"You've got have the hunger and that's what I missed" - Adrian Lewis insists he can return to PDC elite

Adrian Lewis is one of the biggest names in the modern darting era. So it was particularly big news when he announced in April last year that he was taking a break from his professional career. In 2025 however, 'Jackpot' will return, firstly through the MODUS Super Series.

Lewis is one of the all-time greats in PDC history. He crowned himself world champion in 2011 and 2012 and also won two other majors (UK Open and European Championship). Lewis also reached the final at several other majors and won the World Cup of Darts with his former mentor Phil Taylor on several occasions. After sliding down the Order of Merit and issues to deal with away from the oche though, Lewis pressed pause on his career in early 2023.

"It's one of them things where it's not going to go away. My wife's got an incurable kidney disease, my daughter has got autism, so obviously I had to put this (darts ed.) on the back burner," Lewis says in conversation with Online Darts. "My mind wasn't at the darts and I've said that for a long time."

"I was already on a negative before it even started because I knew I didn't want to be there. So obviously, if I lost I wasn't really too bothered," Lewis recalls of his last few months on the Pro Tour, making his decision to step away an easy one. "It had been coming. For I would I think probably, 18 months, I'd been thinking about it. I just thought: 'I can't keep doing this. I can't keep putting myself through this.'"

Given that Lewis' Tour Card still runs until the end of the season though, the intriguing possibility remains that the former world champion could compete at the end of November, in the qualifying tournament for Tour Card holders. There will be two places to be earned for the upcoming World Darts Championship there, giving Lewis a potential shot at returning to the Ally Pally if he were successful. "I dont know about it yet. I dont know if I'm going to go back," Lewis says when asked about the possibility. "The only way, is if my mind's 100% and I'm going to go 100% at it."

"I'm just happy I've been part of probably the golden generation. and obviously been one of the names people remember," Lewis says of his impact on the sport. "I've got to see the world as well. I've traveled all over the world and I've just enjoyed it."

Lewis is sometimes compared to Luke Littler, both of whom performed extremely well at a young age. "I do (see himself in Littler). I mean in a lot of aspects, but I think he's got a better head on his shoulders than what I had. I was just stupid all the time looking back.

The final question is whether we will ever see Lewis back at the highest level. "I've never had that feeling where I don't think I can beat anybody. But, you've got have the hunger and that's what I missed. You need that fire, you need to push yourself again like I used to do," he assesses. "You think 'oh I can do it', but then you think 'do you want do it?' And that's when you start questioning yourself."