Gerwyn Price is relishing having the 'favourite' tag ahead of his bid for a third consecutive BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts title.
Aiming to follow in the footsteps of Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen by winning a third successive Grand Slam crown, Price has been installed as pre-tournament favourite with title sponsor BoyleSports.
The Welshman comes into the tournament in red-hot form, having lifted the World Cup of Darts for the first time alongside Jonny Clayton last weekend, before picking up his eighth title of the year at the Winter Series on Thursday.
“I’m in some good form off the back of winning the World Grand Prix and World Cup. Hopefully I can have another good run here, I'm looking forward to it,” said Price.
“I like the favourite tag. It gives you a little boost and a bit of extra confidence. It shows that not only am I confident, but other people are confident in my ability as well.
“Hopefully I can go out and play like a favourite.
“To win three in a row is something that has only been achieved by Phil and Michael so it would be nice to make a bit of history and join them.”
Price believes the tight nature of the outright tournament odds is a reflection of the changing landscape of the sport, which has previously seen Taylor and Van Gerwen dominate for decades.
“The standard is too high now for there to be one dominant player. There are too many good players around,” Price explained.
“I think there's a lot of players coming up through the ranks who are not even in the top 16 yet.
“It would be nice if I could get to world number one at least once in my career, but I think there will be a change in order over the next few years.”
The BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts will see a 32-player field, comprising PDC event winners and qualifiers along with two BDO players, competing for £550,000 in prize money.
The tournament will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, as well as through the PDC's international broadcast partners including RTL7 and DAZN and for PDCTV Rest of the World Subscribers.
Schedule of Play
Monday November 16
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
8x Group matches
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
8x Group matches
Tuesday November 17
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
8x Group matches
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
8x Group matches
Wednesday November 18 (1500 GMT)
8x Group matches
Thursday November 19 (1900 GMT)
8x Group matches
Friday November 20 (1900 GMT)
4x Last 16 matches
Saturday November 21 (1900 GMT)
4x Last 16 matches
Sunday November 22
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
2x Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
2x Quarter-Finals
Monday November 23 (1900 GMT)
2x Semi-Finals
Tuesday November 24 (1800 GMT)
Final