SWITCHBACK
Hammer can end horror
ANDY HAMILTON takes a big step along the road to redemption on Monday as he begins his bid for Lakeside glory in the ‘other’ world championship.
Seven years ago, ‘The Hammer’ was a beaten finalist at Alexandra Palace when he lost 7-3 against Adrian Lewis in the Professional Darts Corporation’s version of tungsten combat.
But after plummeting down the rankings, amid personal issues and patchy form, Hamilton lost his Tour card and resolved to rebuild his career on the British Darts Organisation circuit.
He opens his campaign for the BDO crown at Frimley Green against David Cameron – not that one, but a Canadian qualifier – insisting he can turn the tide and win it.
Hamilton, 51, said: “It’s been a turbulent year for me, going from the PDC to the BDO, but I am excited about going to the Lakeside.
“I’ve been to a world championship final before and I really believe I can win it. I’ve been there and got the T-shirt.
“There are lots of reasons why I lost my PDC Tour card, and it wasn’t just form. I’ve been going through a divorce, I’ve had health issues with my diabetes, I’ve had an eye operation and I wear glasses now.
“Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to start enjoying it again, and that’s what happened to me.
“But I’ll never give up, I’m not a quitter. A lot of the players on the BDO circuit know what I’m made of and they won’t want to face me when I’m in full flow.”
Defending champion
Glen Durrant opens his bid for a hat-trick of Lakeside titles on
Tuesday against
Australia’s
Mark McGrath or
Adam SmithNeale.
Although the Lakeside event has been disparaged as a poor relation of Ally Pally’s fancy dress convention, Michael van Gerwen’s passage to a third PDC crown was largely unimpeded by high quality.