Martin Adams: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 21:22, 10 January 2010
Martin Adams | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Nickname | Wolfie |
Born | |
Home town | Deeping St James, Lincolnshire |
Darts information | |
Playing darts since | 1981 |
Darts | Engraved 22 Gram Datadart M3 |
Laterality | Right-handed |
Walk-on music | "Hungry Like the Wolf" (Duran Duran) |
Organisation (see split in darts) | |
BDO | 1982 to present |
Current world ranking | 2 (WDF) 3 (BDO) |
WDF major events – best performances | |
World Ch'ship | Winner 2007, 2010 |
World Masters | Winner 2008, 2009 |
World Trophy | Finalist 2004, 2006 |
Int. Darts League | Quarter finalist 2006 |
PDC premier events – best performances | |
World Matchplay | Semi Final 2001 |
World Grand Prix | Quarter Final 2001 |
Other tournament wins | |
Tournament | Years |
WDF World Cup Singles
Europe Cup Singles | 1995, 2001 1996 |
Other achievements | |
WDF World Cup Champions Team 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003
World Cup Pairs Champion 1995, 2003 | |
Updated on 7 December 2008. |
Martin Adams nicknamed Wolfie (born 4 June 1956 in Sutton, London) is an English international darts player.[1]
He is the reigning BDO World Champion and Winmau World Master, having won both titles twice each in the last four years. He is currently number four in the BDO world rankings, and formerly number one. He plays county darts for Cambridgeshire. Martin lives in Deeping St James, near Market Deeping, Lincolnshire with his wife Sharon who is a swimming instructor.
Darts career
A former teacher, at the time of entering the world of professional darts, Adams worked for Lloyds Bank, and started his darts career in pubs. He still plays pub darts, currently playing for Rigby's in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire[2]. He turned professional in 1982.
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 has remained captain since, 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.
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.
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.
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, Hankey and Mervyn King in his run to the final where he faced qualifier Phill 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, he went off the stage to compose himself. When he did that he finally justified why he'd started as strong favourite when he won all three legs in the final set to win through 7-6 and finally claim the World title that he said he had been chasing for 14 years.
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 (First time he had won comfortably) [3] 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 who 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.
Wolfie also had a brief run in the rival Professional Darts Corporation between 1999 and 2001. He played in the revived News of the World Darts Championship in 1997, reaching the semi finals, losing to Taylor who won the event. Adams then claimed the Scania Open in 1999, beating Taylor in the final. He played in the 2000 PDC World Matchplay but lost in the first round. He returned to Blackpool a year later in 2001 and reached the semi finals. He beat Mick Manning, Alan Warriner and Dennis Smith before losing to the eventual winner Taylor. He then reached the quarter finals of the 2001 World Grand Prix, beating Peter Manley and Alex Roy before losing to John Lowe. Afterwards he never played in a PDC tournament again.
Wolfie 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. A month later, at the 2009 World Championship, he reached the semi-final 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.[4]
Martin entered the 2010 World Championship aiming to become the first #3 seed to win the title since Leighton Rees won the inaugural event in 1978. He beat a visibly nervous Tony Fleet in the first round without dropping a leg, followed by further comfortable victories over Darryl 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 in a rematch of their first round match a year earlier.
Professional record
BDO World Championship record
Year | Seed | Reached | Opponent | Score | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | unseeded | Quarter Final | Magnus Caris | 2-4 | |
1995 | 4 | Semi Final | Raymond van Barneveld | 4-5 | |
1996 | 3 | Quarter Final | Steve Beaton | 1-4 | Beaton was eventual winner |
1997 | 1 | 1st Round | Roger Carter | 1-3 | |
1998 | 4 | 1st Round | Robbie Widdows | 2-3 | |
1999 | 3 | Quarter Final | Chris Mason | 4-5 | |
2000 | 6 | 1st Round | Steve Coote | 2-3 | |
2001 | unseeded | 2nd Round | Ronnie Baxter | 1-3 | |
2002 | 2 | Semi Final | Tony David | 4-5 | David was eventual winner |
2003 | 4 | 2nd Round | Bob Taylor | 1-3 | |
2004 | 6 | 1st Round | Richie Davies | 2-3 | |
2005 | 7 | Final | Raymond van Barneveld | 2-6 | Runner Up |
2006 | 2 | Semi Final | Raymond van Barneveld | 2-6 | |
2007 | 1 | Won | Phill Nixon | 7-6 | Winner |
2008 | 4 | Semi Final | Mark Webster | 4-6 | Webster was eventual winner |
2009 | 3 | Semi Final | Ted Hankey | 4-6 | Hankey was eventual winner |
2010 | 3 | Won | Dave Chisnall | 7-5 | Winner |
Controversy
As a result of winning the Winmau Masters in 2008, Adams was invited to compete in the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts, and declined the invitation, resulting in the PDC's Board of Directors ruling that Adams will no longer be eligible for invitations into the tournament in future.[5] Adams brushed off their decision, saying that it would simply save him the time in having to refuse them.[6] Despite this, commentators at the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts confirmed that they had once again unsuccessfully invited him to that year's event.
BDO Majors (4)
World Championship
Winner (2)
Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
2007 | BDO World Darts Championship | ![]() |
7-6 |
2010 | BDO World Darts Championship | ![]() |
7-5 |
World Masters
Winner (2)
Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
2008 | Winmau World Masters | ![]() |
7-6 |
2009 | Winmau World Masters | ![]() |
7-6 |
References
- ^ "How I got my body". The Guardian. 4 January 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
- ^ The Publican - Home - What I love about pubs: Martin Adams
- ^ Water gates open after Martin Adams swiftly topples Phil Nixon - Times Online
- ^ "BBC SPORT". Retrieved 6 September 2009.
{{cite web}}
: Text "Darts results" ignored (help); Text "Darts" ignored (help); Text "Other Sport..." ignored (help) - ^ PDC ruling
- ^ "Adams bites back at the other half". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
External links
- Wolfie Darts Official Web Site
- Profile on Darts Database