MARTIN ADAMS, the reigning BDO World Professional Darts Champion and longest serving England Captain, has turned down an invitation to compete in the PDC’s Grand Slam of Darts – despite several phone pleas from Barry Hearn.

“He accuses me of having misguided loyalties to the British Darts Organisation and says he feels ‘sorry’ for me because I don’t want to play in his event”, says Martin.

“Well, I’ve got news for him, loyalty is NOT a dirty word in my vocabulary. I’ve been a BDO player for 25 years and they have made me the player I am today.  He knows where my loyalties lie, so why does he have to offend me with his comments?

“The truth is, I am the reigning Lakeside World Champion and without me involved, the Grand Slam of Darts does not deliver what the fans and viewers have been led to expect.

“With no disrespect to the other players taking part, how can it be billed as a tournament between current PDC and BDO Champions when the reigning BDO World Champion is not in the line-up?

“I repeat that I will not be playing in the Grand Slam of Darts.
The Winmau World Masters is live on BBC TV from Bridlington at the same time, and that’s where I’ll be playing my darts.

“The World Masters is a real world title and I have the opportunity of winning £25,000 for two-days of darts, as well as the possibility of realising my ambition to win the two top titles in World Darts in the same year.”

The Winmau World Masters will be screened live on BBC TV over the weekend of November 17th and 18th, and has a prize fund of £60,000 – making it the richest two-day televised darts tournament in world darts.