The 2004 Lakeside Champion, Fordham was a popular figure within the sport, with “The Viking” having also won the 1999 World Masters and a dozen other ranking titles on the BDO/WDF circuit.

He subsequently took on Phil Taylor in The Showdown at the Circus Tavern in November 2004, although he was forced to retire from the contest at 5-2 in their best-of-13 set game.

Fordham later competed on the PDC circuit in 2009 and 2010 and also qualified for the 2015 Grand Slam of Darts, where he won one of three matches in the group stage.

“Andy was one of the most recognisable players worldwide throughout his career and extremely popular around the world,”

“His 2004 win at Lakeside will always be remembered as the greatest moment of Andy’s career, and we also knew how much it meant to him when he qualified for the Grand Slam a decade later.

“He was a great personality and a lovely man, and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”

RIP

Andy Fordham