BACK IN THE DAY WITH: Jamie Lewis - Reached the 2018 World Championship semi-finals, but almost completely disappeared afterwards

In this feature, we regularly take a look back at the career of a particular darts player. Today, we turn our attention to Welshman Jamie Lewis. 'Fireball', as he was nicknamed, experienced a remarkable development during his darts career.

The Welshman emerged as one of the biggest talents of his generation as a young player, spectacularly reached the semi-finals of the PDC World Darts Championship and appeared ready to finally break into the world elite. However, Lewis ultimately failed to fully live up to those high expectations. His career was marked by impressive victories, deep runs at major tournaments, but also a significant decline and personal problems.

Lewis's first major successes came at a young age. In 2009, he won both the World Masters youth title and the WDF World Cup Boys tournament. He made it clear that he was one of the biggest talents of his generation.

A year later, he reached the last 24 of the World Masters. He lost 3-2 in sets to Ted Hankey. In 2011, another strong performance followed at the WDF World Cup, where Lewis reached the semi-finals. Martin Adams proved too strong, winning 6-3.

His move to the professional circuit came in January 2012. The then 20-year-old Welshman earned a PDC Tour Card on the fourth day of Qualifying School. This gave him access to the Players Championships, UK Open Qualifiers and European Tour events. Lewis made his UK Open debut that same year. After victories over Steve Farmer and Mark Stephenson, he was eliminated by Pete Hudson.

He also gained his first experience on the European Tour. He qualified for the German Darts Masters in Stuttgart, but lost 6-3 to Richie Burnett in the first round. At the same time, he remained active on the Youth Tour, where he won two tournaments in 2012.

His performances earned him fourth place in the Youth Tour Order of Merit. Because several higher-ranked players had already secured places at the World Championship, Lewis was given the opportunity to qualify for the 2013 World Championship. However, his debut ended in the preliminary round. Against Lourence Ilagan, he surrendered a 3-1 lead and eventually lost 4-3. At that point, Lewis was ranked 68th in the world.

A year later, he took an important step forward. Lewis reached his first PDC Pro Tour final during a UK Open Qualifier. In the semi-finals, he caused a huge upset by defeating Michael van Gerwen 6-4, recording an impressive average of 108.07. He could not maintain that level in the final and lost 6-1 to Brendan Dolan.

Lewis also made a major impression at the Gibraltar Darts Trophy. He defeated Colin Osborne, Robert Thornton, Steve Brown, Kevin Painter and Adrian Lewis in succession to reach his first final in a PDC ranking event. The victory over Adrian Lewis also earned him a place in the World Matchplay for the first time. In the final, he faced Phil Taylor, but there was little Lewis could do against the 16-time world champion. Taylor won convincingly 6-1.

Lewis subsequently lost to Kevin Painter in the first round of the World Matchplay. Nevertheless, 2013 was an important year in his development. His performances were enough to take him to 32nd place in the ProTour Order of Merit, qualifying him for the Players Championship Finals. There, he faced Michael van Gerwen and lost 6-1.

Lewis made further progress in 2014. He qualified for the World Championship and faced Raymond van Barneveld. That match proved disappointing. Lewis lost 3-0 and converted just three of his 14 darts at doubles. Despite this, he had climbed significantly in the world rankings and finished the year ranked 40th.

The 2015 season produced several more notable moments. At the World Championship, Lewis lost in the first round to James Wade despite making a strong start. Later that year, he reached the semi-finals of the Gibraltar Darts Trophy, where Michael van Gerwen proved too strong, winning 6-1. Lewis also made his World Cup of Darts debut for Wales, but together with Mark Webster, he was surprisingly eliminated by Hong Kong.

At the World Matchplay, Lewis recorded a victory over Justin Pipe, after which Van Gerwen once again stood in his way. The Dutchman made short work of the Welshman, winning 13-2. Lewis did enjoy an important personal highlight later that year when he hit the first nine-darter of his PDC career.

At the World Grand Prix, Lewis showed that he could also perform on the biggest stages. He survived two match darts from William O'Connor and then defeated Michael Smith after coming back from 0-2 down in sets. As a result, he reached the quarter-finals of a major for the first time. Van Gerwen was once again his opponent, and once again the Dutchman proved too strong.

The following years were more inconsistent. In 2016, Lewis lost to Daryl Gurney at the World Championship and was eliminated by Stephen Bunting at the UK Open after a strong run. He also regularly went deep at Players Championship events, but a first PDC title remained elusive.

In 2017, he finally recorded his first victory at the PDC World Championship. At his fifth appearance, he defeated Mick McGowan, but Peter Wright ended his tournament in the second round.

The 2018 World Championship would go on to become the highlight of Lewis's career. He initially failed to qualify through the Order of Merit, but secured a place in the preliminary round via the PDPA Qualifier. What followed was a sensational run.

Lewis defeated Kenny Neyens in the preliminary round before eliminating Jonny Clayton. He then produced one of the biggest surprises of the tournament by defeating world number two Peter Wright. He subsequently overcame James Richardson and Darren Webster. Against Webster, Lewis even won 4-0.

That made him the first player to progress from the preliminary round to the quarter-finals and then the semi-finals of the World Championship. In the semi-finals, however, Phil Taylor was waiting. Lewis was unable to continue his fairytale run and lost 6-1 to the darts legend. Nevertheless, he had firmly put himself on the map. His performances at Alexandra Palace also resulted in a huge rise in his profile and ranking.

In March 2018, Lewis confirmed his good form with a semi-final appearance at Players Championship 3. Along the way, he defeated the likes of Stephen Bunting, Danny Noppert and Joe Cullen. Against Adam Hunt, he also hit a nine-darter. Gary Anderson eventually ended his run.

A difficult period began after that. In 2019, Lewis again reached the last 16 of the World Championship. He defeated Cody Harris and Daryl Gurney, but was then beaten 4-0 by Dave Chisnall. At the UK Open, he won a thrilling match against Adrian Lewis, but Josh Payne eliminated him in the next round. His level on the Pro Tour dropped significantly, and Lewis earned just £7,000 in prize money over the entire season.

In 2020, he slipped further down the rankings. He missed the World Championship and fell to 57th in the world. His season was also affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Lewis enjoyed few successes and announced in September that he was temporarily stepping away from darts to focus on his private life.

Later that year, he revealed that he had been struggling with an anxiety disorder. Despite those problems, he continued trying to qualify for the World Championship. He succeeded through the PDPA UK Qualifier. He defeated David Pallett, Alan Tabern and Robert Thornton to secure his place at the 2021 World Championship.

At Alexandra Palace, Lewis once again showed his resilience. In the first round, he came back from 2-0 down in sets against Luke Woodhouse to win 3-2. In the second round, he faced eventual world champion Gerwyn Price. Lewis won the first and fourth sets, but Price took the deciding set.

Lewis subsequently lost his PDC Tour Card and decided to return to the WDF in 2022, which had by then replaced the defunct BDO. That same year, he won the Antwerp Open.

As a result, he qualified for the WDF World Championship. However, at Lakeside Country Club, he was eliminated in the opening round after a 2-0 defeat to Jarno Bottenberg. Since then, Lewis has barely competed in international tournaments. He did make another appearance in a MODUS Super Series week, although without much success.

Lewis is still only 34, so there is certainly a possibility that he could return to the world of darts. His talent is undeniable, as he has demonstrated on numerous occasions in the past. The main question is whether he himself wants to take on the challenge again. Only time will tell.

If he does not return, however, we will certainly remember Lewis as one of the best darts players Wales has produced.