"It's all because of Devon Petersen's vision": South African darts pioneer Simon Adams praises the man behind the African darts revolution
PDC
In the international darts world, Simon Adams may not be a household name among every fan, but in Africa the South African has long been regarded as one of the sport's true pioneers. The 58-year-old has spent decades helping to develop darts across the continent and believes the future is brighter than ever.
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Speaking to Bang On Target, Adams reflected on a darts career spanning more than four decades.
“I turn 59 in November and was born and raised in East London, South Africa, and now live in Gqeberha, the new name for Port Elizabeth, South Africa.”
Away from the oche, Adams leads a busy family and working life. He has been married to his wife Ellen for 33 years, and together they have two sons.
“I have been married to my wife, Ellen, for the past 33 years. We have two sons. Our eldest, Tertian, is 32, works as a teacher and lives in London (in England) with his wife, Katie. Our youngest son, Shaquille, is 26. He has a university degree and is a keen rugby player.”
Alongside his darts career, Adams works as a sales manager for a dairy company. Within African darts, however, he is best known as a player, mentor and ambassador for the sport.
Why 'Awesome Adams' became 'The Saint'
These days Adams competes under the nickname 'The Saint', although that wasn't always the case.
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“Before I won the PDC World Championship qualifier, my nickname was Awesome Adams. When I made it, Devon Petersen and his marketing team decided that “Awesome” wasn’t something they could really market. They rebranded me as The Saint because of my character, leadership qualities and the voluntary work I do to promote darts, especially amongst young people.”
That community work remains a huge part of Adams' life and may ultimately become an even greater part of his legacy than his achievements on the dartboard.
Simon Adams at Ally Pally.
Joining an adult darts team at just 11 years old
Adams' love for darts began at an incredibly young age. “I started playing darts in 1979 when I was still only 11 years old. My dad played, and his team used to come to our house to practise. While he was making drinks one evening, I had a few throws with his teammates and beat every one of them. The following week, I was in the team.”
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Despite his obvious talent, Adams never considered relocating to England to pursue darts full-time. “No. I’ve only visited the UK twice. During those visits I played twice in the MODUS Super Series, once in the World Seniors Darts Series and once at the PDC World Championship. Of course, I was also there for Tertain’s wedding in 2023.”
His appearance at the PDC World Championship, where he lost to Ricky Evans in the opening round, remains one of the proudest moments of his career.
However, there will be no return to Alexandra Palace this year, as Adams is preparing to undergo hip replacement surgery. “Not this year. I’m having a hip replacement but, God willing, I’ll be back with a bang. But playing on stage in the MODUS Super Series and at the PDC World Championship have been my two career highlights.”
Devon Petersen has transformed African darts
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Having been involved in the sport for so long, Adams has witnessed the evolution of African darts first-hand. He believes standards have improved significantly in recent years, although there is still plenty of room for growth.
African darts received another huge boost recently when the PDC announced that two African players will now qualify for the World Championship.
“The standard is decent, but we’re not world beaters just yet. The growth has been fuelled by our darts development programme and by the events and qualifiers that Devon Petersen has brought to South Africa and Africa as a whole.”
“This was the best news Africa could have received, and it’s all because of Devon’s vision. Africa has so much talent and, when given opportunities like this, we can only excel.”
While Adams' immediate focus is recovering from surgery, he already has his sights set firmly on the future. “I want to get back competing as soon as my hip has healed and, of course, continue empowering our youth by recruiting and developing young players to help grow the sport.”
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