(7) Andy Hamilton

Last updated: 10th December 2008

Andy Hamilton darts world championship rd1 Dec 07

Hamilton: Former Cheshire county player

Date of birth: 16.03.67
Home town: Stoke-on-Trent
Nickname: The Hammer
Major titles: None
World Championship best: Semi-Finals (2007)
Walk-on music: Can't Touch This

Having swapped places with Adrian Lewis in the seedings since last year's tournament, Hamilton is now the third of the Stokies in the upper echelons of the PDC rankings.

After the highs of 2007, which included his first Pro Tour title (and a second soon after) and a final appearance at the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts, the last 12 months haven't delivered as much excitement for 'The Hammer'.

But his quarter-final appearances at both the World Grand Prix and Las Vegas Desert Classic show he belongs in the top eight in the world, while he beat the likes of Mervyn King and Alan Tabern en route to winning the Antwerp Open.

A quarter-finalist on his World Championship debut in 2005, Hamilton fared even better two years later as he reached the last four (where he was whitewashed by Phil Taylor), though he crashed out in the second round last time around.

A former Cheshire county player in his teens, the 41-year-old's rise to prominence is all the more remarkable given he quit playing the sport competitively aged just 20 before returning to the oche nearly 20 years later.