Kevin Painter (born 12 July 1967 in Billericay, Essex) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, where he is known as "The Artist". He is arguably most famous for finishing runner up to Phil Taylor in the 2004 PDC World Championship final, now widely credited as one of the greatest televised matches in the history of the game.^[1][2][3] He was also the winner of the Players Championship Finals in 2011.

Darts career[link]

BDO[link]

Painter started playing darts around the age of 17. Once an Essex county player, his first appearance on television was in the 1994 BDO World Championship, which was notable as the first BDO World Championship to follow the split in darts, where 16 players formed the World Darts Council (later Professional Darts Corporation) and their own world championship. Painter was defeated in the first round 3–2 by Kevin Kenny. He reached the second round of the 1995 championship before falling 3–0 to Martin Adams, but success followed later in 1995 with a win in the inaugural England Open and in 1997 he won the prestigious British Open. Two more appearances in the second round of the BDO World Championship followed and in the 2000 championship he reached his first televised quarter-final, but lost 5–2 to the eventual champion Ted Hankey.

The new millennium marked more success for Painter with victory in the Swedish Open. Only a month earlier he had made his debut in a PDC event – the 2000 World Grand Prix where he reached the second round, but was defeated 3–2 by Taylor. Painter however did not become a member of the Professional Dart Players Association, the organisation that allows players to play in all PDC events, and therefore remained a BDO player. In what would be his final appearance in the event, Painter once again reached the quarter-finals in the 2001 BDO World Championship before losing 5–2 to Andy Fordham. Painter entered another PDC event, the 2001 World Matchplay, but lost in the first round before returning again in the 2001 World Grand Prix, where in a major shock he defeated Taylor in the first round. Taylor had never before been defeated in this event and had not lost on television for two years prior to this loss. This was also the first time that Taylor had been defeated in the first round of a televised PDC event. Painter reached the quarter-finals before losing 6–1 to Dennis Smith. Back in the BDO he made his best performance in the 2001 Winmau World Masters, reaching the quarter-finals and repeated that placing in the 2001 Zuiderduin Masters, in what was his last BDO event.

PDC[link]

2001–2004: Early success[link]

Painter made his debut in the PDC World Championship in the 2002 event but lost in the first round to Ronnie Baxter. Despite a victory in the 2002 Bob Anderson Classic, he failed to make any real headway in the televised PDC events until he reached his first world championship semi-final in the 2003 PDC World Championship, where he lost 6–4 to eventual champion John Part.

Painter's finest hour came in the 2004 World Championship. As the 10th seed, he defeated 7th seed Baxter in the fourth round, and a whitewash of former world champion Bob Anderson followed later on in the semi-finals. Painter then met top seed Taylor in the final. What followed was the longest televised darts match ever and for a time the most watched PDC darts match (820,000 viewers)^[4] until the 2007 final. Despite Painter leading 4–1 at one point, the match went to 6–6 in sets and 5–5 in legs in the final set, so a sudden-death leg was needed to decide a winner. Taylor won it and became the champion, but Painter, who had a three-dart out-shot to win the championship at 2–1 and 3–2 in the final set, gained fame for his participation in such an epic final.

The following year was a strong one for Painter where he reached the quarter-finals in the UK Open and the semi-finals in the Las Vegas Desert Classic, his best performance in these tournaments to date. He reached the quarter-finals of the 2005 Las Vegas Desert Classic and the 2005 World Championship despite falling victim to a leg injury which damaged his form and kept him out of many tournaments.

2006–2007: Decline[link]

Painter's form dropped substantially in 2006. Despite opening strongly with a victory in the North West UK Open final^[5] and a second successive appearance in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Championship, his form began to stagnate around the middle of the year. Painter suffered first or early round defeats in most of the major tournaments and his ranking had dropped to 18 by the beginning of 2007. This was exacerbated by a defeat in the first round of that year's World Championship to his former practice partner Colin Osborne.

The first half of 2007 saw the early round defeats in televised majors continue, though many of them were to Taylor and then-World Champion Raymond van Barneveld. Painter suffered another first round loss in the 2007 World Grand Prix, but this would prove to be the turning point. Sky Sports pundit and friend Rod Harrington warned that Painter could "slip into anonymity" if he did not recover his form. Painter attributed the "perception that he was finished" to a renewed determination and subsequent rise in form.^[6]

2007–2010: Resurgence[link]

November 2007 saw a strong return to form for Painter, where he reached the quarter-finals of the first Grand Slam of Darts despite being entered as a wild card. The 2008 World Championship proved to be a monumental success for Painter, where he was responsible for knocking out defending champion Raymond van Barneveld in the last 16. Painter was knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual champion Part, his best performance since when he was the runner-up in 2004. Painter considers the win over van Barneveld as the greatest of his career.^[7]

Painter's results in the televised majors in 2008 were not as might have been expected from the World Championship – he was once again defeated by Osborne in the third round of the UK Open and lost in the first round of the Las Vegas Desert Classic against the eventual champion Taylor. Painter averaged 104 (the third highest average of the tournament) and did not miss a double in the match, but was still defeated 6–4. His poor record at the World Matchplay continued as he suffered a first round loss in the 2008 event to Tony Eccles. He lost in a deciding leg to Colin Lloyd in the second round of the World Grand Prix (having missed three darts to win the match) and finished bottom of his group in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts. However, his success in non-televised events was considerably better including an appearance in the Bristol Players Championship final – losing 3–2 to Dennis Priestley. This was his first PDC final since September 2006.

Painter entered the 2009 PDC World Championship as the number 17 seed. He defeated Matt Clark in the first round, winning in a sudden-death leg to become the first seeded player to progress to the second round, where he beat Carlos Rodríguez. However in the third round he lost 4–1 to eventual champion Taylor. In the inaugural Players Championship Finals at the end of January, Painter looked to be heading for another first round exit as he went 5–2 down to Alex Roy, but he won four consecutive legs to progress to the second round, where he met second seed James Wade. This match also went to a deciding leg; Painter missed one dart at the bullseye and Wade took his chance to go through at Painter's expense. However, this performance saw Painter re-establish his place in the top 16 of the rankings, and his good form in floor events from 2008 continued – he reached two semi-finals on the PDC Pro Tour, notably in Gladbeck, Germany, where on March 1 he led Taylor 5–4 before losing 6–5.^[8]

In June 2009, Painter reached the semi-finals of the UK Open, his best ever performance in the tournament. After dispatching Dennis Priestley 9–3 and Alan Tabern 10–8, Painter eventually lost 10–7 to Colin Osborne. His World Matchplay woes continued with a 13–3 defeat to Taylor in the second round of the 2009 event, though he reached the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix and the Grand Slam of Darts, in the latter topping the 'group of death' that included Raymond van Barneveld and John Part. Another third round exit followed in the 2010 World Championship, 4–1 to van Barneveld this time.

Painter's first televised appearance in 2010 was a third round defeat at the UK Open, where he was on the end of a 9–0 whitewash by Taylor, who recorded the current world record average at 118.66. But success was to follow in the 2010 World Matchplay; after making a remarkable comeback to come from 8–2 down in defeating Essex rival Colin Lloyd 11–9 in the first round,^[9] he overcame Mark Walsh 14–12 to reach the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay at the tenth time of asking.^[10] Once again however, eternal rival Taylor brought his run to an end in the semi-finals.

2011-present: First major win[link]

Initially Painter suffered an indifferent 2011. At the 2011 PDC World Championship, he was defeated soundly in the first round by Brendan Dolan. At the 2011 World Matchplay, Painter revealed that he had received laser eye surgery before the tournament to improve his game, he also stated that he had hit a nine dart finish after 10 minutes of practise with his improved vision.^[11] However in the opening night of the tournament, he led reigning world champion Adrian Lewis for most of the match, but missed six doubles that would have won him the match, and subsequently lost by 14 legs to 12.

At the Players Championship Finals in December 2011, Painter beat Colin Osborne, Gary Anderson, Mervyn King, and Scott Rand to reach his first major final since the World Championship in 2004. The victory against Rand saw him recover from 9–6 down in the best-of-19 leg match and survive two match darts in the seventeenth leg. Painter then beat Mark Webster 13–9 in the final to win his first televised major tournament.^[12] This victory returned him to the top 10 in the PDC Order of Merit for the first time since 2006. At the 2012 PDC World Championship, Painter defeated Aaron Monk and Mark Walsh before losing once again to John Part by four sets to two.^[13]

Painter's Players Championship victory saw him gain a PDC wildcard into the Premier League Darts for the first time.^[14] He won his first game with a 8–6 win over Gary Anderson, despite averaging 82.67.^[15] Painter also had wins over Simon Whitlock, Andy Hamilton, and Adrian Lewis, but finished 7th in the 8 man league.^[16]

Outside of darts[link]

In 2012, Painter, together with the seven other players who competed in the Premier League recorded a charity single with Chas Hodges and his band called 'Got My Tickets For The Darts' which was written by Chas. It was released on 18 May, the night after the play-offs at the O2 in London, where it was premiered. Proceeds from the single will be donated to the Haven House Children's Hospice.^[17]

Tournament Finals[link]

PDC premier event finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)[link]

Legend World Championship (0–1) World Matchplay (0–0) Premier League (0–0) Other (1–0) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1] Runner-up 1. 2004 World Darts Championship Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor 6–7 (s) Winner 1. 2011 Players Championship Finals Webster, MarkMark Webster 13–9 (l) ^ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets. World Championship results[link] While the quarter-finals was the furthest stage that Painter reached in the BDO World Darts Championship, his record in the PDC World Darts Championship is far more impressive, having reached the quarter-finals twice (2005, 2006), the semi-finals twice (2003, 2008), and he was the runner-up in 2004. This record is reflected in him being the player with the sixth highest amount of money won in the PDC World Championship, behind the four champions and three-time runner up Manley.[18] BDO[link] 1994 – First Round (lost to Kevin Kenny 2–3) 1995 – Second Round (lost to Martin Adams 0–4) 1996 – First Round (lost to Ronnie Baxter 2–3) 1998 – Second Round (lost to Richie Burnett 1–3) 1999 – Second Round (lost to Ronnie Baxter 0–3) 2000 – Quarter-finals (lost to Ted Hankey 2–5) 2001 – Quarter-finals (lost to Andy Fordham 2–5) PDC[link] 2002 – First Round (lost to Ronnie Baxter 2–4) 2003 – Semi-finals (lost to John Part 4-6) 2004 – Runner-up (lost to Phil Taylor 6–7) 2005 – Quarter-finals (lost to Phil Taylor 1–5) 2006 – Quarter-finals (lost to Phil Taylor 1–5) 2007 – First Round (lost to Colin Osborne 1–3) 2008 – Semi-finals (lost to John Part 2-6) 2009 – Third Round (lost to Phil Taylor 1–4) 2010 – Third Round (lost to Raymond van Barneveld 1–4) 2011 – First Round (lost to Brendan Dolan 0–3) 2012 - Third Round (lost to John Part 2-4) Outside of darts[link] Painter lives in Daventry, Northamptonshire with partner Janine Gough, who is originally from Swansea and also used to play darts, and they have a daughter, Madison Elise. He was a builder before turning professional.[19]. He spends his training sessions with Matthew Edgar, a young up-and-coming PDC darts player.[20]. He is also a season ticket and share holder of Ipswich Town. He often plays wearing a blue shirt in reference to his favourite team. Painter has also been featured in two darts videogames; PDC World Championship Darts 2008 and 2009. Controversy[link] Painter is probably also famous for a notorious rivalry with Taylor. Perhaps stemming from his shock victory over Taylor in the 2001 World Grand Prix, and the 2004 World Championship final, he has had many run-ins with Taylor. In the 2005 World Championship quarter-final against Taylor, Painter often tried to check out by hitting the bullseye, but failed many times. Taylor won the last leg of the match by deliberately leaving 50, then checking out on the bull, which Painter took as a taunt and argued viciously with Taylor for a few minutes after the match. In April 2008, Painter was involved in another incident at the Holland Masters, a non-televised tournament. In a quarter-final match with Taylor's protégé, Adrian Lewis, an argument between the two took place in the deciding set. They were both disqualified from the tournament.[21] In July, the Darts Regulation Authority decided upon an appropriate punishment; Painter was fined £200 and banned for three months with two months suspended while Lewis was fined £400 with a six month ban, four months suspended.[22][23] References[link] ^ "Kevin Painter profile". Sporting Life. http://www.sportinglife.com/darts/pdc2008/profiles/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=others/07/12/11/manual_083239.html. Retrieved 19 September 2008. "Painter was involved in what will long be regarded as one of the all-time Circus Tavern classics back in 2004 when he lost a thrilling final 7–6 to his long-time rival Phil Taylor."  ^ The Guardian article – The Power pays off in sudden death by Gavin Worley, retrieved 3 August 2008 ^ "Phil Taylor profile". Professional Darts Corporation. http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/qtotdetail/0,,10180~727715,00.html. Retrieved 26 September 2008. "...coming from 4–1 down to win in a sudden-death leg against Kevin Painter in arguably the sport's best-ever game."  ^ BARB Viewing Figures from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board, retrieved 4 April 2008 ^ PDC website report – Painter Takes North-East Glory from the Professional Darts Corporation, retrieved 3 August 2008 ^ Jacob, Gary (27 December 2007). "Whitewash puts Kevin Painter in the frame but Raymond van Barneveld lurks". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article3097673.ece. Retrieved 4 January 2010.  ^ The Guardian article – Painter rubs out van Barneveld by Michael Phillips, retrieved 3 August 2008 ^ 'Phil Powers to German Double' by Stuart Pyke, retrieved 1 March 2009 ^ "Stan James.com World Matchplay Day Four". Professional Darts Corporation. http://www.pdc.tv/page/WorldMatchplayDetail/0,,10180~2097303,00.html. Retrieved 16 August 2010. "Kevin Painter made one of the finest comebacks ever seen to overturn an 8–2 deficit against Colin Lloyd."  ^ "World Matchplay – Night Six". Professional Darts Corporation. http://www.pdc.tv/page/WorldMatchplayDetail/0,,10180~2099641,00.html. Retrieved 16 August 2010.  ^ "Painter Undergoes Eye Surgery". PDC. 17 June 2011. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2382616,00.html. Retrieved 11 December 2011.  ^ "Painter's Masterpiece". PDC. 11 December 2011. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2544836,00.html. Retrieved 11 December 2011.  ^ "2012 World Championship Netzone". PDC. 15 December 2011. http://www.pdc.tv/page/WorldChampsDetail/0,,10180~2547778,00.html. Retrieved 29 December 2011.  ^ "Hamilton & Painter's Premier Delight". PDC. 3 January 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2565358,00.html. Retrieved 3 January 2012.  ^ "McCoy's Premier League Darts – Night One Round-Up". PDC. 10 February 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2605896,00.html. Retrieved 16 May 2012.  ^ "2012 Premier League Results". Darts Database. http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=3889. Retrieved 16 May 2012.  ^ "Chas & Stars Record Charity Single". Planet Darts. 8 March 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2641173,00.html.  ^ PDC World Championship player stats, from the Darts Database, retrieved 26 July 2008 ^ Interview with Kevin Painter, from Unicorn Darts, retrieved 4 April 2008 ^ "Daventry’s Matthew Edgar to compete in UK national darts championship". http://www.idaventry.com/news/local-news/daventrys-matthew-edgar-to-compete-in-uk-national-darts-championship. Retrieved 2011-06-14.  ^ PDC website report – Holland Masters, from the Professional Darts Corporation, retrieved 26 April 2008 ^ PDC website report – Duo Receive Bans from the Professional Darts Corporation, retrieved 16 July 2008 ^ DRA Disciplinary Committee Hearing, Tuesday 15th July 2008 report from the Darts Regulation Authority, retrieved 16 July 2008 External links[link] Kevin Painter's Official Site Player profile on Kevin Painter from Dartsdatabase v t e Professional Darts Corporation · Top 20 PDC players in Order of Merit at 7 May, 2012     Phil Taylor Adrian Lewis James Wade Gary Anderson Wes Newton Simon Whitlock Andy Hamilton Raymond van Barneveld Mark Webster Terry Jenkins Kevin Painter Mark Walsh Justin Pipe Vincent van der Voort Wayne Jones Paul Nicholson Colin Lloyd Mervyn King Ronnie Baxter Andy Smith Persondata Name Painter, Kevin Alternative names Short description Date of birth 12 July 1967 Place of birth Billericay, Essex, England Date of death Place of death

Adrian Lewis
Personal information
Full name	Adrian Lewis
Nickname	Jackpot
Born	(1985-01-21) 21 January 1985 (age 27) Stoke-on-Trent, England
Home town	Stoke-on-Trent England
Darts information
Playing darts since	2003
Darts	21g Target 'Adrian Lewis'
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	Reach Up (Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag) by Perfecto Allstarz
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	2002–2003
PDC	2003 – Present
Current world ranking	2
BDO majors - best performances
World Darts Trophy	Round 2 2007
Int. Darts League	Semi Finalist 2007
PDC premier events - best performances
World Ch'ship	Winner (2) 2011, 2012
World Matchplay	Semi Finalist (2) 2007, 2011
World Grand Prix	Runner Up 2010
Grand Slam	Semi Finalist 2011
Premier League	Runner Up 2011
Ch'ship League	Initial groups, Runner-up 2008
Desert Classic	Quarter Finalist (2) 2007, 2009
European Ch'ship	Runner Up (2) 2008, 2011
UK Open	Quarter Finalist 2010
Players Ch'ship Finals	Quarter Finalist 2010
Other tournament wins
Tournament	Years
British Teenage Open Chris de Roo Open Players Championship (AUT) Players Championship (CRA) Players Championship (GER) Players Championship (IRE) Players Championship (SCO) UK Open Qualifier UK Open Scottish Regional Final World Cup of Darts	2003 2004 2009 2010 2010 2009 2005, 2006 2011 2005 2012

Adrian Lewis (born 21 January 1985 in Stoke-on-Trent) is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) who is the reigning two time PDC World Darts Champion. He is nicknamed Jackpot, following a visit to a casino whilst competing at the 2005 Las Vegas Desert Classic when he "won" a $72,000 jackpot but was unable to claim the money as he was under-age by US gaming laws – despite being eligible in the UK.^[1] During the early part of his career until 2007, he was a protégé of multi-world champion Phil Taylor having practised together in their home city Stoke-on-Trent and made his television debut in 2004, aged 19 at the UK Open.^[1]

Early career[link]

Lewis had shown his potential at the age of 18 by winning the 2003 British Teenage Open and after competing at the 2003 Winmau World Masters he joined the PDC without ever qualifying or playing in the Lakeside World Championship.^[2]

Lewis reached a semi-final of the regional qualifiers for the UK Open in 2004, which provided his opportunity for a television debut at the 2004 UK Open in Bolton, where he narrowly lost his last 64 match to Dennis Harbour. His next television appearance came against his mentor Taylor at the 2004 Las Vegas Desert Classic where he went out 0–2 in the first round. He then went on to win his first match on television at the 2004 World Grand Prix beating former world champion Richie Burnett.

He failed to qualify for the 2005 PDC World Championships but back at Bolton for the UK Open he produced one of the rare whitewashes in the tournament history, beating Colin Monk 11–0 before falling to Chris Mason in the last 16. His World Matchplay debut came in 2005 and reached the quarter-finals before losing to Colin Lloyd.

Major Breakthrough[link]

During 2005, Lewis began to produce some promising results including a run to the quarter-finals of the 2005 World Matchplay. Towards the end of 2005, he matched Phil Taylor by winning both PDC Pro Tour events during a weekend in Scotland by taking the PDPA Players Championship and the UK Open Scottish Regional titles.^[3]

Lewis made his PDC World Championship debut in 2006, where he reached the quarter-finals by defeating Dave Honey, Dennis Priestley and Roland Scholten.^[4] He was involved in, what has become, an infamous match against Peter Manley. When 1–2 down Lewis successfully hit a blind 180, where he turned to face Manley as the last dart was in the air. Manley won the set and then appeared to say something while Lewis was throwing, which caused him to leave the stage. Lewis did return, but went on to lose the match 3–5.^[5]

His biggest breakthrough came in May 2006 when he joined the 15 other PDC players in the top 16 competing against 16 American qualifiers in the World Series of Darts which was broadcast on ESPN. Lewis' performance in this tournament made others refer to him as a major threat in years to come. He beat Lloyd, Denis Ovens and Priestley before falling in the final to Taylor.

His ranking continued to rise by reaching the later stages of the non-televised PDC Pro Tour events during 2006 as well as the quarter-finals of the UK Open in 2006 where he beat Wayne Mardle 11–10 in the last 16, before losing to John MaGowan 11–8 in the last eight.

2007–2010[link]

Between 2007 and 2010, Lewis produced inconsistent form and was often unable to follow up on big wins such as the 2007 World Matchplay in Blackpool where he beat the incumbent world champion Raymond van Barneveld 16–14 in the quarter finals before losing heavily 7–17 in the semi finals to James Wade.

He lost to Andy Jenkins in the last 16 of the 2007 World Championship, but was selected by Sky Sports as a wildcard for the 2007 Premier League.^[6][7] The event is prestigious as it involves the top 7 PDC players and the aforementioned wildcard. Lewis finished seventh in the league, winning five of his fourteen matches.^[8]

He reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship for the second time in 2008, but was defeated 2–5 by Kevin Painter.^[9] At the 2008 European Darts Championship, Lewis played his first-round match against Hannes Schnier with three plasters on his non-throwing hand – having attempted to catch a falling glass backstage but shattered in his hand. After winning the match 5–2, Lewis was taken to hospital for checks on two deep cuts.^[10] Lewis went on to beat Ovens 9–5 in the 2nd round, before producing arguably the best performance of his career with a 9–2 victory over van Barneveld in the quarter-finals. An 11–7 victory over Manley set up a final with Taylor. Lewis lost 11–5 but his performance in the tournament guaranteed him a place in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts.

Lewis was defeated in the second round of the 2009 World Championship, 3–4 by Paul Nicholson but did manage to end his title drought in September.^[11] He won his first PDC Pro Tour event in three years at the Austrian Players Championship, where he beat Carlos Rodriguez 6–4 in the final, which included a nine dart finish. He dedicated victory to his one month old daughter. He added another Pro Tour title the following month at the Irish Open Players Championship beating Andy Hamilton in the final by 6 legs to 4.

His form on television also improved during 2009 reaching the quarter finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay and World Grand Prix. During 2010 he also made the last eight of the World Championship, Players Championships and UK Open before reaching his first televised final on Sky Television in the 2010 World Grand Prix where he beat Phil Taylor for the first time on television in the semi finals but lost to James Wade in the final. There were further title successes in 2010, when he won Players Championships in Crawley and Germany to bring his overall Pro Tour title tally to seven.

2011 season[link]

World Championship win[link]

Lewis reached the final of the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship courtesy of victories over Tony Eccles, Mark Dudbridge, Robert Thornton, Vincent van der Voort and Mark Webster en route to the final, where he played Gary Anderson. The match-up ensured that, for the first time, the winner of the PDC World Championship would not have previously succeeded in the rival BDO World Championship. Lewis himself became the only player to have reached the PDC final without playing full-time on the BDO circuit.

During the first set of the match, Lewis became the first player to throw a nine dart finish in a World Championship final.^[12] Lewis went on to win the match 7–5 and with it the championship,^[12] guaranteeing him a place in the 2011 Premier League. He has also risen to his highest ranking of no.2. In addition, at 25 years old Lewis became the fifth youngest player to win a World Championship, behind Jelle Klaasen (21 in 2006), Eric Bristow (22 in 1980), Keith Deller (23 in 1983), and Mark Webster (24 in 2008), as well as the youngest ever PDC World Champion.

Rest of 2011[link]

In the 2011 Players Championship Finals Lewis lost 6–4 to Steve Beaton in the first round.

Lewis signed a one-year sponsorship deal with pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond in January 2011.

He got off to a winning start in the 2011 premier league of darts by beating the 2010 champion Phil Taylor 8–2, only to lose to Taylor 8–3 in their second meeting. Week 4 saw him get his first heavy defeat of the 2011 campaign, losing 8–2 to Mark Webster. He went on to defeat Gary Anderson in Anderson's home country of Scotland after both players were distracted by the crowd. Lewis was being booed and coins were thrown at him but he went on to win the match 8–3 and both players stated their disappointment with the crowd. During his walk on he had beer thrown over him.^[13] Lewis proceeded to make it to the final of the 2011 Premier League but lost 10–4 to Gary Anderson after beating Phil Taylor 8–3 in the semi final in the same night.

Lewis was eliminated in the third round of the 2011 U.K. Open by Terry Jenkins, who took a 9–7 match. He lost 17–10 in the semi-finals of the 2011 World Matchplay to James Wade. He hit another perfect 9 dart leg on the 31st July 2011 at the European Darts Championships against Raymond van Barneveld during their semi- final match which he won 11–10. He played Phil Taylor in the final and lost 8–11.^[14]

In the 2011 World Grand Prix, he played John Part in his first round match. He lost 2 sets to 1 after leading 1–0 in sets and 2–0 in legs.

He reached the final of the first players championship in Derby and was defeated 6–2 by Jamie Caven.^[15] In the Crawley Players Championship he was defeated in the final by Paul Nicholson 6–4 in a hard fought match, he had defeated Ronnie Baxter 6–5 in the semi final.^[16]

Lewis was now under the management of former World Champion Keith Deller and under his guidance he has appeared in several major finals, including his World Championship win.

2012 season[link]

Defending his title[link]

Lewis became the third player, after Eric Bristow and Raymond van Barneveld, to successfully defend their first World Championship title in the 2012 PDC World Championship, by beating Andy Hamilton 7–3 in the Final.^[17]

He almost exited the tournament on multiple occasions, beginning with his first round match against Nigel Heydon. He trailed 0–2 and was stung by a wasp during a break on his non-throwing hand, but nevertheless managed to claw his way back to 2–2. Heydon led 2–1 in the deciding set, but never had a dart for the match as Lewis won four of the last five legs to avoid an early exit.^[18] More comfortable victories ensued over Robert Thornton (4–2) and Wayne Jones (4–0), with Lewis seemingly heading for the semi-finals as he led Terry Jenkins 3–0 in the last 8, having only lost 2 legs.^[19] However, his opponent stormed back to level the match, before Lewis rediscovered his form to win the last two sets and clinch a 5–3 win. He said after the match that he had "lost his way" during Jenkins' fightback, but was delighted to be in the semi-finals.^[20]

His semi-final match with James Wade was hailed as one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Lewis trailed both 2–0 and 5–1, only to win the next 5 sets, including 10 straight legs, to incredibly win 6–5 and finished with a 161 checkout.^[21] After the semi-final Lewis stated: "That was the best win of my career, definitely".^[22]

The match eventually finished at 12:50am (GMT) and with Lewis required to give a drug test upon its completion, he stated he only got 4 hours sleep after going to bed at 5am.^[23] However, Lewis managed to never trail against Hamilton and was a double 12 away from hitting a nine-darter in the final for the second successive year. Lewis clinched victory with his third attempt at the match winning double and said afterwards he believed he could win 10 World Championship titles.^[17]

The tournament victory took Lewis' career prize money above the £1 million mark,^[3] and confirmed his number two status in the PDC Order of Merit.^[24] His semi-final comeback was named PDC Televised Performance of the Year at the PDC annual awards ceremony on 3 January.^[25]

Rest of 2012[link]

Lewis maintained his form for his next tournament of the season as he represented England and won the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts, with Phil Taylor. The pair needed a sudden-death leg to see off Canada in the second round, before defeating the United States and Wales to reach the final where they played the Australian team consisting of Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson. The final finished with the scores at 3–3 meaning that a sudden-death leg was required to decide the title. Australia missed four darts to take the crown and England two, before Lewis took out double 5 to win his first World Cup, stating that the victory meant more to him than his second world title won a month earlier.^[26]

Lewis was an automatic entrant for the Premier League due to his Order of Merit ranking.^[27] His first game was against Taylor, just four days after their World Cup win. Lewis led the match 6–1, before Taylor came back to draw 7–7.^[28] Taylor averaged 112.79 which is the highest ever average in a match without actually winning it.^[29] Lewis drew his next two matches before succumbing to a heavy 1–8 defeat to Gary Anderson. He had to wait until the 7th game of the season for his first win which came with a 8–3 defeat of Kevin Painter.^[30] Lewis went into the final match knowing a victory over Simon Whitlock would guarantee him a place in the play-offs,^[31] however he lost 6–8 to finish the season 6th in the table.^[32]

World Championship Results[link]

• 2006: Quarter-Finals (lost to Peter Manley 3–5)
• 2007: Third Round (lost to Andy Jenkins 3–4)
• 2008: Quarter-Finals (lost to Kevin Painter 2–5)
• 2009: Second Round (lost to Paul Nicholson 3–4)
• 2010: Quarter-Finals (lost to Phil Taylor 0–5)
• 2011: Winner (beat Gary Anderson 7–5)
• 2012: Winner (beat Andy Hamilton 7–3)

Controversies[link]

Lewis has been involved in several controversial matches during his career, including his debut World Championship in 2006. During his quarter final with Peter Manley he decided to leave the stage part-way through the match as he alleged Manley had been trying to upset him whilst he was throwing.^[33]

In April 2008, he argued with Kevin Painter during their quarter final match at the Holland Masters. This resulted in a 6 months ban for Lewis, as well as a 4 months suspension and a fine of £400.

At the 2009 World Grand Prix Lewis was playing Gary Anderson in the second round and during the first set the two players exchanged words after Anderson felt Lewis went into the exclusion zone while Anderson was throwing. Lewis won the match 3–2.^[34]

The final of the 2010 World Grand Prix saw Lewis in an ill-tempered clash which eventually he lost 3–6 to James Wade. Lewis accused Wade of putting off his throw, by "stamping" on the oche.^[35] The pair exchanged a brief handshake, which Wade appeared to look reluctant about. Lewis had also been involved in an incident with Taylor, just 24 hours earlier, during their semi-final match, where Taylor accused Lewis of playing up to the crowd to put him off.^[36]

During the 2012 PDC World Darts Championship, both Lewis and his opponent James Wade left the stage with Lewis trailing 2–0 in sets, after complaining of a 'draft' blowing across the stage. The 25 minute break seemed to provoke the crowd into heckling Lewis for the remainder of the game, Lewis went on to win the match 6–5.^[37]

Ranking and earnings[link]

Lewis has risen to second in the PDC Order of Merit – the PDC's world ranking system, and has been ranked 2nd since beating Gary Anderson to win his first World Championship final. He has won £1,153,717 during his six year career.^[3]

Personal life[link]

His first daughter, Myla Niamh was born in August 2009.^[38] In 2011, within a few days after winning the world championship, he broke up with his girlfriend.^[39] He supports his local football team Stoke City.^[40]

Outside of darts[link]

In 2012, Lewis, together with the other seven players who competed in the Premier League recorded a charity single with Chas Hodges and his band called 'Got My Tickets For The Darts' which was written by Chas. It was released on 18 May, the night after the play-offs at the O2 in London, where it was premiered. Proceeds from the single will be donated to the Haven House Children's Hospice.^[41]

Performance timeline[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Adrian Lewis' profile and stats on Darts Database

Andy Hamilton
Hamilton in 2007.
Birth name	Andrew Neil Hamilton
Born	(1954-05-28) 28 May 1954 (age 58) Fulham, London
Medium	Radio, television
Nationality	British
Years active	1972-present
Genres	Political satire
Subject(s)	Politics
Spouse	Libby Asher
Notable works and roles	Old Harry's Game

Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter and radio dramatist.^[1]

Early life[link]

Hamilton was born in Fulham, south-west London. He has only four fingers and no thumb on his right hand.^[2][3] Hamilton is 5 ft 3ins tall.^[4] He was educated at a grammar school, and later read English at Downing College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society (CULES).

Career[link]

Hamilton first came to notice while performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the 1970s.

His early radio work, mostly on BBC Radio 4 included Week Ending, The News Huddlines and The Million Pound Radio Show (with Nick Revell). He has since appeared regularly in Chelmsford 123, Have I Got News for You, The News Quiz, QI, and If I Ruled the World. Hamilton is frequently invited as a panellist on The News Quiz and as a guest panellist on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. His voice is very similar to that of Jeremy Hardy, another regular on these two shows.

He is the voice of Dr Elephant, the dentist in the children's show Peppa Pig. He was also the original voice of Bob Fish, who is also a dentist, in the cartoon Bob and Margaret.

On 16 March 2007, he co-presented BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour programme alongside usual presenter Martha Kearney as part of that day's Comic Relief fundraising activities after defeating Richard Hammond and Kelvin Mackenzie in a poll.

Since 1995, Hamilton has written and played the lead role of Satan in the Radio 4 sitcom Old Harry's Game. He toured with his UK stand-up show Hat of Doom in 2008 in which he famously wore a large shiny top hat for portions of the show which he pretended to believe rendered him invisible.

In 2009, Hamilton presented the BBC Four series It's Only a Theory with Reginald D. Hunter.

Personal life[link]

He is married to Libby Asher, with whom he has three children – Pip, Slobbie, and Isobel – and lives in Wimbledon, London.^[3]

On The News Quiz 25th Anniversary Special, he remarked many had noticed the likeness between him and a certain Italian opera singer: "I've often been compared to Pavarotti. But Pavarotti after a tree fell on him."

He supports Chelsea FC and regularly plays Sunday League football at Chelsea Sports Centre.^[5]

Scripts[link]

Hamilton has written scripts for:

Television[link]

• Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979)
• Shelley (1979)
• Scotch and Wry (1980)
• Who Dares Wins (1983)
• Alas Smith & Jones (1984)
• Scotch & Wry (1986)
• Drop the Dead Donkey (1990; co-creator with Guy Jenkin)
• Eleven Men Against Eleven (1995)
• Never Mind the Horrocks (1996)
• Bedtime (2001–2003)
• Peppa Pig (2005; as Dr Elephant the Dentist)
• The Exam (2002; for the National Theatre Connections Anthology)
• Trevor's World of Sport (2003)
• The Armstrong and Miller Show (2007)
• Outnumbered (2007–present; co-written with Guy Jenkin)
• The Two Ronnies
• It's Only a Theory (2009)

Radio[link]

• The Kit Curran Radio Show (1984; with Guy Jenkin)
• The Million Pound Radio Show (with Nick Revell)
• The News Huddlines
• Old Harry's Game (creator, in which he also stars as Satan)
• Trevor's World of Sport (radio version broadcast years: 2004, 2005 and 2007)
• Revolting People (co-creator with Jay Tarses), in which he also stars as Sergeant McGurk)
• Week Ending

References[link]

External links[link]

• Andy Hamilton at the Internet Movie Database
• Andy Hamilton Biography bbc.co.uk