ANDY HAMILTON won his first title on the PDC Pro Tour since 2007 after a 6-2 victory over his Stoke compatriot Adrian Lewis in the first Coral UK Open Qualifier on Friday.
The three-time major finalist produced a fine display of darts in Wigan, which saw an incredible three nine-darters recorded on a dramatic day at the Robin Park Tennis Centre.
The world number 11 started his run to victory with a win over Michael Burgoine before edging out Jeff Batham by a 6-5 scoreline.
Hamilton then recorded fantastic wins over a trio of major championship winners in the shape of James Wade, Michael van Gerwen and Kevin Painter before dismissing Dave Chisnall 6-1 to seal his place in the final.
In the decider the 46-year-old faced world number four Adrian Lewis and he enjoyed the better start by taking the opening two legs of the game.
The next two legs were shared before the two-time World Champion held throw on double 16 to win the fifth leg and keep in the hunt.
Hamilton though, won the sixth leg to move 4-2 up after Lewis wasted opportunities to level the contest before hitting a brilliant 144 checkout to go a leg away from victory.
That left Lewis trailing by three legs and he had no answer to his opponent who took out a 96 finish on double 18, to end the match with a 105.27 average to win the £10,000 first prize in style.
Lewis continued his fine form of 24 hours earlier where he destroyed Simon Whitlock in his opening Premier League contest, starting the day with wins over Matt Padgett and Adam Hunt before surviving a Robert Thornton comeback to defeat the Scotsman 6-5, having led 5-2.
The 29-year-old dismissed Ronnie Baxter and Justin Pipe before a 6-5 win over Peter Wright secured his place in the final, overturning a 4-2 deficit.
Lewis was unable to match a strong performance from Hamilton in the decider, but secured his place in the televised finals in March, at the Butlins Minehead Resort, after claiming the £5,000 runners-up prize.
Dave Chisnall and Peter Wright enjoyed fine runs to the last four, collecting £2,500 in the process following their fantastic Premier League debut wins at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, on Thursday evening.
Chisnall’s big highlight on route to the semi-finals was a nine-dart finish to close out his last 32 contest against Keegan Brown. It was the third of the day following Terry Jenkins and David Ladley’s fantastic efforts in their second round games.
World Champion Michael van Gerwen fell victim to eventual winner Andy Hamilton by a 6-4 scoreline at the last 16 stage, while 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor lost his opening game to Keegan Brown, continuing his tough start to 2014.
Lakeside Champion Stephen Bunting made his eagerly awaited PDC debut on in Wigan. He defeated Jake Patchett 6-4 in his opening match, which featured a 151 checkout, before losing 6-3 to van Gerwen in the next round.
The second part of the triple header weekend in Wigan will take place on Saturday, where the second Coral UK Open Qualifier will be contested with £50,000 prize money on offer once again.
The leading 96 players plus ties, from the UK Open Order of Merit, following the six Qualifiers will progress to compete in the Coral UK Open televised finals from March 7-9 in Minehead, where they will be joined by a series of amateur qualifiers.
Coral UK Open Qualifier One
Friday February 7
Preliminary Round
Stuart Bousfield 6-2 Darren Mawer
First Round
Robert Thornton Bye
James Richardson 6-4 Andrew Johnson
Kirk Shepherd 6-2 Jack Tweddell
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Steven Pearson
Adrian Lewis Bye
Matt Padgett 6-1 Doug Thompson
Adam Hunt 6-5 Dennis Priestley
Ryan Harrington 6-4 Dyson Parody
Ronnie Baxter Bye
Kevin McDine 6-0 Ryan Palmer
Dimitri Van Den Bergh 6-2 Daniel Day
Paul Amos 6-5 Dave Honey
Paul Nicholson Bye
Jamie Lewis 6-2 Mark Flawn
James Hubbard 6-2 Steve Hine
Dennis Smith 6-2 Danny de Haas
John Part Bye
Brandon Walsh 6-5 Ian Lever
Antonio Alcinas 6-5 Ryan Herrington
Tim Martin 6-0 Scott Johnson
Mark Webster Bye
Terry Temple 6-0 Scott Rand
Benito van de Pas 6-0 Michael Uxa
Dylan Duo 6-2 Tomas Seyler
Wes Newton Bye
David Place 6-4 Matthew Dennant
Steve Brown 6-5 Robert Owen
Andy Jenkins 6-3 Mark Jones
Justin Pipe Bye
Andree Welge 6-4 Arron Monk
Peter Hudson 6-3 Lee Hayes
Mark Cox 6-2 Gaz Cousins
Stuart Kellett Bye
Kevin Dowling 6-2 Garry Spedding
Dick van Dijk 6-4 Jelle Klaasen
Adrian Gray 6-2 Martin Homer
Gary Anderson Bye
Jason Hogg 6-3 Jamie Guilfoyle
Tony Newell 6-1 Pete Dyos
Darren Webster 6-2 Brett Claydon
Jamie Caven Bye
Leon de Geus 6-2 Colin Osborne
Ross Smith 6-5 Nigel Heydon
Richie Howson 6-3 Terry Roach
Peter Wright Bye
Dave Bird 6-3 Damien Sherwood
Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Steve Grubb
Richard van Zijtveld 6-0 Jonathan Worsley
Ian White Bye
John Bowles 6-1 Sam Hill
Keith J Stephen 6-0 Ben Gaiter
John Newland 6-5 Ben Ward
Steve Beaton Bye
Robert Parker 6-1 Jamie Robinson
William O'Connor 6-1 Max Hopp
Darren Johnson 6-2 Denis Ovens
Wayne Jones Bye
Jerry Hendriks 6-2 Mareno Michels
Mark Barilli 6-3 Stuart Anderson
Stuart Bousfield 6-2 Par Riihonen
Brendan Dolan Bye
Josh Payne 6-4 Ian McFarlane
Ron Meulenkamp 6-1 Glenn Spearing
Michael Barnard 6-5 Wayne Dunn
Mark Walsh Bye
Joey Palfreyman 6-2 Alan James Tabern Jnr
Stuart White 6-5 Jamie Gemmell
Jon Jukes 6-5 Alan Derrett
Michael van Gerwen Bye
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Jake Patchett
John Henderson 6-4 Gino Vos
Barrie Bates 6-3 Lee Moffatt
James Wade Bye
Mark Dudbridge 6-0 Jay Foreman
Darron Brown 6-1 Mark Hylton
Michael Rasztovits 6-2 Paul Rowley
Andy Hamilton Bye
Michael Bourgoine 6-2 Tony Tasker
Jeff Batham 6-4 Lee Grimshaw
Adam Smith Neale 6-3 Nathan Richards
Mervyn King Bye
Matt Clark 6-3 Mark Forman
Alan Tabern 6-3 Ricky Sudale
Dean Winstanley 6-3 Brian Woods
Vincent van der Voort Bye
Andy Relf 6-5 Dave Weston
Ronny Huybrechts 6-4 Tony Richardson
David Copley 6-0 David A Murphy
Kevin Painter Bye
Chris Aubrey 6-0 Michael Blake
Steve Maish 6-4 Steve West
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Ricky Evans
Raymond van Barneveld Bye
Magnus Caris 6-1 Paul Carter
Christian Kist 6-5 Prakash Jiwa
Luke Woodhouse 6-5 David Pallett
Richie Burnett Bye
Johnny Haines 6-5 Jason Lovett
Nick Fullwell 6-3 John Scott
David Ladley 6-1 Eric van Meel
Michael Smith Bye
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Jamie Landon
Ryan De Vreede 6-2 Joe Murnan
Steven Mead 6-2 Shane Edwards
Dave Chisnall Bye
Jason Wilson 6-4 Rocco Maes
Andrew Howarth 6-3 Andy Pearce
Bernd Roith 6-5 Daryl Gurney
Phil Taylor Bye
Keegan Brown 6-4 Gary Stone
Mark Jones (Worcs) 6-1 Joe Cullen
Kevin Thomas 6-2 Mark Lawrence
Andy Smith Bye
Aden Kirk 6-4 Darren Whittingham
Jim Walker 6-1 Sean Ryan
Mick Todd 6-2 Andy Parsons
Terry Jenkins Bye
Kurt Parry 6-3 Dave Kelly
Conan Whitehead 6-2 Stephen Perkins
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-5 Michael Mansell
Kim Huybrechts Bye
Mark Stephenson 6-5 Jyhan Artut
Lee Palfreyman 6-3 Dan Russell
Matthew Edgar 6-0 Paul Lennon
Simon Whitlock Bye
Ian Moss 6-5 Ewan Hyslop
Martyn Turner 6-5 Paul Redfern
Peter Evison 6-4 Kirt Middleton
Second Round
Robert Thornton 6-1 James Richardson
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Kirk Shepherd
Adrian Lewis 6-1 Matt Padgett
Adam Hunt 6-2 Ryan Harrington
Ronnie Baxter 6-3 Kevin McDine
Dimitri Van Den Bergh 6-1 Paul Amos
Paul Nicholson 6-4 Jamie Lewis
Dennis Smith 6-5 James Hubbard
Brandon Walsh 6-5 John Part
Antonio Alcinas 6-3 Tim Martin
Mark Webster 6-3 Terry Temple
Benito van de Pas 6-4 Dylan Duo
Wes Newton 6-2 Dave Place
Steve Brown 6-5 Andy Jenkins
Justin Pipe 6-3 Andree Welge
Peter Hudson 6-4 Mark Cox
Kevin Dowling 6-5 Stuart Kellett
Adrian Gray 6-4 Dick van Dijk
Gary Anderson 6-4 Jason Hogg
Tony Newell 6-5 Darren Webster
Jamie Caven 6-2 Leon de Geus
Ross Smith 6-3 Richie Howson
Peter Wright 6-2 Dave Bird
Richard van Zijtveld 6-4 Mensur Suljovic
Ian White 6-4 John Bowles
John Newland 6-2 Keith J Stephen
Steve Beaton 6-4 Robert Parker
William O'Connor 6-3 Darren Johnson
Wayne Jones 6-3 Jerry Hendriks
Mark Barilli 6-2 Stuart Bousfield
Josh Payne 6-1 Brendan Dolan
Michael Barnard 6-4 Ron Meulenkamp
Mark Walsh 6-3 Joey Palfreyman
Jon Jukes 6-4 Stuart White
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Stephen Bunting
John Henderson 6-1 Barrie Bates
James Wade 6-1 Mark Dudbridge
Darron Brown 6-4 Michael Rasztovits
Andy Hamilton 6-3 Michael Burgoine
Jeff Batham 6-1 Adam Smith Neale
Mervyn King 6-4 Matt Clark
Dean Winstanley 6-1 Alan Tabern
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Andy Relf
David Copley 6-2 Ronny Huybrechts
Kevin Painter 6-3 Chris Aubrey
Steve Maish 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Magnus Caris
Christian Kist 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Richie Burnett 6-4 Johnny Haines
Nick Fullwell 6-3 David Ladley - Ladley hits nine-dart finish
Michael Smith 6-4 Gerwyn Price
Steven Mead 6-4 Ryan De Vreede
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Jason Wilson
Bernd Roith 6-4 Andrew Howarth
Keegan Brown 6-2 Phil Taylor
Kevin Thomas 6-3 Mark Jones (Worcs)
Andy Smith 6-3 Aden Kirk
Mick Todd 6-5 Jim Walker
Terry Jenkins 6-2 Kurt Parry - Jenkins hits nine-dart finish
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-4 Conan Whitehead
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Mark Stephenson
Matthew Edgar 6-2 Lee Palfreyman
Simon Whitlock 6-5 Ian Moss
Martyn Turner 6-2 Peter Evison
Third Round
Robert Thornton 6-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Adrian Lewis 6-4 Adam Hunt
Ronnie Baxter 6-1 Dimitri Van Den Bergh
Paul Nicholson 6-1 Dennis Smith
Antonio Alcinas 6-5 Brandon Walsh
Mark Webster 6-5 Benito van de Pas
Wes Newton 6-2 Steve Brown
Justin Pipe 6-3 Peter Hudson
Adrian Gray 6-3 Kevin Dowling
Gary Anderson 6-5 Tony Newell
Jamie Caven 6-3 Ross Smith
Peter Wright 6-0 Richard van Zijtveld
Ian White 6-1 John Newland
Steve Beaton 6-0 William O'Connor
Mark Barilli 6-2 Wayne Jones
Michael Barnard 6-4 Josh Payne
Mark Walsh 6-3 Jon Jukes
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 John Henderson
James Wade 6-2 Darron Brown
Andy Hamilton 6-5 Jeff Batham
Dean Winstanley 6-3 Mervyn King
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 David Copley
Kevin Painter 6-5 Steve Maish
Raymond van Barneveld 6-0 Christian Kist
Nick Fullwell 6-3 Richie Burnett
Michael Smith 6-3 Steven Mead
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Bernd Roith
Keegan Brown 6-2 Kevin Thomas
Mick Todd 6-3 Andy Smith
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-1 Terry Jenkins
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Matthew Edgar
Simon Whitlock 6-5 Martyn Turner
Losers £250
Fourth Round
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Robert Thornton
Ronnie Baxter 6-1 Paul Nicholson
Mark Webster 6-5 Antonio Alcinas
Justin Pipe 6-5 Wes Newton
Gary Anderson 6-5 Adrian Gray
Peter Wright 6-3 Jamie Caven
Steve Beaton 6-4 Ian White
Mark Barilli 6-3 Michael Barnard
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Mark Walsh
Andy Hamilton 6-2 James Wade
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Dean Winstanley
Kevin Painter 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Nick Fullwell 6-5 Michael Smith
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Keegan Brown - Chisnall hits nine-dart finish
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-3 Mick Todd
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Losers £500
Fourth Round
Adrian Lewis 6-1 Ronnie Baxter
Justin Pipe 6-2 Mark Webster
Peter Wright 6-2 Gary Anderson
Steve Beaton 6-4 Mark Barilli
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Kevin Painter 6-2 Vincent van der Voort
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Nick Fullwell
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Rowby John Rodriguez
Losers £1,000
Quarter-Finals
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Justin Pipe
Peter Wright 6-5 Steve Beaton
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Kevin Painter
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Losers £1,500
Semi-Finals
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Peter Wright
Andy Hamilton 6-1 Dave Chisnall
Losers £2,500
Final
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Adrian Lewis
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