| Adrian Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Adrian Lewis |
| Nickname | Jackpot |
| Born | 21 January 1985 Stoke-on-Trent, England |
| Home town | Stoke-on-Trent England |
| Darts information | |
| Playing darts since | 2003 |
| Darts | 21g Target 'Adrian Lewis' |
| Laterality | Right-handed |
| Walk-on music | Reach Up (Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag) by Perfecto Allstarz |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 2002 - 2003 |
| PDC | 2003 - Present |
| Current world ranking | 2 |
| BDO majors - best performances | |
| World Darts Trophy | Round 2 2007 |
| Int. Darts League | Semi Finalist 2007 |
| PDC premier events - best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Winner (2) 2011, 2012 |
| World Matchplay | Semi Finalist (2) 2007, 2011 |
| World Grand Prix | Runner Up 2010 |
| Grand Slam | Semi Finalist 2011 |
| Premier League | Runner Up 2011 |
| Ch'ship League | Initial groups, Runner-up 2008 |
| Desert Classic | Quarter Finalist (2) 2007, 2009 |
| European Ch'ship | Runner Up (2) 2008, 2011 |
| UK Open | Quarter Finalist 2010 |
| Players Ch'ship Finals | Quarter Finalist 2010 |
| Other tournament wins | |
| Tournament | Years |
| British Teenage Champs Chris de Roo Open Holland |
2002 |
| Updated on 17 February 2008. | |
Adrian Lewis (born 21 January 1985 in Stoke-on-Trent) is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) who is the reigning two time 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.[1] 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.[1]
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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 Masters he joined the PDC without ever qualifying or playing in the Lakeside World Championship.[2]
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.
During 2005, Lewis began to produce some promising results including a run to the quarter-finals of the 2005 World Matchplay. 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.[3]
Lewis made his PDC World Championship debut in 2006, where he reached the quarter-finals by defeating Dave Honey, Dennis Priestley and Roland Scholten[4]. He was involved in, what has become, an infamous match against Peter Manley. When 1-2 down Lewis successfully hit a blind 180, where he turned to face Manley as the last dart was in the air. Manley won the set and then appeared to say something while Lewis was throwing, which caused him to leave the stage. Lewis did return, but went on to lose the match 3-5.[5]
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 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.
Between 2007 and 2010, Lewis produced inconsistent form and was often unable to follow up on big wins such as the 2007 World Matchplay 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.
He lost to Andy Jenkins in the last 16 of the 2007 World Championship, but was selected by Sky Sports as a wildcard for the 2007 Premier League.[6][7] The event is prestigious as it involves the top 7 PDC players and the aforementioned wildcard. Lewis finished seventh in the league, winning five of his fourteen matches.[8]
He reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship for the second time in 2008, but was defeated 2-5 by Kevin Painter.[9] 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.[10] 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.
Lewis was defeated in the second round of the 2009 World Championship, 3-4 by Paul Nicholson but did manage to end his title drought in September.[11] 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, which included 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.
Lewis reached the final of the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship courtesy of victories over Tony Eccles, Mark Dudbridge, Robert Thornton, Vincent van der Voort and Mark Webster en route to the final, where he played Gary Anderson. The match-up ensured that, for the first time, the winner of the PDC World Championship would not have previously succeeded in the rival BDO World Championship. Lewis himself became the only player to have reached the PDC final without playing full-time on the BDO circuit.
During the first set of the match, Lewis became the first player to throw a nine dart finish in a World Championship final.[12] Lewis went on to win the match 7–5 and with it the championship,[12] guaranteeing him a place in the 2011 Premier League. He has also risen to his highest ranking of no.2. 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.
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 off 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.[13] 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.[14]
In the 2011 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.
He reached the final of the first players championship in Derby and was defeated 6-2 by Jamie Caven.[15] In the Crawley Players Championship he was defeated in the final by Paul Nicholson 6-4 in a hard fought match, he had defeated Ronnie Baxter 6-5 in the semi final.[16]
Lewis was 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.
Lewis became the third player, after Eric Bristow and Raymond van Barneveld, to successfully defend their first World Championship title in the 2012 PDC World Championship, by beating Andy Hamilton 7-3 in the Final.[17]
He almost exited the tournament on multiple occasions, beginning with his first round match against Nigel Heydon. He trailed 0-2 and was bitten by a wasp during a break on his non-throwing hand, but nevertheless managed to claw his way back to 2-2. Heydon led 2-1 in the deciding set, but never had a dart for the match as Lewis won four of the last five legs to avoid an early exit.[18] More comfortable victories ensued over Robert Thornton (4-2) and Wayne Jones (4-0), with Lewis seemingly heading for the semi-finals as he led Terry Jenkins 3-0 in the last 8, having only lost 2 legs.[19] However, his opponent stormed back to level the match, before Lewis rediscovered his form to win the last two sets and clinch a 5-3 win. He said after the match that he had "lost his way" during Jenkins' fightback, but was delighted to be in the semi-finals.[20]
His semi-final match with James Wade was hailed as one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Lewis trailed both 2-0 and 5-1, only to win the next 5 sets, including 10 straight legs, to incredibly win 6-5 and finished with a 161 checkout.[21] After the semi-final Lewis stated: "That was the best win of my career, definitely". [22]
The match eventually finished at 12:50am (GMT) and with Lewis required to give a drug test upon its completion, he stated he only got 4 hours sleep after going to bed at 5am.[23] However, Lewis managed to never trail against Hamilton and was a double 12 away from hitting a nine-darter in the final for the second successive year. Lewis clinched victory with his third attempt at the match winning double and said afterwards he believed he could win 10 World Championship titles.[17]
The tournament victory took Lewis' career prize money above the £1 million mark,[3] and confirmed his number two status in the PDC Order of Merit.[24]
Lewis has been involved in several controversial matches during his career, including his debut World Championship in 2006. During his quarter final with Peter Manley 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.[25]
In April 2008, when he was playing in his quarter-final match against Kevin Painter at the Holland Masters, he had an argument with him. This controversy caused him 6 months ban, 4 months suspended, and a fine of 400 pounds.
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.[26]
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.[27] 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.[28]
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.
During the 2012 PDC World Darts Championship, both Lewis and his opponent James Wade left the stage with Lewis trailing 2-0 in sets, after complaining of a 'draft' blowing across the stage. The 25 minute break seemed to provoke the crowd into heckling Lewis for the remainder of the game, Lewis went on to win the match 6-5.[29]
Lewis has risen to the top two in the PDC Order of Merit – the PDC's world ranking system, and has been ranked 2nd since beating Gary Anderson to win his first World Championship final. He has won £1,153,717 during his six year career.[3]
His first daughter, Myla Niamh was born in August 2009.[30] In 2011, within a few days after winning the world championship, he broke up with his girlfriend.[31] He supports his local football team Stoke City.[32]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Phil Taylor |
PDC World Champion 2011 2012 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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