COLIN LLOYD looks ahead to the Unibet World Grand Prix and predicts who will lift the title in Dublin.
Lloyd won the double-start event in 2004 and we caught up with the former world number one, who will be working for Sky Sports during the event, to find out who he thinks will follow in his footsteps at the Citywest Hotel this week.
Q: Colin, firstly how do you look back on your years competing in the World Grand Prix?
Colin: It's a great tournament to play in, it was one I always looked forward to.
The Irish love their sport and they've really taken to darts, it's always a great crowd to perform in front of.
This event is an equaliser, you can exploit your opponent's misses at the start of legs.
There's a little bit of extra pressure because if you don't get away with your first three darts it can really affect you mentally.
Q: Which games are you most looking forward to out of the first round ties?
Colin: The game of the first round has to be Adrian Lewis v Michael Smith. Two giants of the game, two heavy-hitters who just get on with the job and we could see fireworks.
Mensur Suljovic v James Wade is another incredible first round game - Mensur is one of the best players in the world at the moment, while Wade is a two-time winner of the event.
What an opening game between Kim Huybrechts and Jeffrey de Zwaan, two extremely capable players who could produce a showstopper.
Q: Who should we look out for as a potential dark horse?
Colin: I think the winner of ADRIAN LEWIS and MICHAEL SMITH will be the player who will throws the cat amongst the pigeons.
Simon Whitlock has been showing some form, and Steve Beaton always gets out the blocks quickly so I would keep my eye on him as one to watch.
Q: And, most importantly, who are you backing to go all the way and win the 2018 World Grand Prix?
Colin: I'm torn between three players - Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright and Gary Anderson.
If I had to pick one it would be GARY ANDERSON. His scoring was just out of this world at the Champions League of Darts, and when the doubles are going in too he's an unbelievable player.
Gary is playing with massive confidence at the moment so I think he will be the one who comes out on top.
Peter keeps putting himself in the position to win titles and I'm sure he will want to get rid of the 'bridesmaid' tag, while Michael is Michael and he will always be incredibly tough to beat.
As defending champion, Daryl Gurney will be desperate to perform in Dublin. He hasn't had a great year but I thought he looked really good last weekend and he looks like he's got a bit of fight back in him.
The Unibet World Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports and worldwide through the PDC's series of international broadcast partners, as well as at PDCTV-HD for Rest of the World Subscribers.
Tickets for the Unibet World Grand Prix are still available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.ie or by calling 0818 903001 (Ireland), 0333 321 9996 (NI & UK) or 00 353 818 903001 (International Customers).
2018 Unibet World Grand Prix
Draw Bracket
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Steve Lennon
Darren Webster v Stephen Bunting
Dave Chisnall (8) v Max Hopp
Ricky Evans v Raymond van Barneveld
Daryl Gurney (5) v John Henderson
Ron Meulenkamp v Joe Cullen
Gary Anderson (4) v Jonny Clayton
Jeffrey de Zwaan v Kim Huybrechts
Peter Wright (2) v Steve West
Jermaine Wattimena v Mervyn King
Simon Whitlock (7) v James Wilson
Michael Smith v Adrian Lewis
Mensur Suljovic (6) v James Wade
Josh Payne v Ian White
Rob Cross (3) v Steve Beaton
Danny Noppert v Gerwyn Price
Schedule of Play
Sunday September 30 (7pm)
First Round
Jeffrey de Zwaan v Kim Huybrechts
Ron Meulenkamp v Joe Cullen
Darren Webster v Stephen Bunting
Ricky Evans v Raymond van Barneveld
Dave Chisnall v Max Hopp
Daryl Gurney v John Henderson
Michael van Gerwen v Steve Lennon
Gary Anderson v Jonny Clayton
Monday October 1 (7pm)
First Round
Jermaine Wattimena v Mervyn King
Josh Payne v Ian White
Danny Noppert v Gerwyn Price
Peter Wright v Steve West
Rob Cross v Steve Beaton
Mensur Suljovic v James Wade
Simon Whitlock v James Wilson
Michael Smith v Adrian Lewis
Tuesday October 2 (7pm)
Second Round
Chisnall/Hopp v Evans/Van Barneveld
Anderson/Clayton v De Zwaan/Huybrechts
Gurney/Henderson v Meulenkamp/Cullen
Van Gerwen/Lennon v Webster/Bunting
Wednesday October 3 (7pm)
Second Round
Suljovic/Wade v Payne/White
Cross/Beaton v Noppert/Price
Wright/West v Wattimena/King
Whitlock/Wilson v Smith/Lewis
Thursday October 4 (7pm)
Quarter-Finals
Friday October 5 (7pm)
Semi-Finals
Saturday October 6 (8pm)
Final
Preceded by Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay final (Approx 7.10pm)
Kevin Burness v Mick McGowan
Format
First Round - Best of three sets
Second Round - Best of five sets
Quarter-Finals - Best of five sets
Semi-Finals - Best of seven sets
Final - Best of nine sets
All sets are the best of five legs, and all legs must begin and end with a double.