Adrian Lewis has spoken candidly about his continued absence from the PDC Tour, revealing that his priority is to enjoy darts again rather than rush back to the competitive grind. In an interview with Oche180, the two-time world champion said he is "putting a bit of work in now and just trying to build myself back up again, doing a lot of exhibitions and corporate events, and just enjoying life in general."
Lewis, who walked away from the PDC Tour in 2023, admitted his form on the practice board fluctuates. "To be fair, I'm having some really good days, and other times it's not so good. But, like I say, I'm just enjoying each day as it comes, really." One such good day saw him throw a nine-darter using Nathan Aspinall's darts. "Basically, I was probably about three weeks off, and we went on holiday for a week. I came back and my dad had left his darts in my dartboard, so I thought, 'What the hell?' I'm so glad he got them. I think I threw a 41, maybe a 45 next, and then I went 180, 180, treble 20, treble 19 and double 12. I couldn't believe it myself, to be honest." He modestly added: "I think it's more luck than judgement, to be fair, but yeah, I just whacked them in."
While he still plays occasionally, Lewis is not a regular viewer of live darts. "I'm not an avid watcher," he said. "I think I'm more of a person who looks at all the results, sees who's doing what and where people's games are at. I just look at it live, really. I don't watch all of it." When he does tune in, Luke Littler is the player who catches his eye. "He's come onto the scene. First off, I'd have to say what a breath of fresh air he's been. I think for him to come in and do what he's done, I don't think there's anybody else in the world who could have done that." Lewis added: "I just think he's been brilliant, hasn't he? Like I say, I can't really speak highly enough of him."
Lewis recalled first meeting Littler through Target before his World Championship success. "I can remember saying to my wife, 'He's got a good arm and shoulders, that lad there.' But obviously, I didn't know to what extent he would go on to achieve what he's done now." He credited Littler's support network: "First off, I think his family as well. I think that's important. I think he's got a good family around him. And now with Gary looking after him as well, he's also been around for years and has got all that experience. He's in great hands. He's playing the best out of anybody. There's nobody even really coming close to him at the minute, which is probably a scary thought considering he's only, what, 19? And I think there's still a lot more to come from him. I really do. I think he can improve."
Reflecting on Littler's World Matchplay triumph in Blackpool, where he averaged 111.04 for the tournament, Lewis placed him among the sport's elite. "He's definitely in the top four, isn't he? Top four or five, yeah, definitely. Probably even higher than that, really. Top three, maybe. Like I say, he just shows how much he's done. His averages and the scoring power he's got are unmatched. But, as you said before, I think you could keep up with him on a consistent basis. There are only really a few players who are keeping up with him on a consistent basis. Everybody else is in and out. They can beat him on the floor, but then when it gets to the biggest stages and the TV events, they fold like deck chairs. I don't know what else to say."
On his own future, Lewis revealed he is leaning against attempting to regain a Tour Card at Q-School in January. "I've fully-fledged the commitment. I think what I want to do at the minute is just build myself back up," he stated. "What I would do, I don't think I'd go back, even if I could go back and get my Tour Card. I don't really want that this time." Instead, he favours the Challenge Tour route: "What I'd rather do is build myself back up, do the Challenge Tour and just work my way back into the competition side of things again first. Just enjoy it. Make sure you enjoy it, because I don't want to get a Tour Card and then, in six months' time, think, 'Oh, I regret my decision.' I want to play on the competition side of things again first, then just see where I fare and where my game's at."
Lewis also detailed the personal reasons behind his 2023 departure. "There were a number of things, really. For one, I needed a break mentally. That was important to me," he said. "As people know, my wife's got an incurable kidney disease, so we were spending a lot of time in hospital. My daughter's got a number of things, including ADHD, autism and high-level needs. Because I was away five or six days a week, I really couldn't be there as much as I wanted to. Sometimes you think, 'What am I doing here?' That was after the battle as well. I thought, 'I need a break,' and then we'd just reset, hit the reset button and push on from there, really." He stood by the decision: "It was a tough decision, but I knew at the time, mentally, that I needed that break. The results, to be fair, had been good. A couple of months before I even stepped away, I'd won a Pro Tour event. That's no easy feat. It wasn't like my form was bad or anything like that."
The 41-year-old also recounted the origin of his 'Jackpot' nickname, which stemmed from a trip to the Desert Classic. "I was over there for the Desert Classic. In those days, I think it was the top 16 who qualified, and then there were 16 qualifiers. You went over there to take your chance to qualify for the Classic. Luckily enough, the two or three—maybe three or four—times I went over there, I was lucky enough to qualify for it. I was with a lad called Steve Baird, an Irish fella. We'd won a bit of money. He'd probably won a bit, and I'd won five or six hundred dollars on roulette and things like that. I never once got asked for ID, even though I was only 20 at the time. I think he might have been playing blackjack or something like that, and I thought, 'I'll just have a quick one on this machine,' because I was going upstairs to get ready for the night."
He continued: "So, I started playing on this machine. The next minute, the machine froze. I was thinking, 'What's going on?' because the lines weren't in the middle; they were going diagonally. Then somebody walked past—it was some kind of cleaner or something—and he said, 'You've won a big jackpot.' The next minute, I knew straight away they were going to ask me for ID. So I said, 'Quick, come here, Steve. Quick, come here.' Anyway, he started packing up his chips and came over. I said, 'Right, I've won this jackpot.' He was like, 'Oh my God, 72?' I said, 'Yeah.' I said, 'I'll tell you what to do. You claim it. I'll have you tapped and I'll sort you a bit of money out of it.'"
However, Lewis never saw any of the $72,000. "So, anyway, going back there, they started threatening me with arrest and all that. What happened was, I waited by the elevators, and then I saw the cashier come over with a few security guards. They started pointing at me, and I thought, 'Oh no,' because I was on CCTV, obviously. Then he asked for my passport, and I gave it to him. They came back and realised I was underage at the time. I was over there with my mother and things like that, and then they were asking where she was because I could get arrested. It was all kicking off."
Lewis also revisited his infamous spat with Peter Manley at the 2006 PDC World Darts Championship, where he stormed off stage. "He'd obviously given me a lot of grief backstage and everything else, like Pete does anyway," Lewis divulged. "But when we were up there, every time I was throwing, I could hear him muttering things and saying stuff. I just got to the point where I thought, 'Why does he keep doing that?' I gave him a couple of dirty looks at first, and then he carried on. I thought, 'Oh, that's it.' I turned around, and we were having a full-on row. I just told him to shut up or take a breather, and then I walked off the stage." Looking back, he admitted: "Yeah, I just walked off. It's embarrassing when you're looking back."
