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Adrian Lewis (born 21 January 1985) is an English professional darts player who formerly competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed " Jackpot", he is a two-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2011 and 2012, and has won two other major televised PDC titles, the European Championship in 2013 and the UK Open in 2014. He is a four-time winner of the PDC World Cup of Darts, having partnered with Phil Taylor as part of the England team.
Lewis has won a total of 26 PDC titles in his career. After withdrawing from multiple PDC events, he announced in April 2023 that he was taking a break from competitive darts, due in part to health issues affecting his wife and daughter.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, Lewis has been described as one of the most naturally talented darts players of all time.
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 7–8 to Dennis Harbour in the last 64. His next television appearance came against his mentor Phil 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, before losing to Gary Welding. His first professional ranking title came in September 2004, when he won the Chris de Roo Open after defeating Colin Lloyd in the final.
He failed to qualify for the 2005 World Championship, but back at Bolton for the 2005 UK Open he produced one of the rare whitewashes in the tournament's history, beating Colin Monk 11–0 before falling 11–8 to Chris Mason in the last 16. In 2005, Lewis took on the nickname "Jackpot" as he won a jackpot gambling in Las Vegas that year, but he was unable to collect the money as he was 20 years old, below the US legal gambling age of 21.
Lewis made his PDC World Championship debut in 2006, reaching the quarter-finals by defeating Dave Honey, Dennis Priestley and Roland Scholten. In the quarter-final Lewis was involved in a now infamous match against Peter Manley. When 2–1 down, Lewis successfully hit a blind 180, turning 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 Lewis to leave the stage. Lewis did return, but went on to lose the match 5–3.
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 6–5, Denis Ovens 9–6 and Priestley 11–1 before falling in the final 13–5 to Taylor. His ranking continued to rise by reaching the latter stages of the non-televised PDC Pro Tour events during 2006 (including winning a Scottish Players Championship) as well as the last 16 of the UK Open, having beaten Wayne Mardle 11–10 in the last 32, before losing to John MaGowan 11–6.
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. Lewis finished seventh in the league, winning five of his fourteen matches. Lewis also advanced to the semi-finals of the International Darts League, but was thrashed 9–1 by Gary Anderson.
He reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship for the second time in 2008, but was defeated 5–2 by Kevin Painter. He fared much better in the Premier League this year by finishing fourth in the table to advance to the play-offs where Taylor comfortably beat him 11–1. 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 which 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 before producing at the time 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. 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 his 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.
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. He had 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.
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.[1] 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 31 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. Darts, Beers and Cheers PDC Darts Fansite and Shop . Pdc-darts.co.uk. Retrieved on 13 August 2013.
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.[3] 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.[4]
Lewis was now under the management of former World Champion Keith Deller and under his guidance he has appeared in several major finals, including his World Championship win.
He almost exited the tournament on multiple occasions, beginning with his first round match against Nigel Heydon. He trailed 0–2 and was stung 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. 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. 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.
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. Lewis completes one of the greatest comebacks of all time Sky Sports News, 2 January 2012 After the semi-final Lewis stated: "That was the best win of my career, definitely". – Lewis hails victory as greatest ever The Guardian, 2 January 2012
The match eventually finished at 12:50am (GMT). 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. The tournament victory took Lewis' career prize money above the £1 million mark, and confirmed his number two status in the PDC Order of Merit. PDC Order of Merit 2012 Planet Darts, 3 January 2012 His semi-final comeback was named PDC Televised Performance of the Year at the PDC annual awards ceremony on 3 January.
Lewis was an automatic entrant for the Premier League due to his Order of Merit ranking. His first game was against Taylor, just four days after their World Cup win. Lewis led the match 6–1, before Taylor came back to draw 7–7. Taylor averaged 112.79 which was until 2015 the highest televised average in a match without actually winning it. Lewis drew his next two matches before succumbing to a heavy 1–8 defeat to Gary Anderson. He had to wait until the 7th game of the season for his first win which came with an 8–3 defeat of Kevin Painter. Lewis went into the final match knowing a victory over Simon Whitlock would guarantee him a place in the play-offs, however he lost 6–8 to finish the season 6th in the table.
Lewis lost in the last 32 of the UK Open 7–9 to Wes Newton, and in the final of the seventh Players Tour Championship of the season, 3–6 to Ronnie Baxter. Lewis entered the World Matchplay knowing that if he could progress further than Phil Taylor he would move to world number one for the first time. He began with a 10–0 whitewash of Robert Thornton and a 13–7 victory over Andy Smith, but was then beaten 12–16 by Terry Jenkins in the quarter-finals to remain second in the world. In September, Lewis won his first individual title since his World Championship win at the fourth European Tour event, the German Darts Masters in Stuttgart. He dropped just three legs in his first three games before beating Tony West 6–3 in the quarter-finals and James Wade 6–1 in the semis to face occasional practice partner Ian White in the final. Lewis won 6–3 to claim his first European Tour title. After losing his opening two games of the Grand Slam of Darts to Tony O'Shea and John Part, Lewis failed to qualify from his group for the fourth time in the six stagings of the tournament. After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Lewis finished 11th on the Order of Merit to qualify for the Players Championship Finals. Lewis had spent 24 hours with his wife Sarah as she went into labour, before travelling to the tournament in Minehead to face Richie Burnett. With Lewis leading 5–3, the pair were involved in a heated argument on stage as Burnett accused him of clicking his darts while he was throwing. Lewis took out 116 in the next leg to take the match, before returning to Stoke where Sarah gave birth to a boy in the early hours of the morning. Lewis once again returned to Minehead to face Taylor on only five hours sleep in 48 hours and lost 7–10.
Lewis retained his World Cup of Darts crown with Phil Taylor in February. They survived two match darts from South Africa in the last 16 and one from Wales in the semi-finals to play the Belgian brothers Ronny Huybrechts and Kim Huybrechts in the final. Lewis lost to Kim 0–4, but beat Ronny 4–2 meaning Taylor could secure the title by defeating Kim and he did so 4–1. Lewis lost his first four games of the 2013 Premier League, but in week five he beat Michael van Gerwen 7–4 to record his first win. He narrowly avoided relegation after week nine, and could only pick up a total of four wins from his 16 games to finish 8th in the table. Lewis reached the quarter-finals of the UK Open for only the second time in his career, but lost 6–10 to Peter Wright.
Lewis won his third major title at the European Championship, his first that wasn't a World Championship. He beat Mensur Suljović in the first round then averaged over 100 in his last four matches, including victory over Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals, maintaining his high standard for 63 successive legs, which culminated in an 11–6 victory over Simon Whitlock in the final. Lewis beat Ronny Huybrechts, Brendan Dolan and Andy Hamilton at the World Matchplay to once again face van Gerwen in the semi-finals of a major event. The match was played at a frenetic pace as the 32 legs took 52 minutes, with Lewis hitting 16 180's and fighting back from 14–15 down to win 17–15. In his first Matchplay final Lewis played Phil Taylor and averaged 105.92 and hit 19 maximums, but Taylor averaged 111.23 to take the match 18–13. In October, Lewis won his first Pro Tour title in over a year at the ninth Players Championship as he came from 3–0 down in the final to beat Brendan Dolan 6–4. Lewis almost pulled out of the inaugural Masters tournament due to a bout of flu before edging past Kim Huybrechts in the first round 6–5 and then thrashing home favourite Robert Thornton 8–2. His semi-final match with Raymond van Barneveld was the best of the event as he took out a 116 finish in the final leg to break throw and win 10–9. However, he only had 15 minutes to prepare for the final against Taylor and, although he averaged 108, he was 5–0 down at the first break. Lewis claimed his first leg of the final to trail 9–1 but the match was over in the next. Lewis overcame Van Gerwen and Kim Huybrechts in the last 16 and quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts to meet Taylor in the semi-finals. What followed was the highest quality darts match ever played as Lewis averaged 110.99 over 25 legs to Taylor's 109.76 in a 16–9 defeat, the highest combined average ever recorded. Lewis was 8–7 up but missed darts at doubles to lose eight successive legs including one where both players had left 160 with Lewis wiring the double top only for Taylor to step in and take it out. The match broke the PDC record for 180's with 32, beating the old record set in the 2007 World Championship final where 31 were made in 32 more legs than this match.
At the UK Open, he began his campaign with a 9–5 win over Ronnie Baxter in the third round, before recovering from 7–3 down to Ronny Huybrechts to progress 9–8. More comfortable wins over Raymond van Barneveld (9–2) and Mensur Suljović (10–3) followed before Lewis beat Mervyn King 10–6 to play Terry Jenkins in the final. Lewis thrashed him 11–1 with an average of 109.13 for his first UK Open title and a fourth major win. He had a strong start to the Premier League with 7–1 and 7–3 victories over Simon Whitlock and Phil Taylor in the opening two matches and was still in the top four after nine weeks of play. However, Lewis then lost four games in a row and went on to finish sixth in the table, to miss out on the play-offs. Lewis and Taylor could not complete a hat-trick of successive World Cup of Darts titles as they met the Netherlands in the final with Taylor losing 4–0 to Van Gerwen and Lewis being beaten 4–0 by Van Barneveld and 4–2 by Van Gerwen meaning the tie was over before Taylor's second singles match.
Lewis was beaten 16–8 by Gary Anderson in the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay. From 2–0 up in sets in the second round of the World Grand Prix he lost 3–2 to Kevin Painter and suffered a 6–4 defeat to Jelle Klaasen in the first round of the European Championship. Lewis' season seemed to be fading dramatically when he lost to youngsters Rowby-John Rodriguez and Keegan Brown at the Grand Slam of Darts which meant he had been eliminated from the competition before his final group game, but he returned to form at the Players Championship Finals. Jamie Caven had one dart at the bull to defeat Lewis in the quarter-finals but missed and Lewis checked out 124 and 123 in successive legs to win 10–9 and then enjoyed a more comfortable 11–6 victory against Wes Newton to play Anderson in the final in an attempt to win more than one major in the same season for the first time. However, from holding a slender 4–3 lead, Lewis lost five successive legs and was defeated 11–6.
Lewis held on from 9–6 ahead of Taylor at the European Championship to edge through 10–9, but was then defeated 11–5 in the semi-finals by Gary Anderson. He also lost in the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam 16–11 against Michael Smith. An 11–1 thrashing of Mensur Suljović at the Players Championship Finals helped Lewis play in his only major final this year, but averaged 89.17 as van Gerwen saw him off 11–6.
Lewis and Taylor won their fourth World Cup crown by overcoming the Netherlands in the final, with Lewis beating Van Gerwen 4–1 in the deciding match. Anderson inflicted an 11–7 defeat on Lewis in the final of the Auckland Darts Masters and he lost 17–9 to Van Gerwen in semi-finals of the World Matchplay. After the match Van Gerwen accused Lewis of trying to slow his game down because he was scared of him. Lewis said he was happy to reach the last four of such an event whilst playing his D-game. His poor form at the World Grand Prix continued as Raymond van Barneveld knocked him out 3–0 in the second round and he also finished bottom of his group at the Grand Slam.
On 2 February 2018 the Darts Regulation Authority ("DRA") released a statement that Lewis would be suspended with immediate effect pending an appeal following an incident with José Justicia in the first UK Open qualifier. On 8 February 2018 Lewis was given a three-month ban suspended for six months after Lewis admitted he broke DRA rules
At the Players Championship Finals he lost in the second round to Peter Wright, in a match mired in controversy after an altercation on stage after the match.
Lewis returned to the winners circle with his first title in 3 years by winning Players Championship 20. At the 2022 World Grand Prix, Lewis beat José de Sousa in the first round before losing to Chris Dobey.
In April 2023, following withdrawals from multiple PDC Pro Tour events, Lewis announced he was taking a break from competing.
Lewis did not attend the PDPA's 2024/25 PDC World Championship TCH Qualifier.
In April 2008, he argued with Kevin Painter during their quarter final match at the Holland Masters. This resulted in a six-month ban for Lewis, (with four months of this ban suspended) and a fine of £400.
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. 2009 Skybet World Grand Prix
During the 2012 PDC World Darts Championship semi-final, both Lewis and his opponent James Wade left the stage with Lewis trailing 2–0 in sets, after complaining of a 'draught' 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. – Lewis Beats wade with drama
In February 2018, Lewis was suspended by the PDC after an altercation following his win over José Justicia at the 2018 UK Open Qualifier 1. Six days later Lewis issued a statement apologising for his actions and announced that he had been fined £3,000 and given a 3-month suspended ban.
Lewis supports his local football team Stoke City.
In 2012, Lewis, together with the other seven players who competed in the Premier League recorded a charity single with Chas Hodges and his band called 'Got My Tickets for the Darts' which was written by Chas. It was released on 18 May, the night after the play-offs at the O2 in London, where it was premiered. Proceeds from the single were donated to the Haven House Children's Hospice.
| World Championship (2–1) |
| World Matchplay (0–1) |
| World Grand Prix (0–1) |
| Premier League (0–1) |
| UK Open (1–0) |
| Masters (0–1) |
| Players Championship Finals (0–2) |
| European Championship (1–2) |
| US Open / World Series of Darts (0–1) |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2006 | World Series of Darts | 5–13 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2008 | European Championship | 5–11 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2010 | World Grand Prix | 3–6 (s) | |
| Winner | 1. | 2011 | World Championship | 7–5 (s) | |
| Runner-up | 4. | 2011 | Premier League | 4–10 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 5. | 2011 | European Championship (2) | 8–11 (l) | |
| Winner | 2. | 2012 | World Championship (2) | 7–3 (s) | |
| Winner | 3. | 2013 | European Championship | 11–6 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 6. | 2013 | World Matchplay | 13–18 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 7. | 2013 | Masters | 1–10 (l) | |
| Winner | 4. | 2014 | UK Open | 11–1 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 8. | 2014 | Players Championship Finals | 6–11 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 9. | 2015 | Players Championship Finals (2) | 6–11 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 10. | 2016 | World Championship | 5–7 (s) |
| World Series of Darts (1–2) |
| Winner | 1. | 2015 | Auckland Darts Masters | 11–10 (l) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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PDC team finals: 5 (4 titles)
Nine-dart finishes
High averages
Performance timeline
PDC Players Championships
External links
Categories: Living People, 1985 Births, English Darts Players, Sportspeople From Stoke-on-trent, Professional Darts Corporation Former Tour Card Holders, Pdc World Darts Champions, World Series Of Darts Winners, Uk Open Champions, European Championship Champions, Darts Players Who Have Thrown Televised Nine-dart Games, Pdc World Cup Of Darts English Championship Team, 21st-century English Sportsmen
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