ||
| World Matchplay | Semi Final 2001 | |
| World Grand Prix | Quarter Final 2001 | |
| Other Televised PDC events - Best Performances | ||
| Other Tournament Wins | ||
| Tournament | Years | |
| WDF World Cup Singles
Europe Cup Singles |
1995, 2001 1996 |
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| Other Achievements | ||
| WDF World Cup Champions Team 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003
World Cup Pairs Champion 1995, 2003 |
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Infobox last updated on: October 11, 2007. |
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Martin Adams (born June 4, 1956) is an English international darts player.
He won the 2007 World Championship - his 14th attempt at the title. His is also number four in the BDO world rankings. He plays county darts for Cambridgeshire. Martin lives in Cambridgeshire with his wife Sharon who is a swimming instructor.
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[edit] Darts career
Adams worked for Lloyds Bank, and started his darts career in pubs. He still plays pub darts, currently playing for Rigby's in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire[1]. He turned professional in 1995.
Following the formation of the World Darts Council in 1993, all the players that left the British Darts Organisation were banned from playing county darts leaving England searching for a new team and a new captain. Martin Adams took over the role in 1993 and has remained captain since. He is now the longest reigning England captain ever.
Adams has won many BDO Open events and twice won the WDF World Cup singles, but often missed out on winning the biggest tournaments. He was sometimes the victim of great comebacks and also great collapses himself when he found himself in winning positions.
In the grand slam BDO events, other than the World Championship, Adams has reached three finals. He was beaten 6-4 in the 2004 Bavaria World Darts Trophy final by Raymond van Barneveld and lost the 2006 Bavaria World Darts Trophy final to Phil Taylor 7-2. He also lost to 17-year-old Dutch youngster Michael van Gerwen 7-5 in the 2006 Winmau World Masters final, having led 5-2.
Having made his Lakeside debut in 1994 at the age of 37, Adams failed to progress beyond the semi finals of the World Championship until 2005 when he reached the final at the 12th attempt. He beat Davy Richardson 3-2, John Henderson 3-2, Ted Hankey 5-3 and Simon Whitlock 5-0 before losing 6-2 against Raymond van Barneveld in the final.
Adams reached his second world final in 2007. He was number one seed for the second time in his career and put out Tony O'Shea, Co Stompe, Ted Hankey and Mervyn King in his run to the final where he faced qualifier Phill Nixon. The two oldest players in the tournament (they were both 50 years old) reached the final. Adams stormed into a 6-0 lead, before Nixon produced an incredible comeback to level the match. Just when it looked like Adams was heading for another dramatic defeat, he finally justified why he'd started as strong favourite when he won all three legs in the final set to win through 7-6 and finally claim the World title that he said he had been chasing for 14 years.
In the draw for the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, Adams was again paired with Phill Nixon in the first round. In the match, Adams beat Nixon 3-0. After the game, Adams was clearly emotional in an interview following his victory, citing the memories of the 2007 final as the reason [2] In the second round he came up against Martin Phillips. It was easy pickings for Adams who cruised to a 4-0 victory with Phillips paying the price for many missed doubles. In the quarter finals he played a fiercely fought match against Robert Thornton who he lead at one time 4-2. Thornton fought back to make it 4-4 but Adams eventually took control of his visible nerves to win 5-4. Adams would go on to lose in the semi-finals to number one seed Mark Webster, who went on the win the tournament.
Adams also had a brief run in the rival Professional Darts Corporation between 1999 and 2001. He played in the revived News of the World Darts Championship in 1997, reaching the semi finals, losing to Phil Taylor who won the event. Adams then claimed the Scania Open in 1999, beating Taylor in the final. He played in the 2000 PDC World Matchplay but lost in the first round. He returned to Blackpool a year later in 2001 and reached the semi finals. He beat Mick Manning, Alan Warriner and Dennis Smith before losing the eventual winner Phil Taylor. He then reached the quarter finals of the 2001 World Grand Prix, beating Peter Manley and Alex Roy before losing to John Lowe. Afterwards he never played in a PDC tournament again.
[edit] Professional record
[edit] BDO World Championship record
| Year | Seed | Reached | Opponent | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | unseeded | Quarter Final | Magnus Caris | 2-4 | |
| 1995 | 4 | Semi Final | Raymond van Barneveld | 4-5 | |
| 1996 | 3 | Quarter Final | Steve Beaton | 1-4 | Beaton was eventual winner |
| 1997 | 1 | 1st Round | Roger Carter | 1-3 | |
| 1998 | 4 | 1st Round | Robbie Widdows | 2-3 | |
| 1999 | 3 | Quarter Final | Chris Mason | 4-5 | |
| 2000 | 6 | 1st Round | Steve Coote | 2-3 | |
| 2001 | unseeded | 2nd Round | Ronnie Baxter | 1-3 | |
| 2002 | 2 | Semi Final | Tony David | 4-5 | David was eventual winner |
| 2003 | 4 | 2nd Round | Bob Taylor | 1-3 | |
| 2004 | 6 | 1st Round | Richie Davies | 2-3 | |
| 2005 | 7 | Final | Raymond van Barneveld | 2-6 | Runner Up |
| 2006 | 2 | Semi Final | Raymond van Barneveld | 2-6 | |
| 2007 | 1 | Final | Phill Nixon | 7-6 | Winner |
| 2008 | 4 | Semi Final | Mark Webster | 4-6 | Webster was eventual winner |
[edit] Controversy
Adams sparked controversy in 2007 when he refused to compete in the 2007 Grand Slam of Darts, an event organised by the rival Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Despite fellow BDO players Mark Webster, Phill Nixon, Scott Waites, Gary Anderson, Shaun Greatbatch and Niels De Ruiter taking part Adams turned down his invitation to the event claiming he wanted to stay loyal to the BDO. Critics argued Adams wouldn't have shown any disloyalty to the BDO if he had taken part, unless the BDO were to punish the other BDO players for taking part.
Adams has also declined his invitation to take part in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Wolfie Darts Official Web Site
- Profile on Darts Database
