Darts: Why I hope Lewis fails to defend his title

Lewis is showing incredible arrogance at Alexandra Palace

Predictably, Adrian Lewis blamed the crowd for the closeness of his quarter-final with Terry Jenkins last night.

Lewis let a 3-0 lead slip and eventually came through it 5-3, but instead of giving any credit to the fight and talent of his opponent, he once again looked for excuses.

He really thinks he is God's gift and it would be fantastic to see him fall flat on his face in his title defence.

When Lewis is flowing, there aren't many better darts players to watch.

For most of the match against Jenkins, he was at his best, hitting trebles and doubles with ease.

But the way he does it and the attitude he shows mean I will never support him.

Lewis has one world title to his name yet he seems to think he has 20.

He is arrogant, shows no respect for his opponents and seems to think he has a divine right to win tournaments.

Any other player would have given Jenkins the respect he deserved after such a stirring comeback, but Lewis barely looked at him while they shook hands and didn't even have a word for his beaten opponent.

He also failed to mention Jenkins in the post-match interview just to underline his arrogance and lack of respect.

Lewis is playing well but showing no class

If he wins the world title again this year his head won't even be able to fit on the stage.

He thinks he's Phil Taylor. He's not. He's won one major - albeit the biggest one - and is still erratic when the pressure is on.

He switches off in games - probably because he thinks it's so easy - and seems to think he is some sort of darting God who everyone should bow down to.

It isn't just Lewis being confident in his own ability, it's downright arrogance and ignorance.

In the first round, where he deserved to be knocked out by Nigel Heydon, he showed very little humility and acknowledgement of his luck.

This has escalated with each match he has won and now it is hard to see how much more unbearable he can get.

When asked about his upcoming semi-final match against James Wade - a player who has achieved a lot more than Lewis despite not winning a world title - he put Wade down and said "this is my stage" which just about sums him up.

When earlier asked who his main rival was to win the title, he said he couldn't see anyone winning the tournament but himself.

It would give me great pleasure to see him fail.

I would much rather any of the other three semi-finalists walk away with the trophy than Lewis, despite him being one of the best and most exciting darts players ever seen.

It would be nice to see Simon Whitlock win it, as it is hard to see him getting too big for his boots.

Whitlock dispatched Gary Anderson 5-1 in emphatic fashion

On form, Whitlock should give Lewis an almighty game and may even deserve to be classed as the favourite, although Lewis would surely disagree with that.

If Lewis doesn't reclaim the title, he'll have some excuses up his sleeve.

The crowd will be one, the lights may be another, possibly even the heat.

He may not even reach the final because Wade is one of the best players of all-time and deserves more respect than he is given by Lewis.

His win over John Part in the quarter-final was thrilling and will surely go down as one of the best games in darts history.

Both players went toe-to-toe with brilliant scoring and finishing for nine sets of excellence, with Wade eventually prevailing in a last leg shoot-out.

The crowd were captivated by the magnificent match, played in the right spirit and with both players showing suitable sportsmanship, particularly Part in the way he took defeat so admirably.

Andy Hamilton completes the semi-final line-up and he would also give the reigning champion a good game, as if he switched off Hamilton would make him pay.

Lewis deserves to be taught a lesson and I sincerely hope he is given one over the next few days.