Painter and Hammer duo debuts in McCoy's Premier League
Excitement in McCoy’s Premier League will get a major boost as Andy Hamilton and Kevin Painter form their team to compete in the 2012 Premier League of darts.
As the eight-man tournament was announced this week, Hamilton, or the Hammer of darts, was able to secure a position in the event for the first time in his career, after he was able to finish as a finalist in the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship.
Along with this, Painter was selected as a Wildcard entry for the PDC Premier League, after he triumphed at the Cash Converters event.
The selection of both these players has been made on pure grounds of merit and hence, according to experts, some commendable performance from the duo can be anticipated.
It is important to mention here that the duo will join other six players of darts arranged in three teams, comprising of Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis, James Wade and Gary Anderson.
In addition to this, Australian darts player Simon Whitlock, because of his appreciating performance at Ladbrokes, and Raymond van Barneveld will be seen as a single team.
The excitement for the upcoming event is not just limited to the audience but this time PDC has also formulated some new steps that will also increase the level of interest and dedication of the players competing in the event.
The total prize money of the event has increased to 450,000 pounds, with the winner of the event walking home with one-third of the chunk.
The runner-up will be able to get whooping 70,000 pounds. According to PDC Chairman Barry Hearn, "I'm delighted to welcome McCoy's as sponsors of what promises to be the best-ever Premier League Darts".
He also said that Hamilton and Painter have been included in the squad this time after subsequent conduction of their performance assessments.
Both of them played extremely well to prove themselves and hence, it would have been unfair if they had been deprived of the opportunity to play the Premier League.
According to pundits, Kevin and Hamilton’s duo will be a major threat to Taylor and Lewis.
Hamilton recently played the finale of Ladbrokes against Lewis and therefore, he has a careful and detailed understanding of the way Jackpot designs his strategy.
Painter, on the other hand, has played against Taylor a couple of times, following the intense rivalry that prevailed between the two players for a long time.
Therefore, the Hammer-Painter threat will be the most dangerous for Power and Jackpot, whether they play as a team or in their individual capacities.
On the flip side, Taylor holds the status of winning the Premier League four consecutive times, which was disrupted by James Wade.
The encounters will no doubt provide great entertainment and put forth a healthy competition between the players.
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