Adrian Lewis can win a third world title if he continues to work at his game, says Wayne Mardle
Friday 25 December 2015 06:08, UK
Adrian Lewis can lift the World Championship title for a third time if he stays dedicated to his darts career, says Wayne Mardle.
The two-time world champion made an impressive start to this year's tournament, completing a 3-0 win over Jan Dekker with a classy 164 checkout.
It has been almost four years since Lewis took his second straight title in 2012, but the Stoke man has worked hard at his game under the watchful eye of manager Keith Deller and Mardle believes this preparation at the practice board could be richly rewarded.
If he works at his game, he could easily become a world champion for the third time.
Mardle told Sky Sports: "I think they've finally got it between them, the fact that Adrian cannot keep relying on his unbelievable ability, which it really is.
"Some of the 180s there, they were incredible. If he works at his game, he could easily become a world champion for the third time."
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Lewis has been prone to lapses of concentration on the oche and his focus briefly wavered during the one-sided win over Dekker.
Mardle, a former world semi-finalist, has urged 'Jackpot' to trust his instincts during crucial moments in a match.
"I thought he played excellent, a bit like Dave Chisnall did," said Mardle. "The scoring, once that first 60 is in, or among the trebles, he never faltered.
"They were on a pin-head, some of those 180s and 140s. He looked good to me. When you start taking out those two-dart combinations and not messing around, you're going to be hard to beat.
"All Adrian has got to do is just throw instinctively. The first sign of thinking about it, which he did in the very last leg, he tightened up and put in two poor shots at the very start of an important leg.
"He ended up winning it with a 164, we know that, but once he throws without that thought process, we know what natural ability he has - he's amazing."
Live World Darts Championship
Watch day eight of the World Darts Championship on Boxing Day from 6pm on Sky Sports 2.
