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“The BDO has died” admits stalwart Martin Adams

Jamie Shaw in BDO Darts News 21 Aug 2020
Adams has been a stalwart of the BDO since 1988 (Photo by Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

Martin Adams has conceded that the BDO “has died” and has ruled out any form of intervention.

Adams, 64, played his entire professional career within the BDO system, winning three world titles and three World Masters titles as one of the organisation’s most successful stalwarts.

British Darts Organisation Enterprises Ltd, the commercial arm of the BDO, filed for voluntary liquidation in May, effectively bringing the curtain down on more than 40 years of history.

After outspoken Chairman Des Jacklin resigned in March, Adams had been strongly linked with the role, but Jacklin returned the post little over a month later.

Adams featured in 26 BDO World Championships, including the last staging of the event at London’s Indigo at The O2 in January, and admits there is no coming back for the BDO.

“I’ve got to be honest, I think unfortunately the BDO has died,” Adams told Darts World.

“It died at the World Masters, in my view. That was a very sad, sad day.

“What more can you say, really? I just think it’s unrecoverable.

“I think it’s beyond saving now.

“When you go into voluntary liquidation, the nail is in the coffin and I think we actually buried the BDO with Olly Croft – it’s founder.

“It’s very sad that it has come to this, I always try to think of something positive like ‘all good things come to an end’ and it was a very good thing.”

In the absence of the BDO, a power struggle has developed within the amateur game as various organisations vie to become the BDO’s outright replacement.

These include Modern Amateur Darts (MAD), fronted by Junior Darts Corporation Chairman Steve Brown – which has unveiled a nationwide blueprint in a bid to breathe new life into grass roots darts.

Adams is yet to familiarise himself with the MAD concept, but has not ruled out joining forces and has vowed to continue flourishing into his late 60s.

He added: “I just keep playing my normal darts, we’ve got the World Darts Federation and the England Darts Organisation so there’s still plenty for me to participate in.

“I don’t really know anything about MAD to be honest, I’ve not really looked at it, but I’m sure it’s very good and I know the man who is fronting it is very good.

“But I shall just keep doing what I do – exhibitions and a few tournaments.

“I’m at the life in life where I think to myself, let’s just do the tournaments we enjoy doing and not worry about points and all that sort of stuff.”