Darts legend Adrian Lewis will lose his PDC Tour Card – 14 years after his maiden World Championship triumph.
The 39-year-old is regarded as one of the sport’s most talented players having won four major honours.
‘Jackpot’ won back-to-back world titles at Alexandra Palace in 2011 and 2012.
He also emerged victorious at the European Championship and UK Open in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
Lewis is also a four-time winner of the PDC World Cup of Darts having won the trophy alongside Phil Taylor on each occasions.
But his form has dipped in recent years, and in April 2023, Lewis, who has been caring for his ill wife Sarah, announced he would be taking a break away from the sport.
Last year was the first time since his debut 2005 appearance at the World Championship that saw him fail to feature.
And his continued absence from darts will see him yet again miss out on competing at the iconic sports venue in next month’s tournament.
Lewis’ current PDC Tour Card runs until the end of the year, but he has decided against entering in the PDPA World Championship qualifier, which starts on Monday.
As a result, he will lose his Tour Card due to inactivity – much to the dismay of his adoring fans.
Taking to social media, one X user posted: “The streets will never forget the big man!”
Another messaged: “No Adrian Lewis at the PDPA qualifier so unfortunately he will lose his tour card. Miss you already king.”
A third added: “Such a great player to watch. Hopefully he’s well and we can see him back again some time.”
This supporter commented: “Ah man gutting. My favourite growing up and getting into darts.”
Meanwhile this fan simply stated: “One of the greatest to ever throw the tungsten.”
While Lewis will not be competing on the PDC Tour in 2025, he did announce in August he will return to action next year on the MODUS Super Series.
And he also stressed he would be willing to enter the PDC qualifying school to earn his spot on the Tour.
When asked by darts cult hero Wayne Mardle on when fans will see him back competing in PDC’s biggest events, Lewis said: “I’m going to see where I’m at first.
“Obviously I’ll do the MODUS next year, see where I’m at see where my games at and if I’m enjoying it. Then obviously, I’d love to go to Q-School.”
Commenting on his time away from the sport, he added: “It was never my intention to put the darts away forever.
“You know, I said I was taking a break, I never said I was retiring and there was always a possibility I was going to come back.
I didn’t really have the hunger, which I knew I needed to have to succeed. My wife has got an incurable kidney disease so we were in and out of hospital a lot of the time.
“Then, my daughter, she’s disabled, she’s got autism and it was just all getting too much for me. That’s not going away of course, but we can learn to deal with it.”
