Darts:Adrian Lewis retained his PDC World Darts Championship title with a 7-3 victory over Andy Hamilton at Alexandra Palace. The 26 year old, known as 'Jackpot,' saw off fellow Stoke thrower to land the €240,000 first prize and trophy.
Lewis showed few signs of tiredness, despite a late finish to his semi-final against James Wade the previous night, to see off his tenacious 44-year-old opponent. He admitted: “It’s not quite sunk in yet. I take everything on the chin and have a busy year ahead. This is (title) number two and I’ll have a lot more.
“The fightback against James Wade )in the semi-final) won me the tournament. I believed in myself.” Asked how many times he could win the world title, he said: “At least 10. But Andy hit a lot of good shots; I want to see him in the Premier League because he deserves a place."
Hamilton, who received €120,000 as runner-up, said: “It’s been a great week for me. I wanted to win the final so badly but I’m happy to be here. Keep watching me. Next year I’ll be back again and hopefully I’ll be winning it then.”
Lewis saw three darts bounce out in the first three legs of the match but hit back from the disappointment to take the first set with a 122 checkout in the fifth leg. The defending champion hit the first 180 of the match in the second leg of the second set, enabling him to take it against the darts - but Hamilton won the set 3-1 to level the contest.
Hamilton started the third set with a maximum before Lewis almost replicated the nine-dart finish he produced in last year’s final win over Gary Anderson. This time he missed double 12 but hit it successfully two darts later.
Lewis was gradually establishing control and a 12-dart leg gave him a 3-2 lead. Hamilton then struggled in the closing stages of the sixth set, with Lewis nailing double 15 to go 4-2 clear. ‘The Hammer’ won the next set to claw back to 4-3 down but it was to prove a temporary respite as Lewis won the next three sets to take the title.