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Darts 2012-13 PDC World Championships:
PDC World Championships 1st Dec, 2012 19:00 2012-13 PDC World Championships - Winner
Andy Hamilton wins on Premier League debut
Those who questioned whether Andy Hamilton was ready for a place in the Premier League received their answer very quickly.
Hamilton had leapt into the big time with several good performances over the last eight months that culminated in him reaching the final of the world championship, which he lost 7-3 to Adrian Lewis. And he showed that sort of form on the opening night of the McCoy's Premier League Darts with an 8-5 win over former champion James Wade at the Manchester Arena.
The Hammer nailed five 180s and over half of his chances at a double in a match in which he turned in a dazzling four-leg run to move from 4-3 down to lead 7-4 before going on to close out victory.
"I loved every minute of it," Hamilton said to pdc.tv. "This is what I play darts for and it's like playing a world championship final every week. To beat James is a great achievement for me because he's a top-class player, and I hope I can push on from here now and do the same to the other players.
"I'm excited and enjoying the Premier League so far, and I can't wait for the next 14 weeks. I'm not getting carried away but it's a very good start for me."
Lewis and Phil Taylor, who had combined as the England team to win the World Cup of Darts last weekend, were back to being the best of rivals again.
Lewis raced into a 5-0 lead before Taylor began to claw back the legs. The 15-times world champion had brought the match back to 6-4 to put Lewis under some pressure and a back-to-back 180s midway through the 11th leg brought the score to 6-5.
That became 6-6 when Taylor threw in an 11-dart leg and he was a bullseye away from a 130 checkout in the next leg which allowed Lewis to hold his nerve with a double 10.
But Taylor laid down a marker for the rest of the combination to claim the 14th leg and the draw.
In the night’s other matches, Simon Whitlock and Raymond van Barneveld also drew 7-7 while Kevin Painter beat Gary Anderson 8-6.
Paul Wheeler
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