Martin Adams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Martin Adams
Adams in Poison Arrows 2022
Personal information
Nickname	"Wolfie"
Born	(1956-06-04) 4 June 1956 (age 69) Sutton, London, England
Home town	Deeping St James, Lincolnshire, England
Darts information
Playing darts since	1981
Darts	22g Datadart M3
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	"Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	1988–2020
WDF	1988–2022
BDO majors – best performances
World Ch'ship	Winner (3) 2007, 2010, 2011
World Masters	Winner (3) 2008, 2009, 2010
World Darts Trophy	Runner Up: 2004, 2006
Int. Darts League	Semi Final: 2003, 2005
Finder Masters	Runner Up: 2005, 2009, 2015
PDC premier events – best performances
World Matchplay	Semi Final: 2001
World Grand Prix	Quarter Final: 2001
Grand Slam	Last 16: 2015
Other tournament wins
Antwerp Open 2001, 2013 BDO International Open 2010, 2014 Belgium Open 1997, 1998, 2013 British Matchplay 1996 British Open 1994, 2004 British Pentathlon 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 Denmark Open 2000 Dutch Grand Masters 1996 Dutch Open 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016 European Grand Masters 2000 Finnish Open 1996, 2002 French Open 2002 German Gold Cup 2000, 2001, 2002 German Open 2001, 2007 Granite City Open 2005, 2007 Haaglanden World Top 16 1999, 2000 Hal Open 2012, 2014, 2015 IDBT Open 2014 IDPA Lakeside Classic 2009 Italian Open 2018 Okells Jubilee Trophy 2010 Scania Open 1999 Scottish Open 2005 Sunparks Masters 2000, 2009 Swiss Open 1996, 1999 Welsh Open 2014 WDF Europe Cup Singles 1996 WDF Europe Cup Pairs 1996, 2002, 2008, 2010 WDF Europe Cup Team 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2004 WDF World Cup Singles 1995, 2001 WDF World Cup Pairs 1995, 2003, 2011 WDF World Cup Team 1995, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2011 WDF World Rankings 2010 MODUS Online Darts League 7 2021 MODUS Online darts League 1 2021 MODUS Online darts League 3 2021

Martin Adams, born on June 4, 1956, is an English professional darts player. He is known by his nickname "Wolfie." Martin has won the BDO World Championship three times and the World Masters three times. He played for Cambridgeshire and was the captain of the England darts team for a long time, from 1993 to 2013. He played in the World Championship 25 times in a row, starting in 1994. Martin also worked as a TV expert and commentator for darts events.

Martin "Wolfie" Adams: A Darts Champion

Early Career and Challenges (1994–2006)

Martin Adams was born in Sutton, Surrey. He started playing darts in pubs. He still enjoys playing pub darts today. Martin became a professional darts player in 1992.

He first played in the BDO World Darts Championship in 1994. This was after many top players left to form a new group. Martin became the captain of the England team in 1993. He held this role until 2013, making him the longest-serving England captain ever.

For many years, Martin often got close to winning the Lakeside tournament but didn't quite make it. He sometimes lost matches even when he was ahead. In 1999, he lost to Chris Mason in the quarter-finals. He had been leading 4-1 and missed nine chances to win. He also lost in the semi-finals twice in the final set. This happened against Raymond van Barneveld in 1995 and Tony David in 2002.

In 2005, Martin reached the World Championship final for the first time. He beat several strong players to get there. However, he lost to Raymond van Barneveld in the final. The next year, in 2006, he reached the semi-finals but again lost to van Barneveld.

The Winmau World Masters is another big darts tournament. Martin reached the semi-finals four times in this event. In 2006, he made it to his first Masters final. He lost to 17-year-old Michael van Gerwen, even though Martin had been leading.

Martin has won many smaller BDO Open events. He also won the WDF World Cup singles title twice. In other major BDO events, he was a runner-up in the World Darts Trophy in 2004 and 2006.

Becoming a World Champion (2007)

In 2007, Martin Adams reached his second World Championship final. He was the top player in the tournament. He beat players like Tony O'Shea and Mervyn King to get to the final. There, he played against Phill Nixon. Both players were 50 years old.

Martin quickly took a big lead of 6-0. But Nixon made an amazing comeback and tied the match at 6-6. It looked like Martin might lose again, but he won the final three legs. He won the match 7-6 and finally claimed the world title he had been trying to win for 14 years.

More Major Wins (2008–2011)

At the 2008 World Championship, Martin played against Phill Nixon again in the first round. This time, Martin won easily. He then reached the semi-finals but lost to Mark Webster, who went on to win the tournament.

Later in 2008, Martin won his first Winmau World Masters title. He beat Scott Waites in another close 7-6 final. This was his second major win.

In the 2009 World Championship, he reached the semi-finals for the fifth year in a row. He lost to Ted Hankey, who became the champion. That same year, Martin won his second Masters title in a row. He beat Robbie Green 7-6, even though Green had been leading. This made Martin the first player since 1988 to win the Masters title twice in a row.

Martin won his second World Championship in 2010. He beat Dave Chisnall 7-5 in the final. In February 2010, he also won the Dutch Open title for the first time. He beat his England teammate Scott Waites in the final. Martin then won his third World Masters title in a row in 2010. He is only the second player in history to do this.

In the 2011 tournament, Martin reached his fourth World Championship final. He won 7-5 against Dean Winstanley to become the first player since Raymond van Barneveld to win the BDO World Championship two years in a row. He also successfully defended his Dutch Open title that year.

Later Career and New Challenges (2012–2022)

Martin was the top player at the 2012 World Championship. He won his first two matches easily. However, he lost in the quarter-finals to Tony O'Shea. Martin had a tough season in 2012, losing early in some tournaments.

At the 2013 World Championship, Martin lost to a young player named Jimmy Hendriks. He focused on his personal life that year, losing weight and quitting smoking. He eventually found his good form again.

In the 2014 World Championship, Martin reached the quarter-finals. He won some big tournaments and became the world number two player again.

He started his 2015 World Championship with strong wins. He reached the final, where he played Scott Mitchell. It was a very close match, and Martin lost 7-6 in the final set. In November 2015, Martin played in a PDC tournament called the 2015 Grand Slam of Darts. He won all his group matches but lost a very close match in the next round.

In the 2016 World Championship, Martin lost in the first round. This was the first time he had been beaten so early at Lakeside. However, he quickly bounced back and won the Dutch Open again. He also played in the 2016 Grand Slam of Darts but lost all his matches.

Martin was the 5th player in the 2017 World Championship. He won his first match and then beat Jeff Smith, who had beaten him the year before. Martin lost in the quarter-finals in a close match.

In the 2018 World Championship, Martin was not a top player. He had a tough first match against Mark McGeeney and lost closely.

Martin did not qualify for the 2019 World Championship. This was the first time he missed the event since he started playing in 1994. It ended his streak of 25 straight appearances. However, he did win the Italian Open that year.

In the 2020 World Championship, Martin lost in the first round to Scott Waites.

In 2022, Martin reached the final of the World Seniors Darts Championship. He lost to Robert Thornton. He also played in his 27th World Championship at the 2022 WDF World Darts Championship but lost in the first round.

Martin Adams and the Professional Darts Corporation

Martin Adams played in a few major PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) events in 2000 and 2001. He reached the semi-finals of the 2001 World Matchplay. He also won a smaller PDC tournament in 1999.

After 2001, the rules for playing in PDC tournaments changed. Martin decided to stay with the BDO, so he could not play in PDC events for a long time. He did not face Phil Taylor, a famous PDC player, again until 2006.

When the Grand Slam of Darts started in 2007, Martin was invited to play. This tournament brings together players from both the BDO and PDC. However, Martin chose not to play and continued to decline invitations for many years.

In 2015, Martin finally accepted an invitation to the Grand Slam. He played very well, winning all three of his group matches. He then lost a very close match in the second round. This was his first time playing in the Grand Slam. He played in the 2016 Grand Slam as well, but did not win any matches.

World Championship Results

BDO/WDF

WSDT

• 2022: Runner-up (lost to Robert Thornton 1–5)
• 2023: Second round (lost to Leonard Gates 0–3)
• 2024: Second round (lost to Jim Long 0–3)
• 2025: First round (lost to Darryl Fitton 0–3)

Career Finals

BDO Major Finals: 14 (6 titles)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Runner-up	1.	2004	World Darts Trophy	Raymond van Barneveld	4–6 (s)
Runner-up	2.	2005	World Championship	Raymond van Barneveld	2–6 (s)
Runner-up	3.	2005	Zuiderduin Masters	Mervyn King	4–5 (s)
Runner-up	4.	2006	World Darts Trophy	Phil Taylor	2–7 (s)
Runner-up	5.	2006	Winmau World Masters	Michael van Gerwen	5–7 (s)
Winner	1.	2007	World Championship	Phill Nixon	7–6 (s)
Winner	2.	2008	Winmau World Masters	Scott Waites	7–6 (s)
Winner	3.	2009	Winmau World Masters	Robbie Green	7–6 (s)
Runner-up	6.	2009	Zuiderduin Masters	Darryl Fitton	2–5 (s)
Winner	4.	2010	World Championship	Dave Chisnall	7–5 (s)
Winner	5.	2010	Winmau World Masters	Stuart Kellett	7–3 (s)
Winner	6.	2011	World Championship	Dean Winstanley	7–5 (s)
Runner-up	7.	2015	World Championship	Scott Mitchell	6–7 (s)
Runner-up	8.	2015	Zuiderduin Masters	Glen Durrant	2–5 (s)

Seniors Major Finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	2022	World Seniors Darts Championship	Robert Thornton	1–5 (s)

Performance Timeline

High Averages

Martin Adams televised high averages

Average	Date	Opponent	Tournament	Stage	Score	Ref.
110.52	7 December 2007	Steve Coote	2007 Zuiderduin Masters	Group stage	5–0 (L)