ANDY HAMILTON inists he holds no fear as he prepares to meet Phil Taylor in the semi-finals of the Stan James World Matchplay.
Hamilton faces The Power on Friday night for a place in his first major final in an all-Stoke battle.
It is the first time Hamilton has qualified for the World Matchplay, and he has overcome Peter Manley, Adrian Lewis and Wayne Mardle on his way to the last four.
And, ahead of Friday night's showdown with Taylor, he insists: "I'm not going to say I will beat him, but I don't fear anyone.
"I'm the underdog so let's see how it goes.
"I've got no nerves up there; I get butterflies in the morning when I wake up but once I get to the venue they disappear. There's adrenaline, but no nerves."
Hamilton's only previous meeting with Taylor came in the World Championship last December, and saw the rookie on the end of what he describes as an "encouraging" 4-0 defeat.
"It was 4-0 in sets, but three of those sets were 3-2," he said. "I had a 98 average and Phil had a 108 average - I'd have beaten anybody else with that but no-one can live with that.
"This is a different game because it's legs and not sets. You take it each leg at a time and a couple of breaks and the win will come. If I can keep finishing like this, who knows?
"I think I deserve this. I've beaten some good players on the way and I just want to enjoy it now."
He is now inside the top 32 of the world rankings after just over 18 months as a professional, and he is delighted with his progress.
"This is making me comfortable in the top 32 so that I don't have to qualify for the World Championship," he added.
"That was my main aim coming here, it wasn't the necessarily winning it but I'm in the semi-finals now so it's anyone's game."