Local darts legend Martin ‘Wolfie’ Adams kicks off bid for World Championship glory at Lakeside this weekend

Martin Adams during the BDO Lakeside World Professional Darts Championships. Photo: John Walton/PA Wire.

Wolfie, a three-time BDO champion, will play in the opening match of the event against 21-year old Jarred Cole.

Coverage begins at 1pm on Eurosport 2.

The tournament is also being shown on Quest and streamed on the Discovery+ app and will run from Saturday until next Sunday (April 10).

If Adams wins, he will set up second round meeting with Antony Allen.

Adams (65) was the runner-up in the World Seniors Darts Championship in February. He performed well but came against an irresistible Robert Thornton in the final, who beat him 5-1.

The World Darts Federation has essentially taken the place of the now defunct BDO and will be hosting the event in the historic Lakeside Country Club in Surrey.

It will be the first time Lakeside, which hosted the BDO event between 1986 and 2019, has hosted a World Championships.

This year’s tournament will be the first held by the WDF and was due to take place in the traditional January slot but was postponed due to concerns about Covid-19 restrictions.

Many of the biggest names in darts outside of the PDC will return to the Lakeside Country Club for the inaugural event.

Wayne Warren, who won the final BDO World Championship at the Indigo at London’s O2 arena in 2020, will take part in the men’s championship.

The women’s championship will also see the final BDO champion take part as two-time winner Mikuru Suzuki features.

England’s Deta Hedman, a three-time BDO World Championship runner-up and two time BDO World Masters winner, is the current WDF number one and will also feature.

There is a £300,000 prize-fund for the event including a first prize of £50,000 for the men’s champion and £25,000 for the women’s champions.