Martin Adams

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Martin Adams
Personal information
Nickname"Wolfie"
Born (1956-06-04) 4 June 1956 (age 65)
Sutton, London, England[1]
Home townDeeping St James, Lincolnshire, England
Darts information
Playing darts since1981
Darts22 Gram Datadart "Martin Adams" M3
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO1988–2020
WDF1988–
Current world ranking(WDF) 8 Increase 5 (13 December 2020)[2]
BDO majors – best performances
World Ch'shipWinner (3) 2007, 2010, 2011
World MastersWinner (3) 2008, 2009, 2010
World Darts TrophyRunner Up: 2004, 2006
Int. Darts LeagueSemi Final: 2003, 2005
Finder MastersWinner (2) 1996, 2000
PDC premier events – best performances
World MatchplaySemi Final: 2001
World Grand PrixQuarter Final: 2001
Grand SlamLast 16: 2015
Other tournament wins
TournamentYears
Antwerp Open
BDO International Open
Belgium Open
British Matchplay
British Open
British Pentathlon

Denmark Open
Dutch Open
Finnish Open
French Open
German Gold Cup
German Open
Granite City Open
Haaglanden World Top 16
Hal Open
IDBT Open
IDPA Lakeside Classic
Italian Open
Okells Jubilee Trophy
Scania Open
Scottish Open
Sunparks Masters
Swiss Open
Welsh Open
WDF Europe Cup Singles
WDF Europe Cup

Pairs
WDF Europe Cup Team
WDF World Cup Singles
WDF World Cup Pairs
WDF World Cup Team
WDF World Rankings

MODUS Online tournaments

MODUS
Online Darts League 7 2021

Phase two MODUS
Online darts League 1 2021

Phase four MODUS Online darts League 3 2021		2001, 2013
2010, 2014
1997, 1998, 2013
1996
1994, 2004
1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001,
2004, 2008, 2009, 2011
2000
2010, 2011, 2015, 2016
1996, 2002
2002
2000, 2001, 2002
2001, 2007
2005, 2007
1999, 2000
2012, 2014, 2015
2014
2009
2018
2010
1999
2005
2000, 2009
1996, 1999
2014
1996
1996, 2002, 2008, 2010
1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2004
1995, 2001
1995, 2003, 2011
1995, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2011
2010

Martin Adams (born 4 June 1956) is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Nicknamed "Wolfie", he is a three-time BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion. He represents Cambridgeshire at county darts level and was the captain of England from 1993 to 2013, the longest any player has held that role. From his debut in 1994, Adams made a record 25 consecutive World Championship appearances, before failing to qualify for the first time in 2019. Adams was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April 2016,[3] but by the end of the year he was given the all-clear. As well as playing, he also acts as a regular pundit and commentator for televised coverage of BDO events.

Darts career[]

Adams was born in Sutton, Surrey and started his darts career in pubs. He still plays pub darts, currently playing for Deeping Rugby Club in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire.[4] After being made redundant by Lloyds Bank, he turned professional in 1992.

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. Adams took over the role in 1993 and remained captain until March 2013, becoming 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 particular, his 5–4 defeat to Chris Mason in the 1999 World Championship quarter-finals, having led 4–1 and seen nine match-darts pass him by in the match, is always mentioned among the greatest matches in the history of the event. He also lost in the deciding set at the semi-final stage in both 1995 and 2002.

In the Grand Slam BDO events, other than the World Championship, Adams was runner-up on three occasions. 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 and despite averaging 107 for the first nine darts of each leg.

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 van Barneveld in the final.

2007[]

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 Stompé, Ted Hankey and Mervyn King in his run to the final where he faced qualifier Phil 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, having already missed four match darts, he went on to win all three legs in the final set to take the match 7–6 and finally claim the world title that he said he had been chasing for 14 years.

2008[]

In the draw for the 2008 BDO World Championships, Adams was again paired with 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 (the first time he had won comfortably).[5] 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 Masters champion Robert Thornton, whom he led 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 went on to lose in the semi-finals to number-one seed Mark Webster, who eventually won the tournament.

Adams defeated Scott Waites in the World Masters final of 2008 to record his first Masters victory and his second major (after the 2007 Worlds), in another epic 7–6 encounter.

2009[]

At the 2009 World Championship, he reached the semifinal for the fifth successive year, where he was narrowly defeated by eventual champion Ted Hankey. Later that year, he won his second successive Masters title, once again by a 7–6 scoreline in the final, over Robbie Green after Green led by 6–3 and had a dart for the title. This win made Adams the first man to retain the Masters title since Bob Anderson in 1988. Adams joined Eric Bristow, Richie Burnett, Bob Anderson and John Walton as the fifth player to win them in the same season.[6]

2010[]

In the 2010 World Championship he beat a visibly nervous Anthony Fleet in the first round without losing a leg, followed by further comfortable victories over Daryl Gurney and Garry Thompson. In the semi-final he let a 5–1 lead slip over Welshman Martin Phillips before finally winning 6–4. He then defeated unseeded Dave Chisnall 7–5 in the final to win a second World Championship in a rematch of their first round match a year earlier.

In February 2010 he won the Dutch Open title for the first time in his long career. The England captain triumphed 3–1 over international team-mate Scott Waites in the men's singles final in Veldhoven.[7]

Adams won his third successive World Masters title in 2010 by defeating Stuart Kellett 7–3 in the final, becoming only the second player in history to win three consecutive World Masters titles, the other being Bob Anderson.

2011[]

Adams reached his fourth World Championship final in the 2011 tournament, defeating Tony West, John Walton, Ross Smith and Martin Phillips to get there. The match against Walton was especially memorable as it went to a sudden death leg, which Adams won despite Walton having the advantage of throw. Adams played Dean Winstanley in the final, the 3rd seed - marking the only time Adams played a seed in either the 2010 or 2011 World Championship - and won 7–5 to become the first player since Raymond van Barneveld to successfully defend the BDO World Championship.

Later in January, Adams successfully defended his Dutch Open crown, once again defeating Winstanley in a close final (3–2 in sets). Adams then reached the singles final at the WDF World Cup where he was defeated by Scott Waites, and also won the doubles event with Waites. At the 2011 World Masters, the three-time defending champion was beaten by eventual champion Waites 5–3 in the semi-finals.

2012[]

Adams was the top seed at the 2012 World Championship. He beat Scott Mitchell and Gary Stone without dropping a set, but was defeated 5–2 in the quarter-final by former runner-up Tony O'Shea, who went on to reach the final.

Adams had a difficult season in 2012, losing in his first match at the Masters 3–1 to Rune David before being eliminated in the group stage of Zuiderduin Masters without winning either of his matches.

2013[]

At the 2013 World Championship, Adams was beaten 3–2 by teenage débutante Jimmy Hendriks. During the season Adams had been very much focused on his personal life. He lost weight and gave up smoking. Adams eventually refound his form.

2014[]

At the 2014 World Championship, Adams reached the quarter-finals with comfortable wins over David Cameron, Tony O'Shea (in which O'Shea failed to win a leg) and Ross Montgomery before losing 5–2 to Jan Dekker. Adams got back to world number two and won a number of key tournaments. At the 2014 Winmau World Masters, Adams narrowly missed out on reaching the final for the first time since 2010 as he let a 5–2 semi-final lead slip against Jamie Hughes, also missing 10 match darts in the ninth set.

2015[]

He opened his 2015 World Championship campaign with a 3–1 victory over Jan Dekker, setting up a tie against Jim Widmayer in the second round. He whitewashed Widmayer 4–0 to advance to the quarter-final stage, where he would face Ross Montgomery. He comfortably beat Montgomery 5–1 to go through to the semi-finals, to play Glen Durrant, who he edged out 6–5 to reach the final. Adams had a near nine darter hitting the treble 20 7 times and hitting the treble 19 but missed the double 12, if he had hit it, he would have been the first person to hit a 9 darter at the BDO World Championship in 25 years since Paul Lim in 1990. In the final, he was narrowly defeated by Scott Mitchell 7–6 in a deciding set.

In November 2015, Adams made his first PDC tournament appearance since 2007, at the 2015 Grand Slam of Darts, where topped his group with three wins of out of three, with victories against Ian White and two former BDO World Champions in Jelle Klaasen and Steve Beaton.[8] In the last 16, Adams faced Kim Huybrechts where he narrowly lost 10-9. Adams rallied from 6-3 and 9-7 deficits to force a decisive leg which Huybrechts won on a 13 darter. In his post-match interview, Adams praised the crowds and said he would likely return to the tournament next year if invited.[9]

2016[]

Adams was the number two seed going into the 2016 World Championship, but was handed a tough first round draw against Canadian Jeff Smith, who had reached the semi finals the previous year. Ultimately, Adams was whitewashed for the first time ever at Lakeside, suffering a 3 sets to nil defeat. He recovered from this setback by winning the Dutch Open just a few weeks later, beating Danny Noppert in the final.

At the 2016 Grand Slam of Darts, Adams was grouped with Michael van Gerwen, Brendan Dolan and Max Hopp. He lost all three matches and finished bottom of the group. To date, this marks his last appearance at a PDC televised tournament.

2017[]

Adams was the 5th seed for the 2017 World Championship, and was drawn to face the winner of a preliminary round match, which Ryan Joyce won beating Dennis Nilsson. Adams narrowly defeated Joyce 3 sets to 2 in a close encounter to set up a rematch against Jeff Smith, who had whitewashed him the previous year. Adams was able to avenge his loss with a convincing 4-1 over the Canadian. He would eventually go out at the quarter-finals stage to 4th seed Jamie Hughes, in a thrilling 5-4 defeat.

2018[]

Adams qualified for the 2018 World Championship, but was not seeded and thus was handed a difficult first round draw against the number two seed Mark McGeeney. Despite a gallant effort, Adams would lose 3 sets to 2 in a close match.

2019[]

Adams failed to qualify for the 2019 World Championship, making it the first that he would miss the event since making his debut in 1994. It ended a run of 25 consecutive appearances. He did, however, win his first ranking tournament for nearly three years by clinching the Italian Open.

2020[]

In the 2020 World Championship, Adams lost 3-2 in the first round to Scott Waites.

Stance on the Professional Darts Corporation[]

Adams played in three major PDC television events in 2000–2001, which were the 2000 World Matchplay (losing to Shayne Burgess in the first round), the 2001 World Matchplay (losing to Phil Taylor in the semi finals), and the 2001 World Grand Prix (losing to John Lowe in the quarter finals). Adams also won a non-televised Players Championship tournament, the 1999 Scania Open, where he beat Phil Taylor in the final.

When eligibility rules for entry into PDC television tournaments changed at the start of 2002, Adams was unable to compete in them as he decided to remain a BDO player. After the 2001 World Matchplay, it would be over five years before Adams faced Taylor in a match again, in the final of the 2006 World Darts Trophy (a BDO major), where Adams lost 2-7 in the final of the Dutch competition which invited five PDC players that year.[10][11]

Since the 2001 World Grand Prix and the subsequent change in the eligibility rules for entry into PDC television tournaments from 2002 onwards, Adams did not compete in a PDC event again until 14 years later. When the Grand Slam of Darts began in 2007, Adams turned down the invitation to compete in the PDC event and continued to decline the offer to compete in subsequent years. The PDC's Board of Directors ruled that Adams will no longer be eligible for invitations into the tournament in future.[12] Adams brushed off their decision, saying that it would simply save him the time in having to refuse them.[13] Commentators at the 2009 Grand Slam confirmed that they had once again unsuccessfully invited him to that year's event.

Rumours of a possible appearance at the 2011 Grand Slam began following an interview with BBC commentator David Croft just before the 2011 BDO World Championship. Adams said that "he had held discussions with the BDO and certain political issues had been sorted regarding the other side of the game" when asked by Croft about whether in theory a match could take place with the winner of the respective PDC World Championship.[14] Despite the rumour, Adams never competed at the 2011 Grand Slam.

However, Adams was invited to the 2015 Grand Slam. In Adams' debut at the Grand Slam, he went undefeated in the three group matches of the first round but lost 9-10 (best of 19) in his second round match with Kim Huybrechts.

World Championship results[]

BDO[]

Career finals[]

BDO major finals: 17 (9 titles, 8 runners-up)[]

Legend
World Championship (3–2)
Winmau World Masters (3–1)
British Matchplay (1–0)
World Darts Trophy (0–2)
Zuiderduin Masters (2–3)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1]
Winner 1. 1996 British Matchplay England Steve Beaton 3–2 (s)
Winner 2. 1996 Zuiderduin Masters England Mervyn King 4–2 (s)
Winner 3. 2000 Zuiderduin Masters England Steve Beaton 5–4 (s)
Runner-up 1. 2004 World Darts Trophy Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 4–6 (s)
Runner-up 2. 2005 World Darts Championship Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 2–6 (s)
Runner-up 3. 2005 Zuiderduin Masters England Mervyn King 4–5 (s)
Runner-up 4. 2006 World Darts Trophy England Phil Taylor 2–7 (s)
Runner-up 5. 2006 Winmau World Masters Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 5–7 (s)
Winner 4. 2007 World Darts Championship England Phill Nixon 7–6 (s)
Winner 5. 2008 Winmau World Masters England Scott Waites 7–6 (s)
Winner 6. 2009 Winmau World Masters England Robbie Green 7–6 (s)
Runner-up 6. 2009 Zuiderduin Masters England Darryl Fitton 2–5 (s)
Winner 7. 2010 World Darts Championship England Dave Chisnall 7–5 (s)
Winner 8. 2010 Winmau World Masters England Stuart Kellett 7–3 (s)
Winner 9. 2011 World Darts Championship England Dean Winstanley 7–5 (s)
Runner-up 7. 2015 World Darts Championship England Scott Mitchell 6–7 (s)
Runner-up 8. 2015 Zuiderduin Masters England Glen Durrant 2–5 (s)
  1. ^ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

Performance timeline[]

Tournament 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
BDO World Championship DNQ QF SF QF 1R 1R QF 1R 2R SF 2R 1R F SF W SF SF W W QF 1R QF F 1R QF 1R
Winmau World Masters DNP 3R DNP QF 1R SF SF 2R 4R SF 1R 4R 4R 4R 4R QF SF F QF W W W SF 5R 5R SF SF 5R 1R 4R
British Professional 1R Not held
Finder Darts Masters Not held W QF QF QF RR F NH QF RR F SF SF RR RR QF F QF RR RR
World Darts Trophy Not held 2R QF F SF F QF Not held
International Darts League Not held SF QF SF QF RR Not held
BDO World Trophy Not held QF 1R 2R QF DNQ
World Matchplay NYF DNP 1R SF Non-PDC
World Grand Prix Not held DNP QF Non-PDC
Grand Slam of Darts Not held DNP 2R RR DNQ
News of the World DNP Not held SF Not held
Performance Table Legend
DNP Did not play at the event DNQ Did not qualify for the event NYF Not yet founded L# lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QF lost in the quarter-finals SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament

High averages[]

See also: High dart average
Martin Adams televised high averages
Average Date Opponent Tournament Stage Score Ref.
110.52 7 December 2007 England Steve Coote 2007 Zuiderduin Masters Group stage 5-0 (L)

References[]

  1. ^ Lamont, Tom (4 January 2009). "How I got my body". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
  2. ^ "WDF Men's Rankings Table". WDF. 13 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  3. ^ "BDO Legend has prostate cancer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  4. ^ The Publican - Home - What I love about pubs: Martin Adams
  5. ^ Jacob, Gary (7 January 2008). "Water gates open after Martin Adams swiftly topples Phil Nixon". The Times. London. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  6. ^ "Other Sport... - Darts - Darts results". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 October 2000. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
  7. ^ BBC - Martin Adams adds 2010 Dutch Open title to honours
  8. ^ "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam - Tuesday". PDC. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  9. ^ "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam - Thursday". PDC. 12 November 2015. Archived from the original on 14 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  10. ^ Phil Taylor "Powers" over Martin Adams[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Darts Database Head-to-Head v Phil Taylor darts database
  12. ^ PDC ruling Archived 1 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Adams bites back at the other half". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
  14. ^ Martin 'Wolfie' Adams ready to defend Lakeside crown David Croft Interview bbc.co.uk

External links[]

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