Andy Fordham is a reputation that’s universally missed on this planet of darts.
The 2004 BDO world champion sadly handed away in 2021 after a string of well being issues, largely associated to his ingesting. ‘The Viking’ usually helped himself to what could possibly be 24 bottles of lager and a flask of spirit earlier than taking to the stage, citing that he by no means felt comfy enjoying absolutely sober.
Weighing 26 stone, Fordham collapsed behind the stage on the 2007 BDO World Championships after complaining of chest pains – a results of his ingesting that used to assist him win.
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He stated: “The first time I played at the Lakeside, I drank a shedload, and the worst thing was that I won, so you feel like it works. From then on, every time I played, I felt like I had to have a shedload. I’m not proud of it, but I was just good at drinking.”
Fordham did take to sobriety after the incident, however the harm to his physique was too grave, and he was misplaced on the age of 59 to organ failure.
A plethora, and even the vast majority of the world’s greatest gamers, used to drink earlier than competing, and 1994 BDO world champion Dennis Preistley lately claimed they nonetheless do.
Which present darts participant do you assume likes a drink earlier than a sport? Let us know within the feedback part under
(Image: Ian Walton/Getty Images)
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A lighter reminiscence of Andy was his blood check story, as he added: “Later that yr, I got here again from a visit feeling tough, and the physician informed me to have a blood check.
“A number of days afterwards, my son damage himself, so the missus took him to the physician, and whereas she was there, the physician stated: ‘Can I have a quick word about Andy – why did he have a drink before his blood test?’
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“My blood test was on a Wednesday, and she told him I hadn’t touched alcohol since the previous Sunday. She reckons he literally threw the pencil out of his hand and said, ‘You must be f****** joking.’
“He told her: ‘If he had been pulled over in the car, he would have been nicked for drink-driving because of the alcohol still in his system – three days later’.”