Adams battles back from brink to stun Atkins
The second seed, runner-up last year, found himself 3-0 down and seemingly on his way to a shock exit as The Assassin produced the highest quality of the tournament so far in the early stages.
But the 40-year-old from Leeds was unable to sustain his outstanding form and Adams battled his way back into the match before taking control, winning seven consecutive legs to complete the amazing turnaround.
Although Wolfie was quicker out of the blocks and hit the first two doubles, Atkins still took the opening set as he embarked on a run of 10 legs out of 12 on the way to his 3-0 lead.
Up to that point Atkins had notched up eight maximum scores of 180 and even though he added three more, his standard began to drop and Adams, boosted by a 161 finish, gained confidence.
In the deciding leg of set five Atkins had a shot at double top to wrap it up, but by then the momentum was with his opponent and after missing that match dart the Yorkshireman failed to achieve another checkout.
âThat was tremendous - it has to rate as my best ever fightback, no doubt about it,â said Adams, aged 49.
Atkins thought his lack of Lakeside experience - it was only his third match on the stage - had contributed to his downfall.
