A darts player dubbed “universally unpopular” has unexpectedly landed a place back on the PDC Tour after a gap of more than 10 years.
Adam Smith-Neale showed immense potential when he landed a Tour card as a teenager However, he couldn’t hold on to his place at darts’ top table and then had several failed attempts at regaining his card.
Smith-Neale then switched his focus to the BDO, surprisingly winning the World Masters in 2018. That secured him a place at the BDO World Championship the following year but his preparations for the Lakeside showpiece were far from ideal.
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He suffered a badly broken leg after, by his own admission, falling over while drunk in Italy. That resulted in him taking to the Lakeside stage on crutches for his match against Mark McGrath, who took a 3-0 victory.
Smith-Neale can now look forward to two years on the PDC Tour after winning the last day of Q-School in Milton Keynes this month. However, the 29-year-old’s return has not gone down with many fans, with a petition even being started to have him removed from the Tour.
Smith-Neale is unpopular with fans for his antics on and off stage. Meanwhile, darts pundit Paul Nicholson described him as “universally unpopular” as he reviewed successor stories from Q-School.
(Image: Eurosport/Twitter)
In all the time I’ve been involved in the sport, I’ve never known anyone as universally unpopular among the darting fraternity as Adam Smith-Neale,” Nicholson told Sporting Life. “And that’s saying something considering some of the competition for that honour!
“He’s got a tarnished reputation to put it mildly for how he’s behaved away from the oche and now he has the opportunity to try and repair it. However, there’s a target on his back and when he’s in action on the Pro Tour, a lot of players will want to take him out and shut him up.
“The fans don’t like him and even set up a petition to take away his Tour Card! I can’t ever remember that happening to anyone else.
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(Image: Eurosport/Twitter)
“When he played at the Lakeside on crutches with a broken leg a few years ago, a lot of players were laughing because he was the one who once jumped on Simon Whitlock and damaged his ankle. It hasn’t been the same since.”
In a previous column last March, Nicholson explained what happened between Smith-Neale and Whitlock.
“Adam Smith-Neale had jumped on his back in a playful way and Simon’s ankle rolled over and broke, causing him to pull out of various events and commitments,” he wrote.
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