Adrian Lewis is staging a darts comeback this year (Image: Getty)
Adrian Lewis is a two-time and is staging a comeback in a bid to rediscover his love of darts. The 40-year-old took a break from the sport in 2023 after realising that he was “missing something” even during his epic battles with Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor.
While Lewis has been absent, and have taken over the sport and are the second and first in the order of merit, respectively. It may take a while before the Englishman is back on their level.
But Lewis is going to try to rekindle the feeling of winning titles. He begins that journey in the Modus Super Series, which will mark his first television appearance in more than two years.
A consecutive world champion in 2011 and 2012, Lewis reached the conclusion in 2013 that he was no longer enjoying darts. He describes finding it difficult to motivate himself ahead of playing his biggest rivals, Van Gerwen and Taylor.
Speaking to the , Lewis said: “I was leaving the house, not enjoying it. Even when I was winning I wasn’t enjoying it. I was basically just going through the motions. Like a ghost. Winning, losing, I wasn’t fussed.
“It (considering retirement) had been building, probably, for 18 months. I’m sitting there at the Pro Tours thinking I don’t want to be there. Before I’ve even thrown my first dart. Something’s got to change here.
“I was missing something. My ability had never been in question. But my mindset, that was my big bugbear. I found it hard to get myself up for games, even if was against Michael or Phil.”
Lewis admits that he watches very little darts and that he actually prefers to engage with football. However, he will be well aware of the bar set by Littler and Humphries.
Adrian Lewis is a two-time world champion (Image: Getty)
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“For a young lad he (Littler) has got a great head on his shoulders,” he said. “I just hope the media can give him a bit of a break. But I honestly think Luke Humphries, the real No. 1, is a great flag bearer for the sport. Just the way he comes across and conducts himself.”
The four-time PDC title winner will compete at the Modus Super Series and, if he enjoys his return, he will compete for a PDC tour card at Q-school next January.
“There’s no good me just going straight back into it and then after six months thinking: ‘Nah, that’s me done’, and retiring,” Lewis continued. “I want to do it properly. I want to enjoy the winning feeling again.”