Since the loss of his PDC Tour Card at the beginning of 2018, Andy Hamilton has mainly been active on the BDO circuit. 'The Hammer' has been stable in the top 20 of the ranking for several months after a difficult start-up.
The fomer World Championship finalist will make his debut at the BDO World Trophy this weekend. This will be his first televised appearance since making his debut at the Lakeside in January.
Where the Englishman regularly took part in televised tournaments in his PDC time, these opportunities are more sparingly in the BDO. Therefore the 52-year-old is determined to achieve a good result during the BDO World Trophy in Blackburn.
''I always want to play well and get results on TV. Every game I play I see it as a chance to showcase my ability'', Hamilton told Dartsnews in an interview.
''I've probably got the best consistent performance record in the PDC in terms of consecutive quarter-finals or above. I'm very proud of that and I know I can do the same in the BDO.''
Flashes of 2012-2014 coming back
Hamilton picked up quite a few BDO ranking points in the summer months with a number of constant performances during the BDO tournaments. The multiple major finalist is very pleased with his form in the run-up to the BDO World Trophy.
''I've been playing really well lately. In July, I had a quarter-final in Luxembourg. This month I had a semi-final in Sweden and a final on Monday in Tipton [at the West Midlands Open].''
''It's getting progressively better. I'm enjoying my darts more and there's flashes of 2012-2014 coming back.''
In the first round of the BDO World Trophy awaits a confrontation with World Masters champion Adam Smith-Neale. The two English darts players faced each other twice in their PDC time, with both winning one of those matches. They are facing each other for the first time during a BDO tournament.
''I'm expecting a tough game but I know if I play well I win. Consistency is the key. I've known Adam a long time but we haven't met in the BDO. I'm looking forward to the game, the last time we played I wasn't in the best of places personally.''
Changes within the BDO
In the past few weeks a lot of announcements have been made by the British Darts Organisation. New sponsors and locations were found for the major tournaments.
One of the changes is that the BDO World Championship is no longer played at the Lakeside, but in a side room at the O2 Arena in London. The World Masters will be held at Circus Tavern, a former location for the PDC World Darts Championship. Hamilton sees these decisions as a step forward.
''It all has to be a step forward, but until the events take place we don't know how successful it will be. I think it's a good move taking the World Championships to the O2, yes it's not got the history that Lakeside has but it's got a lot of potential in its favour.''
''The move from the Circus Tavern to the Alexandra Palace for the PDC had a lot of doubts around it but we can all see how well that worked out'', he said.
Hamilton has good memories of both new locations from his time at the PDC. ''I've had semi-finals at both venues in the Premier League [O2] and the World Championship [Circus Tavern], so there's a lot of good memories there.''
''It'll be great to go back to them both, the experience of playing at the venues will help me too. One thing is for sure; I've got a lot more experience behind me since my last performance at the Circus Tavern!''
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