Adrian Lewis defends self after Josh Payne square-off: "It's not my fault"
PC FinalsSaturday, 23 November 2019 at 09:00
Adrian Lewis offered his perspective on the altercation which soured the end of a Players Championship Finals win over Josh Payne.
Jackpot had been heading to defeat against the world number 46 in Minehead. But, roared on by a sympathetic crowd, Lewis rallied from 4-1 down to seal a 6-4 triumph. The two-time champion admitted that while support helped his Players Championship Finals stay on track, the adulation was a double-edged sword.
"I was under pressure, without a shadow of a doubt," Lewis admitted to Live Darts afterwards.
"I just knuckled down, and I thought, 'don't let that [noise] affect you. Because when the crowd are chanting your name, it does put you off."
Handbags
The coming together happened at the end of the game, once Lewis struck double 12 to confirm the win. He and Payne squared off at the oche, with some words exchanged before Payne walked away and Lewis made exaggerated gestures protesting his innocence.
"Me and Josh, we get on really well. And all of a sudden - I think with the crowd affecting him as well, he tried to take it out on me," explained Lewis, who has previously had infamous dust-ups with Peter Manley and Jose Justicia.
"I said to him: 'at the end of the day, it's not my fault the crowd are on my side! It's not my fault at all'.
"It was a great game for the crowd and everyone else, but it's not my fault the crowd are on my side.
"It's about time!"
Next up for Lewis is a meeting with Michael van Gerwen on Saturday afternoon.
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- @UndartedWaters I totally agree with your thoughts! I totally respect Kirk but in this instance I was disappointed with his lack of crowd control. I even turned to my husband and said "Could you imagine this happening if Russ Bray was the referee tonight? At least there would have been a crowd admonishment- Ladies and Gentleman please." I so felt for Mike DeDecker...MamaVenus15-11-2024
- Many fans had a sour taste in their mouth by the end of this match. Mike was cruising to victory, playing beautiful darts, when the whistling started in earnest, particularly on his doubles. You could see in Mike's face that it was really affecting his concentration. The referee should have asked for order, just to show that the whistling is unacceptable, and Luke Littler could also have done his part to quieten down the crowd instead of "taking full advantage.:" I put that down to his age though. He needs some good advice on this from his management team and/or more seasoned players. It's got to be about who's best on the night, not who is being harassed by the crowd. Luke Littler played well to get back into the game and win, but it was a hollow victory. If he goes on to win the tournament, that triumph too will be tainted because of this match.
UndartedWaters15-11-2024 - Agree. Van der voort will be the one taking a break when he loses his tour card. Everyone saying about how bad Wright's last 18 months have been, and in that time he's won several Euro tours and the European Championships.Matilda6215-11-2024
- When Littler has at least five ranking Majors he’s in the discussion, until then, forget it.Mysstree14-11-2024
- This is the difference between other players and Phil Taylor. Phil would be completely motivated even before his walk on and didn't need anything else to do so.richieburnettrocks14-11-2024