Adrian Lewis

Adrian Lewis with the trophy

Adrian Lewis retained his PDC World Darts Championships title with victory in this year's final at Alexandra Palace tonight.

The 26-year-old saw off fellow Stoke thrower Andy Hamilton 7-3 and land the £200,000 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.

Lewis said: "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 last night won me the tournament. I believed in myself."

Adrian Lewis

Andy Hamilton

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 £100,000 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 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.

However, Hamilton took the opening leg of the seventh set. The confidence of 'The Hammer' was boosted further when he took the second leg against the darts and he held the advantage to win the set despite a 180 from Lewis.

Lewis, though, was dominant in the eighth set, hitting double 11 - the same double which won him the title last year - to win the fourth leg and restore his two-set advantage at 5-3.

Lewis set himself up for another nine-dart finish with successive 180s at the start of the third leg in the ninth set but missed the opportunity, although he was able to break after Hamilton had missed double 16.

Although Hamilton broke back with double eight, Lewis produced a 118 checkout to snatch the set and move to within one of the title.

Hamilton took the first two legs of the 10th set but Lewis won the third and took the next against the darts to move to the brink of victory.

Both players started the fifth leg with 180s and after each had missed doubles, Lewis nailed double top to wrap up the success.

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