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Lionel Jeffrey Sams (born 20 January 1961) is an English former darts player who played in events of the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). His nickname was The Lion.

Sams' first televised darts match was on Anglia Television in 1986 at the Ladbrokes Festival (British Matchplay). He reached the final, but lost to Terry O'Dea. He then had some minor tournament victories including the Camber Sands Singles (1988) and Kent Open (1988 and 1989) but it was a long time before he made any impact on the darts circuit. Lional won the over 60s British Table Tennis Title in December 2024 and 1st price of £12,000 as well as his first snooker century break in June 2024.

Career

Sams' career turned for the better after joining the PDC. He hit a perfect nine-dart leg in a match against Ronnie Baxter in Montreal in May 2002 – there was no prize for the achievement, but players passed round a hat to collect $400.

During the mid-2000s, Sams was a regular in televised PDC majors. He consistently reached the last 16 of tournaments on the PDC circuit, which helped him to maintain a world ranking inside the top 32.

He was successful at the West Tyrone Open in February 2007, winning the singles and the doubles event, with Sean McGowan.

Decline

Sams' record at the World Championship has been poor since reaching the last 16 in 2004 and he lost his first match at each of the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Championships. He also failed to achieve success in the other televised tournaments, being unable to reach the quarter-final stage of any of the majors. He slipped outside the top 32 towards the end of 2007, and as a result, he inadvertently failed to enter himself for the qualifying rounds for the 2008 World Championship, missing out on the tournament for the first time since 2003. He has failed to qualify for the PDC World Championship since 2007.

During 2009, he reached two quarter finals on the PDC Pro Tour, but ended the year with only £6,100 in total prize money. He had a further decline in 2010, picking up just £600 in total prize money, as he entered fewer events and then failed to get past the last 64 stage of any Pro Tour Event. His PDC ranking fell to near 100 at the start of 2011 and he chose to decline a Pro Tour card for the year, effectively ending his PDC career. He joined the British Darts Organisation circuit in 2011.Sams has also signed up to compete in the Seniors tour in 2025 as he has lost 8 stone in weight.

World Championship results

PDC

• 2004: 4th Round (lost to Simon Whatley 1–4) (sets)
• 2005: 3rd Round (lost to Dennis Priestley 1–4)
• 2006: 1st Round (lost to John Kuczynski 0–3)
• 2007: 1st Round (lost to Dave Ladley 1–3)

References

1. "Bull's Eye News – Feature: Montreal's Gem – Billiard le Skratch Sarantos Retsinas Memorial". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
2. "Planet Darts – News – Latest – Lion Roars In West Tyrone Open". 2 March 2007. Archived from the original on 2 March 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
3. "Planet Darts | Latest News | Newsdesk | Newsdesk | Q School Entries Announced". Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2011.

External links

• Lionel Sams' website
• Lionel Sams' profile and statistics on Darts Database

• 1961 births
• English darts players
• Living people
• People from Paddington
• Sportspeople from the City of Westminster
• British Darts Organisation players
• Professional Darts Corporation former tour card holders