Gerwyn Price has revealed he longer fears facing the world's top stars as he looks to continue his unbeaten start to the 2020 Unibet Premier League against Peter Wright in Dublin on Thursday.
Price picked up his first title of the year on Sunday at Players Championship Six, defeating world number one Michael van Gerwen 8-7 in a thrilling final.
Having broken his duck against Van Gerwen at the 19th attempt on the way to retaining his Grand Slam of Darts title in November, Price now boasts a record of two wins in three against the Dutchman.
A 109 average from Price in the final of Saturday's Players Championship Five final was not enough to stop Wright from pick up his first ProTour title of the year, but the Welshman has an immediate shot at redemption in the Irish capital.
A repeat of their memorable semi-final at Alexandra Palace, which Wright won 6-3 on his way to becoming World Champion, will see the pair lock horns once again in front of sell-out crowd at 3Arena.
"When you first start off in the game you're wary of the top players, maybe I was guilty of showing them too much respect in the past," admitted Price.
"But now I'm one of the top players and I truly believe that if I score as well as I can and take my chances then I can beat any of them.
"I think Peter is the best player in the world right now. MvG has gone off the boil a bit but Peter is the best and there's a few of us close behind.
"I'm unbeaten in the Premier League and I've played five events this year and got to three finals so I'm doing alright.
"Last week in Cardiff was frustrating for me, I desperately wanted to win in front of home crowd but fair play to Daryl [Gurney] he made it difficult for me and he deserved a point.
"My focus is now on turning these draws into wins, then hopefully I will make it to The O2 for the first time in May."
Night Four of the 2020 Unibet Premier League will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers and through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and RTL7.
Night Four
Thursday February 27
3Arena, Dublin
Glen Durrant v Nathan Aspinall
Rob Cross v Gary Anderson
Daryl Gurney v Michael Smith
William O'Connor v Michael van Gerwen
Gerwyn Price v Peter Wright
Tickets: SOLD OUT