Andy Hamilton (darts player)

Andrew Hamilton (born 16 March 1967), nicknamed the Hammer, is an English professional darts player who formerly competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, finishing as runner-up in three majors: the 2012 PDC World Championship, 2007 Grand Slam and 2013 UK Open.

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.

Hamilton made his television debut at the 2004 UK Open but was eliminated in the first round 5–2 by Eddie Lovely. 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.

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. He overcame Wes Newton and Mark Robinson to reach the last 32 of the UK Open, but was beaten 11–4 by Mark Walsh. He also qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic for the first time where Darin Young defeated him 2–0 in the opening round.

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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

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. However he eventually lost to Phil Taylor 17–9 in the Semi finals.