Former world champion Adrian Lewis has said he will ‘consider’ returning to the PDC Tour following a plea from rival Gary Anderson. Lewis, 40, has lost his tour card due to inactivity, but has continued to compete in MODUS Super Series events.
He is expected to return to Q school in a bid to return to the professional game. That seemingly can’t come soon enough for Anderson, who is currently in Blackpool at the World Matchplay. The Scot produced a scintillating finish to his match with Luke Woodhouse on Saturday, surging from 5-5 to win 10-5.
Afterwards, though, the 54-year-old was left lamenting the lack of characters in the modern game. Recalling the ‘good old days’, he said: “Adie Lewis, Taylor, Painter, we used to sit and have a cracking laugh.
“Nowadays, nobody talks to each other, you don’t have a good laugh or a bit of banter. You need to have a laugh. Youngsters, they’ve got a great chance in life to make a lot of bloody money, but they need to calm down and think ‘this is my job’ and that’s it.
“They’re sitting on their phones on their bloody earphones. Don’t talk to you. It’s a completely different life. They’re good, but they ain’t that good.”
Lewis responded to the comments on social media. Reposting footage of Anderson’s interview on X, he wrote: “I’ll consider it” with a laughing emoji.
However, ‘Jackpot’, who was world champion in 2010 and 2011, then joked Anderson had an ulterior motive. In another post, he wrote: “Just realised @GaryAnderson180 only wants me to come back for an easy draw.”
Anderson has anything but an easy draw this week and will now face Stephen Bunting in the second round at the Winter Gardens on Tuesday. He won the title in 2018, beating Mensur Suljovic 21-19 in the longest match in tournament history.