Andy Hamilton (darts player)

Andy Hamilton
Personal information
Nickname	The Hammer
Born
Home town	Stoke-on-Trent
Darts information
Playing darts since	1983
Darts	23g Unicorn
Walk-on music	Can't Touch This by MC Hammer
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC	since 2004
Current world ranking	6 (June 2008)
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'ship	SF 2007
World Matchplay	SF 2006
World Grand Prix	DNQ
UK Open	Last 32, 2005, 2006
Grand Slam	runner-up 2007
Desert Classic	QF 2006, 2008
US Open/WSoD	SF 2007
Other tournament wins
Tournament	Years
Players Ch'ship UK Open Midlands Regional Antwerp Open	2007 2007 2008
Updated on February 17, 2008.

Andy Hamilton (born March 16, 1967 in Stoke-on-Trent) is a full time professional English darts player widely known for his "aggressive" style of play. He is nicknamed 'The Hammer'. As of 1 January 2007, he was ranked 7th in the PDC World Rankings.

Andy started playing darts at the age of 16 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. He appeared in name only on the BBC television programme "Have I Got News For You" on 3rd November 2007, when Jo Brand read his Wiki biog whilst introducing Andy Hamilton the comedian and writer. He eats chicken nuggets from Mcdonalds before his competitive games.

PDC career

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

Andy qualified for the 2005 PDC World Darts Championship and eventually reached 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 1-5 to Bob Anderson in the quarter-finals.

The 2006 PDC World Darts Championship saw Hamilton gain revenge for his 2005 defeat by Bob Anderson with a 3-2 first round win. He also knocked out Terry Jenkins 4-1 in round two. However, Hamilton fell to eventual winner Phil Taylor in the third round losing 4-0. Andy did manage to gain a share of the prize for highest three-dart checkout by hitting a 170 finish, a feat matched by Taylor.

Andy reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic however where he reached the quarter-final stage before being eliminated by eventual runner-up Raymond van Barneveld 3-1. Hamilton had defeated Kevin Painter 6-4 in the first round and enjoyed a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Matt Clark in round two.

'The Hammer' made his Winter Gardens debut at the 2006 World Matchplay Darts tournament. Hamilton sprang something of a surprise in round one by hammering number 4 seed Peter Manley 10-2. Andy 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 Phil Taylor, a seven time World Matchplay Champion, eliminated Hamilton 17-11 in the semi-final.

Andy reached the semi-finals of the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship before bowing out 6-0 to eventual runner-up Phil 'The Power' Taylor. Hamilton's campaign began with a 4-3 victory over Mark Dudbridge before defeating Dennis Priestly 4-1 and Terry Jenkins 5-4 in the quarter-finals. Hamilton hit 46 180's during the tournament, second only to the overall winner Raymond van Barneveld.

2007 Season

Hamilton has enjoyed a superb start to 2007 and picked up his first PDC Pro Tour title with a 3-1 win over Colin Lloyd in the StanJames.com Players Championship in Gibraltar on January 21. He had already overcome Andy Smith, Roland Scholten, Terry Jenkins and Alan Warriner-Little on his way to the final.

His maintained his form by reaching the semi-finals of the South-West Regional Final of the UK Open and quarter-final performances in the PDPA Players Championship in Germany and North-East Regional UK Open.

He collected his second PDC Pro Tour title on April 1 beating James Wade in the Midlands Regional Final of the UK Open.

Andy also made a big impact in the inaugural PDC US Open, powering his way to the semi-final, where he was beaten by Raymond van Barneveld. On his way to the semi-finals he overcame one of 'The Powers' oldest rivals, Dennis Priestley and the hugely talented Mark Dudbridge.

In November, Hamilton enjoyed an excellent run in the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts, ending up as runner-up of the tournament and collecting £35,000 for his efforts. He was defeated by Phil Taylor in the final by 18 legs to 11, despite the fact his three-dart average was over 100.

In December, Hamilton has knocked out of the second round PDC world championship by Alex Roy.

Personal life

Away from the oche he runs the Skylark pub in Stoke-on-Trent with his wife Kate and has three step-children Adam, Sarah and Vicky. However in early next year, he will be selling the pub to pursue a full-time darts career.

Andy is sponsored by Unicorn, the same company as James Wade, Michael Barnard, Adrian Lewis and Wes Newton, known as the Contenders. Hamilton now practices with 13-time World Champion, Phil Taylor a fellow resident of Stoke-on-Trent.

Andy Hamilton has shot up the world rankings, climbing his way to the World's top eight, within three years of becoming professional. His strengthly attitude, compact body stance, and pure dedication, has made him a favourite in the sport.