Adrian Lewis has a reel of iconic moments, but none more so than when he stormed off stage at the World Championship.
Lewis became an iconic figure on the PDC roster after being mentored by arguably the greatest to ever grace the oche in Phil Taylor, making his TV debut on the PDC tour in 2004.
Lewis became angry after claiming Peter Manley spoke during his throw for double[/caption]
As the early stages of his career unfolded, Lewis began to make his name on the world stage and was seen as the biggest rising star when making his World Championship debut in 2006.
Two years before a venue change to Alexandra Palace, Lewis took on tricky customer Peter Manley on stage at the Circus Tavern in front of the close-quarters and raucous crowd.
It was the quarter-final stage and Manley had been notorious during his career for using mind games up on stage, a tactic which ruffled the feathers of many on tour.
And Lewis, who became known later in his career for having a short fuse when distracted at the oche, showed a new side after becoming angered by Manley’s gamesmanship.
With Lewis stepping up to the board at 3-1 down in sets, with a chance to break throw and make it 2-1 in legs in the fourth set, things became tense.
‘Jackpot’ pinned a double top to set up a chance to win the set with the darts, but when returning to the table, decided to have words with Manley.
It couldn’t be heard exactly what was said, but Lewis had become furious with Manley reportedly talking to his rival during his throw.
The crowd began booing as Lewis stepped up to the oche again, with the pair having exchanged more words.
And as he began to tune up to let his arrows go, Manley muttered under his breath again and Lewis decided he had seen enough.
He raised his hand in protest and stormed off the stage to the right, returning briefly to the backstage area.
It was met by more boos from the crowd, who loudly chanted Manley’s name, and were clearly on his side.
Lewis was left furious with Manley and angrily confronted him[/caption]
Lewis then stormed off stage – much to the annoyance of fans in attendance[/caption]
‘One Dart’ was stood on the stage and visibly stunned with what had unfolded, before deciding to let go some practice darts during the shock interval.
Lewis eventually returned to stage with a furious look on his face, and after deliberation resumed his participation in the match.
Ultimately he succumbed to a defeat, crashing out of the hallmark tournament, with Manley’s job done by securing progression into the semi-finals.
Incredibly in an almost inevitable script, Manley fell at the final hurdle losing to Lewis’ mentor and great Taylor in a whitewash 7-0 defeat in the final.
When recalling the incident years later, the veteran insisted he did nothing wrong in that match.
“I wasn’t particularly bothered really. I had absolutely no idea why he walked off,” he said. “They say I was muttering behind him, he wasn’t throwing the dart.
“At the time Sid Waddell actually said and called it cheating. He was basically doing things behind me and denied it and I just got on with the game but he wouldn’t leave it.
“The next thing I know he’s walking off. We both got fined, but I ended up with £50,000 in the bank so I was alright at the time.
“I’m happy to admit if I played up, but that wasn’t playing up, that was get on with the game.
“I was playing well, I was in front. There was no need for me to worry about any of my off-putting tactics.
“But most of the players were just fearful of that and lost to me because they were expecting something which 90 per cent of the time, I never even done anything.”
The pair were subsequently fined for their roles in the incident, but Lewis never dwelled on it and his career still went from strength to strength.
Lewis went on to win two consecutive World Championship titles in 2011 and 2012, a remarkable achievement for the talented tungsten machine.
He also won four World Cup Of Darts titles alongside Taylor, as well as the UK Open major in 2014 and the European Championship in 2013.
In the present day, Lewis will miss out on the 2025 edition of the World Championship after losing his PDC Tour card.
He is still considering a future at the board however, and could look to regain it by entering the PDC Qualifying School in 2025.
As for Manley he had rattled some cages during his career, including Taylor four years prior whom he had refused to shake his hand in a heated affair in 2002.
Manley has competed on the seniors tour entering the inaugural World Seniors Championship in 2022, where he was beaten by Taylor years on.
He was seen as a pantomime villain, a contrast to Lewis who still remains a hugely popular figure on tour.
The PDC World Championship starts on December 15, with the final taking place on January 3.
talkSPORT will have live commentary of all the action across the network throughout the tournament.
