Two-time PDC World Champion Adrian Lewis has confirmed his return to the game but claims he needs to meet one condition before he’ll consider playing on the Pro Tour.
In April of 2023, Adrian Lewis announced he would be taking a break from darts having withdrawn from a number of events earlier in the year.
At the time Lewis only revealed to fans via social media that he “needed a break from the professional circuit” but didn’t go into further detail.
His absence was definitely felt in the game and he has since gone on to reveal that his wife Sarah has an incurable kidney disease and that his daughter has autism so he could no longer compete whilst having his family’s health issues constantly on his mind during tournaments.
He also revealed “I no longer have the hunger that I knew I needed if I wanted to succeed”.
As a result, darts fans have been questioning for the past year if we’ll ever see the return of Lewis.
Well, we’ve now got some answers and it looks promising, but not guaranteed…
SEE MORE NEWS ON DECENT DARTS
👉 “I bottled it” – Ryan Searle on missing SEVEN match darts at Swiss Darts Trophy
👉 Joe Cullen reacts to ‘trolls’ on X following Hungarian Darts Trophy loss
Jackpot’s Realisation That He Couldn’t Compete at the Elite Level Anymore
Speaking to Online Darts, Lewis has been open about his drop-off in form which coincided with family health issues, but he has now revealed just how long he was aware he couldn’t compete at the top before eventually stepping away from the oche.
“It had been coming, for how long, I wouldn’t like to think.
“Probably 18 months before I’d been thinking about it. I just thought I can’t keep doing this, I can’t keep putting myself through this and that was it.”
Despite the struggles over the last few years, Jackpot says he’s in a good place at the moment and while he’s exploring possible routes to return to the game, he’s revealed that there’s only one way we’ll see him back on the big stages.
“The only way I’m going to go back is if my mind is 100% and I’m going to go 100% at it.
“I’m not going to be a journeyman and just turn up and get a beating, if I’m turning up it’s to, [compete].”
Jackpot was then asked if he thinks we’ll ever see him grace the big stages again, to which he said:
“I think there’s a possibility, yeah I do think there’s a possibility”
In an effort to get his mind right though, we are going to see him back at the oche following a recent announcement…
Adrian Lewis Announced for the MODUS Super Series
While Lewis doesn’t yet know whether he’ll make a return to professional darts, fans (and players) will get to see him back in action in the near future.
A few days ago, MODUS Super Series released an announcement video of Lewis throwing darts on stage with the message “Jackpot is coming…”
Jackpot is coming… 🎰
— MODUS Super Series (@MSSdarts) September 29, 2024
Keep your eyes peeled! 👀 pic.twitter.com/wTDSoS35tz
Lewis has now confirmed that he will be playing the MODUS Super Series and will use it as a possible route back to the PDC tour.
While he said he’s ready to return to the game, he admits the MODUS Super Series will be a stepping stone to test his game and mindset to see if he is really ready to compete again.
This echoes his statement above whereby he only wants to compete at the highest level if his mind is 100% in it.
Regardless of the occasion, it will be great to see Lewis back playing again and Terry Chapman, Commercial Manager for Modus echoes this. He said:
“We are naturally very happy to have agreed to a working relationship with Adrian. And it is a privilege to have him on board. He is a very popular player who has a wealth of experience and still so much to offer. So the next chapter of his career promises to be an exciting one.”
See his full interview with Online Darts below: