Andy Hamilton (darts player)

Andy Hamilton
Personal information
Nickname The Hammer
Born (1967-03-16) 16 March 1967
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England
Home town Derby
England
Darts information
Playing darts since 1981
Darts 23g 97% Tungsten Maestro
Laterality Right-handed
Walk-on music U Can't Touch This by MC Hammer
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC 2004–
Current world ranking 40
BDO majors - best performances
World Darts Trophy Semi Finalist: 2007
Int. Darts League First Round Group Stage: 2007
PDC premier events - best performances
World Ch'ship Runner-up: 2012
World Matchplay Semi-finals: 2006, 2011
World Grand Prix Semi-finals: 2009
Grand Slam Runner-up: 2007
Premier League Semi-finals: 2012
Ch'ship League 7th winners group: 2008, 2013
Desert Classic Quarter-finals: 2006, 2008
European Ch'ship Quarter-finals: 2012, 2013
UK Open Runner-up: 2013
US Open/WSoD Runner-up: 2009
Players Ch'ship Finals Semi-finals: 2013
The Masters First Round: 2013, 2014, 2015
Other tournament wins
Antwerp Open 2008
Coronation Hotel 500 2010
Cotgrave Open 2010
Coventry Open 2008
LPKD Spring Open 2009
Tamworth Open 2010

Players Championships

Players Championship (GIB) 2007

UK Open Regionals/Qualifiers

Regional Final (MID) 2007
UK Open Qualifier 2014

Andy Hamilton (born 16 March 1967 in Stoke-on-Trent) is an English professional darts player. He is nicknamed The Hammer.

Career

Early career

Hamilton started playing darts at the age of 14 with his father Jim and brother Darren. By the age of 18, Hamilton was playing county level darts for Cheshire. However, he did not feel confident enough to pursue a career at the higher level and stopped playing competitive darts for 20 years.

2004

Hamilton made his television debut at the 2004 UK Open but was eliminated in the first round 5–2 by Eddie Lovely.[1] His first semi-final on the PDC Pro Tour came in just his fourth event when he was beaten 3–2 by Mark Dudbridge in a Scottish Players Championship.[2]

2005

Hamilton qualified for the PDC World Championship for the first time in 2005 and made an immediate impact by reaching the quarter-final stage. Hamilton defeated Mark Thomson and Mick Manning 3–0 in the early rounds and beat former BDO World Champion Steve Beaton 4–2 to reach the last 16. After beating Josephus Schenk 4–1 in the fourth round, Hamilton eventually lost 5–1 to Bob Anderson.[3] He overcame Wes Newton and Mark Robinson to reach the last 32 of the UK Open, but was beaten 11–4 by Mark Walsh.[4] He also qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic for the first time where Darin Young defeated him 2–0 in the opening round.[5]

2006

The 2006 World Championship saw Hamilton gain revenge for his defeat to Anderson last year with a 3–2 first round win. He also knocked out Terry Jenkins 4–1 in the subsequent round. However, Hamilton fell to eventual winner Phil Taylor in the third round losing 4–0. Hamilton did manage to gain a share of the prize for highest three-dart checkout by hitting a 170 finish, a feat matched by Taylor.[6] Hamilton reached the quarter-finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic before being eliminated by eventual runner-up Raymond van Barneveld 3–1. He had defeated Kevin Painter 6–4 and enjoyed a comprehensive 3–0 victory over Matt Clark in the prior rounds.[7] Hamilton made his Winter Gardens debut at the World Matchplay tournament. He sprang something of a surprise in round one by thrashing number four seed Peter Manley 10–2 and then overcame Adrian Lewis in the second round, the duo produced a thrilling match that eventually saw Hamilton triumph 15–13. Hamilton's fine run continued as he defeated crowd favourite Wayne Mardle 16–9 to reach his first major semi-final. However Taylor, a seven time World Matchplay champion, eliminated Hamilton 17–11 in the semi-finals.[8]

2007

Hamilton reached the semi-finals of the 2007 PDC World Championship before bowing out 6–0 to eventual runner-up Taylor. Hamilton's campaign began with a 4–3 victory over Mark Dudbridge before defeating Dennis Priestley 4–1 and Jenkins 5–4 in the quarter-finals.[9] He hit 46 180s during the tournament, second only to the overall winner Raymond van Barneveld. Later in the month, Hamilton picked up his first PDC Pro Tour title with a 3–1 win over Colin Lloyd in a Gibraltar Players Championship. He had already overcome Andy Smith, Roland Scholten, Jenkins and Alan Warriner-Little on his way to the final.[10] He maintained his form by reaching two semi-finals in Pro Tour events and won his second title in April by beating James Wade in a UK Open Qualifier.[11] Hamilton also made a big impact in the inaugural US Open by winning through to the semi-finals where he was defeated by Van Barneveld.[12] Another semi-final soon followed at the World Darts Trophy, but Hamilton fell agonisingly short of reaching his first major final as he was edged out 6–5 by Gary Anderson.[13]

Hamilton qualified for the first staging of the Grand Slam of Darts by virtue of reaching the semi-finals at the Circus Tavern earlier in the year.[14] Hamilton's fast ascent in the world of darts continued as he won six matches to reach the final where, despite averaging over 100 against Taylor, he lost 18–11.[15][16]

2008 to 2011

Hamilton reached the later stages of several tournaments, namely quarter-finals in the 2008 Las Vegas Classic and World Grand Prix. One year later he reached the semi-final of the World Grand Prix. In 2010 he continued the good results at the World Grand Prix reaching the quarter-finals. At the 2011 World Matchplay he reached the semi-final by beating Gary Anderson, John Henderson, and after being 15-8 down against Simon Whitlock, he pulled back and won the game 17-15, winning 9 legs in a row in a remarkable comeback.[17] However he eventually lost to Phil Taylor 17-9 in the Semi finals.

2012: world championship runner-up

At the 2012 World Championship he beat Antonio Alcinas 3–2 in the first round, while missing a dart at double 18 in the third set for a nine-dart finish.[18] He then beat Vincent van der Voort 4–3, Dave Chisnall 4–0, and Kim Huybrechts 5–2, to reach the semi-finals for the second time in his career.[19] He played Simon Whitlock and found himself 3–5 down and on the brink of elimination before he produced a super fightback, which included four ton-plus finishes, to prevail 6–5.[20] Hamilton was consistently outscored by the Australian, but his finishing proved to be crucial as he hit 58% of his doubles to secure his first World final and second major TV final.[21] The 200–1 outsider at the start of the tournament could not complete a remarkable victory and clinch the title, however, as he valiantly fought hard throughout but could never get ahead of his opponent, Adrian Lewis, who won the match 7–3. The £100,000 Hamilton picked up for his runner-up spot is the biggest of his career to date and he vowed to go one better in the 2013 tournament.[22] He rose to world number 7 after the event.[23]

His performance at the World Championship helped him gain a wildcard place into the 2012 Premier League Darts, where he made his first appearance.[24] On the first night he beat James Wade 8–5, but then did not win another game until the eighth fixture of the campaign which included three successive defeats.[25] However, Hamilton turned his form around and went into the last round of matches knowing a win coupled with results going his way would see him into the play-offs.[26] Hamilton thrashed fellow debutant Kevin Painter 8–1 and did qualify for the play-offs by finishing 3rd in the league.[27] He was unbeaten in the last five matches of the season and played Simon Whitlock in the semi-finals, against whom he drew 7–7 and then beat 8–4 during the league stage.[25] Hamilton led the match 4–1, with Whitlock's solitary leg being a nine-darter, but went on to lose 6–8.[28]

Hamilton then lost 5–9 in the last 32 of the UK Open to Raymond van Barneveld.[29] He reached the final of the tenth Players Championship of the year and held a 5–3 lead over his opponent Colin Lloyd, before losing 5–6.[30] At the World Matchplay he beat Brendan Dolan and Mark Webster,[31] but was then defeated 11–16 in the quarter-finals by Phil Taylor.[32] Hamilton won through to his second Players Championship final of the year at the 12th event in September, but lost 4–6 to Simon Whitlock.[33] He then beat Mark Webster and Steve Beaton to make the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix.[34] Hamilton faced Michael van Gerwen and despite making a 160 finish to force a deciding set, he lost 2–3.[35] Hamilton topped his group at the Grand Slam of Darts by winning all three of his games,[36] before taking out four ton-plus finishes to edge past Gary Anderson 10–9.[37] He beat John Part 16–12 in the quarter-finals, and led van Barneveld 6–3 in the semis, before the Dutchman put together a match defining run of nine straight legs and eventually triumphed 16–10.[38] After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Hamilton was 14th on the Order of Merit, which qualified him for the Players Championship Finals where he saw off Andy Smith and van Gerwen to play Phil Taylor in the quarter-finals.[39][40] Hamilton led 9–5 in the best of 19 legs match, on the verge of beating the 15-time world champion for the first time in a televised match, but Taylor came back and with the score at 9–8, Hamilton needed 60 for the match. He missed the board with his first dart and missed double 20 with his last, this being the only dart he had for the match as he lost 9–10.[41]

2013

Hamilton dropped one set in each of his first three games in the 2013 World Championship as he reached the quarter-finals.[42] He played Phil Taylor and lost 0–5, winning just two legs during the match.[43] He threw a nine-dart finish in the third UK Open Qualifier of the year during a third round victory over Tony West, but lost in the following round to Richie Burnett 4–6.[44] By reaching the semi-finals of the 2012 Premier League, Hamilton qualified for the 2013 edition.[45] In week six he enjoyed a 7–3 win over Phil Taylor with an average of 101.40,[46] but he lost six of his last seven matches to finish seventh in the league.[47] Hamilton reached the third major final of his career at the UK Open by producing a superb performance to beat James Wade 10–8 in the quarter-finals and survived six match darts from Raymond van Barneveld in the semis to win 10–9.[48] He averaged 97 in the final against Phil Taylor who averaged almost 10 points more as he won 11–4. Hamilton vowed to win his first major title following the defeat.[49] He reached the final of the sixth Players Championship two weeks later, but lost 6–1 to Michael van Gerwen meaning he had now not won a ranking event since 2007.[50] Hamilton hit six out of six doubles against Kim Huybrechts in the first round of the World Grand Prix in a 2–0 set win and then beat Kevin Painter 3–1 to ensure he reached at least the quarter-final stage of a major for the ninth consecutive tournament.[51] He played Justin Pipe and could only average 75.88 in the double start event and lost 3–1.[52] Hamilton qualified from Group 2 of the Championship League by defeating Michael van Gerwen 6–5 to advance to the Winners Group where he could only win two of his seven games to finish seventh in the table.[53][54] Hamilton survived a record 18 missed match darts from John Part in the first round of the Players Championship Finals as he fought back from 5–1 down to win 6–5 with a 158 checkout and an average of just 75.05.[55] More routine wins over Brendan Dolan and Ian White followed before Van Gerwen defeated Hamilton 10–5 in the semi-finals.[56]

2014

In the second round of the 2014 World Championship, Hamilton was defeated 4–1 by Richie Burnett.[57] His early exit, coupled with losing the £100,000 on the Order of Merit from reaching the final two years previously, meant he dropped to world number 11 after the event.[58] Hamilton did not receive a wildcard to compete in the Premier League this year.[59] He won his first ranking title since 2007 at the first UK Open Qualifier in February by defeating Adrian Lewis 6–2 in the final whilst averaging 105.27.[60] At the UK Open he lost 9–5 in the fourth round to Michael van Gerwen.[61] At the World Matchplay, he lost in 13–10 the second round to Dave Chisnall.[62] Hamilton reached the semi-final stage of the European Darts Trophy where he lost to the eventual winner Michael Smith.[63] He was knocked out in the first round of the remaining four major events of the year and could not get out of his group at the Grand Slam, meaning he failed to reach a single major quarter-final this season having reached seven in 2012 and six in 2013.[64]

2015

Hamilton met Peter Wright in the third round of the 2015 World Championship and was thrashed 4–0.[65] He lost 9–8 to Kim Huybrechts in the fourth round of the UK Open.[66] After beating Raymond van Barneveld 10–7 in the opening round of the World Matchplay, Hamilton described his play over the last six months as horrible.[67] He went on to lose 13–6 to Phil Taylor in the second round and, after dropping out of the top 16 on the Order of Merit, he failed to qualify for any of the remaining major events in 2015.[68]

2016

Hamilton missed three darts to eliminate Joe Murnan 3–1 in the first round of the 2016 World Championship. The match instead went to a deciding set in which Hamilton missed one dart to force a sudden death leg. It was his first opening round exit in the event after securing at least a second round showing in all of his previous 11 World Championships.[69] He qualified for the third round of the UK Open, but lost 9–2 to Kyle Anderson.[70] He received an entry in to the Players Championship Finals when Anderson was unable to obtain a visa and he was defeated 6–1 by Michael van Gerwen in the opening round.[71][72] During the course of the year one last 16 appearance was Hamilton's best run in an event.[73]

World Championship results

PDC

PDC premier event finals: 3 (3 runners-up)

Legend
World Championship (0–1)
Grand Slam (0–1)
UK Open (0-1)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Runner-up 1. 2007 Grand Slam of Darts England Phil Taylor 11–18 (l) [74]
Runner-up 2. 2012 PDC World Darts Championship England Adrian Lewis 3–7 (s) [75]
Runner-up 3. 2013 UK Open England Phil Taylor 4–11 (l) [48]

Performance timeline

Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
PDC World Championship DNP QF 3R SF 2R 3R 3R 2R RU QF 2R 3R 1R
The Masters Not held 1R 1R 1R DNQ
Premier League Darts NH Did not play SF RR Did not play
UK Open 1R 5R 4R 4R 5R 4R QF 3R 4R RU 4R 4R 3R
World Matchplay DNP SF 2R 1R 1R 1R SF QF QF 2R 2R DNQ
European Championship Not held 1R 2R 1R 1R QF QF 1R DNQ
World Grand Prix Did not qualify 1R QF SF QF 1R QF QF 1R DNQ
Grand Slam of Darts Not held RU 2R RR DNQ SF 2R RR DNQ
Players Championship Finals Not held 2R 2R 1R DNQ QF SF 1R DNQ 1R
Performance timeline legend
DNP Did not play in the event #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(RR = Round robin)		 QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals RU lost in the final W won the tournament

Darts business

Hamilton is sponsored by Unicorn [76] and Autonet insurance.[77] Hamilton previously practiced with Phil Taylor, a fellow resident of Stoke-on-Trent but he now practices with Colin Osborne. Although he temporarily relocated to Derby to be closer to Osborne, Hamilton has since returned to Stoke-on-Trent.

Personal life

Away from the oche he ran the Skylark pub in Stoke-on-Trent, but Hamilton soon sold the pub to pursue a full-time darts career.

Outside of darts

In 2012, Hamilton, together with the seven other players who competed in the Premier League recorded a charity single with Chas Hodges and his band called 'Got My Tickets For The Darts' which was written by Chas. It was released on 18 May, the night after the play-offs at the O2 in London, where it was premiered. Proceeds from the single were donated to the Haven House Children's Hospice.[78]

References

  1. ↑ "2004 UK Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "2004 PDPA Players Championship Scotland Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "2005 PDC World Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "2005 UK Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "2005 Las Vegas Desert Classic Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "2006 PDC World Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "2006 World Matchplay Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "2007 PDC World Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "2007 PDPA Players Championship Gibraltar Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "2007 UK Open Midlands Regional Final Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "2007 PDC US Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "2007 World Darts Trophy Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  14. ↑ "2007 Grand Slam Of Darts Qualifiers". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Andy Hamilton Player Profile". PDC. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  16. ↑ "2007 Grand Slam Of Darts Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  17. ↑ "Andy Hamilton stunned by comeback at World Matchplay". BBC. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  18. ↑ "World Championship - Night Five". PDC. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  19. ↑ "2012 PDC World Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  20. ↑ "Hammer knocks out Wizard". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  21. ↑ "Lewis fightback blows Wade away". ESPN. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  22. ↑ "Lewis lands Jackpot again". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  23. ↑ "Lewis Closes In On Taylor As New Rankings Released". Live-Darts. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  24. ↑ "Hamilton & Painter's Premier Delight". PDC. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  25. 1 2 "2012 Premier League Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  26. ↑ "McCoy's PLD - Night 14 Preview". PDC. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  27. ↑ "McCoy's PLD Night 14". PDC. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  28. ↑ "Taylor's McCoy's Premier League Joy". PDC. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  29. ↑ "2012 UK Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  30. ↑ "Jaws Bites For Crawley Win". PDC. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  31. ↑ "2012 PDC World Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  32. ↑ "Betfair World Matchplay - Quarter Finals". PDC. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  33. ↑ "Wizard Ends Two-Year Wait!". PDC. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  34. ↑ "2012 World Grand Prix Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  35. ↑ "PartyPoker.com WGP Quarter-Finals". PDC. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  36. ↑ "2012 Grand Slam Of Darts Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  37. ↑ "William Hill Grand Slam - Friday". PDC. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  38. ↑ "William Hill Grand Slam Semi-Finals". PDC. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  39. ↑ "Minehead Qualifiers Confirmed". PDC. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  40. ↑ "2012 Players Championship Finals Fixtures". Darts Database. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  41. ↑ "Cash Converters PCF QFs". PDC. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  42. ↑ "2013 PDC World Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  43. ↑ "Ladbrokes WDC Day 12". PDC. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  44. ↑ "Three And Easy For Van Gerwen!". PDC. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  45. ↑ "McCoy's Premier League Expanded". PDC. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  46. ↑ "McCoy's Premier League Darts Night Six". PDC. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  47. ↑ "2013 Premier League Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  48. 1 2 "2013 UK Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  49. ↑ "Taylor's Speedy Services UK Open Glory". PDC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  50. ↑ "Van Gerwen Triumphs In Crawley". PDC. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  51. ↑ "partypoker.com World Grand Prix Day Four". PDC. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  52. ↑ "partypoker.com World Grand Prix QFs". PDC. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  53. ↑ "Second Wind Brings Hamilton Victory!". PDC. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  54. ↑ "Taylor Seals Championship League Treble". PDC. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  55. ↑ "Cash Converters PCF First Round". PDC. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  56. ↑ "2013 Players Championship Finals Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  57. ↑ "Ladbrokes World Championship Day Nine". PDC. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  58. ↑ "Order of Merit on 2 January 2014". PDC. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  59. ↑ "Premier League Darts: Thrilling line-up announced for Sky Live action in 2014". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  60. ↑ "Long Wait For Hamilton Ends". PDC. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  61. ↑ "Coral UK Open - Saturday Afternoon". PDC. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  62. ↑ "BetVictor World Matchplay NetZone". PDC. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  63. ↑ "Smith's European Darts Trophy Joy". PDC. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  64. ↑ "Andy Hamilton 2014". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  65. ↑ "William Hill World Championship Day Ten". PDC. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  66. ↑ "2015 UK Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  67. ↑ "BetVictor World Matchplay Day Three". PDC. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  68. ↑ "2015 World Matchplay Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  69. ↑ "William Hill World Championship Day Four". PDC. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  70. ↑ "2016 Coral UK Open Day One". PDC. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  71. ↑ "Visa problems rule Kyle Anderson out of the Players Championship Finals". Darts.tv. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  72. ↑ "Cash Converters PCF Day One". PDC. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  73. ↑ "Andy Hamilton 2016". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  74. ↑ "2007 Grand Slam Of Darts Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  75. ↑ "2012 PDC World Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  76. ↑ "Unicorn team". unicorn-darts.com. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  77. ↑ "Autonetinsurance". Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  78. ↑ "Chas & Stars Record Charity Single". Planet Darts. 8 March 2012.

External links

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