THE world's leading darts players are preparing for West Australia's biggest ever event, this weekend's TABtouch Perth Darts Masters at the Challenge Stadium.
PDC stars including World Champion Michael van Gerwen and 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor are in Perth for the World Series of Darts event being held in the city from Friday-Sunday.
Australian stars Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson are joined by James Wade, Peter Wright, Dave Chisnall and Raymond van Barneveld as the eight top names who will take on eight Oceanic qualifiers in Friday's first round.
Perth-based brothers Kyle and Beau Anderson are joined by local aces Lawrence Ryder, Justin Miles, Vinay Cooper and David Platt - who came through the weekend's qualifying events - with Queensland's Shane Tichowitsch and New Zealander Warren Parry completing the field.
"We're really excited to be here in Perth," said PDC Chief Executive Matthew Porter. "We're delighted with how the preparations for this event have gone so far and it promises to be a massive success.
"The players are all looking forward to the weekend and it should be a fantastic display of world class darts, and I'm sure that the fans will create a great atmosphere."
The Perth Darts Masters is the second of three successive World Series of Darts events, with last weekend's Singapore Darts Masters being won by Michael van Gerwen while Sydney's Hordern Pavilion is set to stage the Sydney Darts Masters from August 28-30.
"Our aim is to spread the game of professional darts globally, and that has led to Dubai, Sydney, Singapore and now Perth," added Porter.
"These are the early steps along that path, but we've also had interest from other territories, such as New Zealand, Asia, America and Canada.
"Hopefully these events will have a knock-on effect and encourage young players to take up the game in these areas, because youngsters are seeing darts as a serious career option nowadays because of the rewards on offer."
Top Australian star Whitlock, ranked fourth in the world, will head the home challenge in both tournaments, and after reaching the Singapore Darts Masters final on Saturday has returned to his homeland in upbeat mood.
"I'd absolutely love to win in front of my home crowd and put Australia on the map," he said.
"Getting to the final in Singapore was a great result for me and I feel really good about my darts at the moment. I made a few changes earlier this year and I've worked really hard, and it's paying off.
"It's going to be fantastic playing back in Australia. I want to do well here and hopefully I can pick up a win or two and do my country proud."
Whitlock and his rivals for the title met another Perth sporting star at Tuesday's media launch, when Commonwealth Games gold medalist javelin thrower Kim Mickle enjoyed a game of darts with some of the sport's biggest names.
"I'm a sportaholic and I saw the promos in Perth about the tournament and I wanted to be a part of this, and now I can't wait to see the event this weekend," said Mickle.
"It's not really my forte but I got a few tips from the players and I reckon that, now they've taught me properly, I'll have a go at it!
"I've learned a fair bit from the players as well - they were saying that the hardest part about darts is qualifying, and that's the same with our sport. The scariest thing is the thing that isn't the pinnacle, so I'm really looking forward to watching.
"To support other athletes is incredible - every sport has their hardship and these guys have really promoted their sport so well, they're all characters and why wouldn't you want to support some amazing athletes doing incredible things in Perth."
The first round will be played on Friday night at the Challenge Stadium in Perth, with the quarter-finals on Saturday before the event concludes with the semi-finals and final on Sunday.
Tickets for the Perth Darts Masters are now on sale and can be purchased online through http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/Perth-Darts-Masters-tickets/artist/1981791.
For VIP and Floor table seating, email sales@downunderevents.com.au or call 0416 120 765.