Adrian Lewis may have stepped away from the professional PDC circuit for a few years, but his class clearly hasn’t vanished. The two-time world champion even hit a nine-darter recently — and strikingly, “Jackpot” did it using Nathan Aspinall’s darts.
Now 41, Lewis last competed as a professional in April 2023. Since then, the Englishman has prioritised his family. His wife Sarah is living with a terminal kidney condition, while his son has autism and ADHD. Lewis still plays exhibition events, but concedes his level can fluctuate. Even so, the former world champion recently showed what he can still produce. "To be fair I'm having some really good days and then other times not so good so a bit of it's a mess," said Lewis to Oche180. The Englishman is trying not to overthink it right now. "But like I say I'm just just enjoying it just taking you know each these days it comes really."
His nine-darter also came at an unusual moment. Lewis had barely touched a dart for weeks. "I basically had probably about three weeks off and we went on holiday for a week and I'd come back and my dad had left his darts in my dartboard." Lewis decided to try out the unfamiliar arrows. "So I thought what the hell are them?" Nothing suggested at that point that Lewis would produce a perfect leg a few visits later. Suddenly, everything changed. "So I had a look at 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."
The darts Lewis used for the nine-darter turned out to be Aspinall’s. “Jackpot” was quick to stress it wasn’t the result of hours of preparation. "I think there's more luck than judgement to be fair but yeah just whacked them in yeah."
