A SEMI-FINALIST in his debut season in the McCoy's Premier League Darts, Andy Hamilton enjoyed a memorable campaign in 2012 as he thrilled crowds across the UK & Ireland with his performances.
The Stoke star was a Wildcard selection for last year's Premier League, but finished third after taking points from nine of his 14 league games, and it took a nine-darter from Simon Whitlock to help see him off in the semi-finals.
After making a winning start with a victory over James Wade on the opening night in Manchester, Andy's never-say-die attitude was epitomised by him drawing five league games during the campaign.
Those types of performance have been evident throughout the past decade since Andy - a former electrician and publican - turned professional in 2004 after qualifying for the UK Open, and he was a quarter-finalist in his first World Championship.
He reached four televised semi-finals inside the next 18 months - including at the World Matchplay - during a rapid rise to the top of the sport, which was confirmed when he qualified for his maiden major final at the 2007 Grand Slam of Darts, where Stoke rival Phil Taylor took victory.
Andy also won his first ranking title in 2007 at a Players Championship in Gibraltar, a success which he followed up later that year in a UK Open Qualifier.
A semi-finalist in the 2009 World Grand Prix, Hamilton's run to the same stage of the World Matchplay two years later has been the kick-start for the second phase of his career, maintaining his status amongst the world's top 16 at the time.
That was followed at the end of 2011 by a run to the final of the World Championship, Andy's second major final where he took on a Stoke rival as this time Adrian Lewis denied him a big title.
The experience of competing on the McCoy's Premier League Darts stage has proven vital in his achievements since last season in runs to at least the quarter-finals in six successive major televised events, including the semi-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts.