Darts villain turned up to World Championship event on crutches after drunken fall

Darts bad boy Adam Smith-Neale warmed up for his Lakeside debut in 2019 in the most careless way possible.

The then 25-year-old was embarking on his big moment having won the prestigious World Masters as an 80/1 outsider the previous year.

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Much was expected of the Nuneaton native at the BDO World Darts Championships, that was until he showed up at Lakeside nursing a broken leg.

The emerging star had suffered an injury in November 2018 and had only just started putting weight on the affected leg by the time the tournament kicked off in January 2019.

But the circumstances surrounding the injury left fans perplexed with Smith-Neale admitting he suffered the leg break in a drunken fall following a tournament in Italy.

But even an injury of that magnitude was not going to deter him from appearing at the World Darts Championship, even if his campaign was a short-lived one.

With his leg heavily strapped and the use of crutches to get to and from the oche, Smith-Neale was unable to reach anywhere near his level, to the surprise of few.

It saw first-round opponent Mark McGrath romp to a 3-0 victory, winning all nine legs in second gear.

The incident was only the start of what became a controversial career for the darts star.

Last year, he was banned for eight months after accepting a charge that he assaulted an opponent.

The incident occurred in March 2024 after Smith-Neale was beaten in an amateur event in his home town.

After losing the match, opponent Sam Whittaker offered him a handshake but instead Smith-Neale punched him in the face. 

A shocked Whittaker appeared unhurt as he ventured to the board to collect his darts and made a gesture towards him.

Smith-Neale approached his rival again only for a man to step in and push him against the wall.

The occurrence was captured on CCTV and Smith-Neale was suspended by the DRA pending a hearing.

He was subsequently prohibited from taking part in any Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) sanctioned event until November 12.

In 2011, Smith-Neale jumped on Simon Whitlock’s back in good-natured fashion but his antics saw Whitlock suffer a broken ankle.

His reputation has long been an issue with some fans having called for Smith-Neale to be banned from professional darts after he had claimed his PDC tour card in 2023.

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A petition on Change.org titled ‘Remove Adam Smith-Neale from the Professional Darts Corporation’ received 184 signatures.

Former player and talkSPORT commentator Paul Nicholson claimed Smith-Neale had a ‘tarnished reputation’.

“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 said in 2023.

“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.

“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.”

Smith-Neale made his controversial return to the sport in January for PDC UK Q School but was sent crashing in the last 32.