Major Breakthrough
In late 2005, Lewis began to produce some promising results including his first major event quarter-final which came in the World Matchplay, where he lost to Colin Lloyd. This result saw him break in the top 32 in the world for the first time. He then became the first player to win both PDC Pro Tour events during a weekend by taking the PDPA Players Championship and the UK Open Scottish Regional titles.
Lewis made his PDC World Championship debut in 2006, reaching the quarter-finals by defeating Dave Honey, Dennis Priestley and Roland Scholten. He was involved in, what has become, an infamous match against Peter Manley. When 1–2 down Lewis successfully hit a blind 180, where he turned to face Manley as the last dart was in the air. Manley won the set and then appeared to say something while Lewis was throwing, which caused him to leave the stage. Lewis did return, but went on to lose the match 3–5.
His biggest breakthrough came in May 2006 when he joined the 15 other PDC players in the top 16 competing against 16 American qualifiers in the World Series of Darts which was broadcast on ESPN. Lewis' performance in this tournament made others refer to him as a major threat in years to come. He beat Lloyd, Denis Ovens and Priestley before falling in the final to Taylor.
His ranking continued to rise by reaching the later stages of the non-televised PDC Pro Tour events during 2006 as well as the quarter-finals of the UK Open in 2006 where he beat Wayne Mardle 11–10 in the last 16, before losing to John MaGowan 11–8 in the last eight.
Read more about this topic: Adrian Lewis
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