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	22 Gram Datadart "Martin Adams" 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
Current world ranking	(WDF) NR (6 October 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 4 June 1956) is an English professional darts player. He is known by his nickname "Wolfie". Martin Adams has won the BDO World Darts Championship three times and the Winmau World Masters three times. He plays for Cambridgeshire in county darts and was the captain of the England team for a long time, from 1993 to 2013. This is the longest any player has held that role!

Adams made his first World Championship appearance in 1994. He then played in a record 25 World Championships in a row. In 2016, he faced a health challenge but recovered by the end of the year. Besides playing, he also worked as a commentator for darts events on TV.

Martin Adams' Darts Career

Early Years: 1994-2006

Martin Adams was born in Sutton, London. He started playing darts in local pubs. Even today, he still plays pub darts for The Bell Tavern in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire. He became a professional player in 1992 after leaving his job at Lloyds Bank.

Adams first played in the BDO World Darts Championship in 1994. This was the first World Championship after a big change in the world of darts. Many top players left the BDO to form the World Darts Council (now known as the PDC). Because these players were not allowed to play county darts anymore, Adams became the England captain in 1993. He stayed captain until 2013, making him the longest-serving England captain ever.

For many years, Adams was known for getting close to winning the Lakeside tournament but not quite making it. He often reached the final stages but couldn't win the title. Sometimes, he would lose matches even when he was ahead. For example, in the 1999 World Championship, he lost to Chris Mason after being 4-1 up and missing nine chances to win. He also lost in the semi-finals twice in the very last set.

In 2005, Adams finally reached the World Championship final after trying for 12 years. He beat several strong players but lost to Raymond van Barneveld in the final. The next year, in 2006, he reached the semi-finals again but was beaten by van Barneveld once more.

The Winmau World Masters is another big darts tournament. Adams also had a similar story there, reaching four semi-finals. In 2006, he made it to his first Masters final. He lost to 17-year-old Michael van Gerwen, even though Adams had been leading 5-2 in sets.

Adams has won many other darts events, including the WDF World Cup singles twice. In other major BDO events, he was a runner-up in the World Darts Trophy in 2004 and 2006.

First World Title: 2007

In 2007, Martin Adams reached his second World Championship final. He was the top seed for the tournament. He played against Phill Nixon in the final. Both players were 50 years old, making them the oldest players in the final. Adams took a huge 6-0 lead, but Nixon made an amazing comeback to tie the match at 6-6. It looked like Adams might lose again, but he won the final set 7-6. He finally claimed the world title he had been working towards for 14 years!

More Success: 2008-2011

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

Later in 2008, Adams won his first Winmau World Masters title. He beat Scott Waites in another close match, winning 7-6.

In the 2009 World Championship, Adams reached the semi-finals for the fifth year in a row. He lost to the eventual champion, Ted Hankey. That same year, he won his second World Masters title in a row. He beat Robbie Green 7-6, even though Green had been leading 6-3. This made Adams the first player since 1988 to win the Masters title two times in a row.

Adams won his second World Championship title at the 2010 World Championship. He had comfortable wins in the early rounds. In the final, he beat Dave Chisnall 7-5. In February 2010, he also won the Dutch Open for the first time.

He continued his winning streak by taking his third World Masters title in a row in 2010. He beat Stuart Kellett 7-3 in the final. This made him only the second player ever to win three World Masters titles in a row.

In the 2011 tournament, Adams reached his fourth World Championship final. He won 7-5 against Dean Winstanley, becoming the first player since Raymond van Barneveld to successfully defend the BDO World Championship.

Later in 2011, Adams won the Dutch Open again. He also reached the singles final at the WDF World Cup and won the doubles event with Scott Waites.

Later Career: 2012-Present

Adams was the top seed at the 2012 World Championship. He won his first two matches without losing a set. However, he was defeated in the quarter-finals by Tony O'Shea. The year 2012 was a bit tough for Adams. He lost early in some tournaments, including the Masters.

At the 2013 World Championship, Adams lost in the first round to a young player named Jimmy Hendriks. During this time, Adams was focusing on his personal life. He lost weight and stopped smoking. Eventually, he found his good form again.

In the 2014 World Championship, Adams reached the quarter-finals. He had some strong wins but lost to Jan Dekker. He returned to being the world number two player and won several important tournaments.

He had a great run at the 2015 World Championship, reaching the final. He almost hit a "nine-darter," which is a perfect game in darts, but he missed the last dart. In the final, he lost a very close match to Scott Mitchell, 7-6.

In November 2015, Adams played in a PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) tournament for the first time since 2007. This was the 2015 Grand Slam of Darts. He won all his group matches but narrowly lost in the next round. He enjoyed the experience and said he would likely play again if invited.

At the 2016 World Championship, Adams lost in the first round. However, he quickly bounced back by winning the Dutch Open again a few weeks later. He also played in the 2016 Grand Slam of Darts but lost all his matches. This was his last appearance in a PDC televised tournament.

In the 2017 World Championship, Adams reached the quarter-finals, losing a close match. In 2018, he lost in the first round. In 2019, for the first time since his debut in 1994, Adams did not qualify for the World Championship. This ended his amazing run of 25 straight appearances. However, he did win the Italian Open that year.

In the 2020 World Championship, Adams lost in the first round to Scott Waites. In 2022, he reached the final of the 2022 World Seniors Darts Championship, where 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.

Playing in the PDC

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 and the quarter-finals of the 2001 World Grand Prix. He also won a smaller PDC tournament in 1999, beating Phil Taylor in the final.

After 2001, the rules for playing in PDC tournaments changed. Adams decided to stay with the BDO, so he couldn't play in PDC events for a long time. For many years, Adams was invited to play in the Grand Slam of Darts, which features players from both the BDO and PDC. However, he always turned down the invitation. He said it would save him time from having to refuse them!

But in 2015, Adams finally accepted the invitation to the 2015 Grand Slam of Darts. He did very well, winning all his group matches. He then lost a very close match in the second round. Adams enjoyed the experience and hinted he might return, but he hasn't played in a PDC televised event since 2016.

World Championship Results

BDO/WDF World Championship

• 1994: Quarter-finals
• 1995: Semi-finals
• 1996: Quarter-finals
• 1997: First round
• 1998: First round
• 1999: Quarter-finals
• 2000: First round
• 2001: Second round
• 2002: Semi-finals
• 2003: Second round
• 2004: First round
• 2005: Runner-up
• 2006: Semi-finals
• 2007: Winner
• 2008: Semi-finals
• 2009: Semi-finals
• 2010: Winner
• 2011: Winner
• 2012: Quarter-finals
• 2013: First round
• 2014: Quarter-finals
• 2015: Runner-up
• 2016: First round
• 2017: Quarter-finals
• 2018: First round
• 2020: First round
• 2022: First round

World Seniors Darts Championship (WSDT)

• 2022: Runner-up
• 2023: Second round
• 2024: Second round

Career Finals

BDO Major Finals: 14 (6 Titles, 8 Runner-up)

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

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 (sets)

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)