Gary Anderson insists he has rediscovered his love for the game, as he bids to continue his resurgent run at this week's BoyleSports World Grand Prix.
Former World Grand Prix runner-up Anderson will be among the 32 players eyeing glory in the unique double-start event, which takes place at Leicester's Morningside Arena from October 2-8.
Anderson arrives in the East Midlands fresh from a string of superb performances in last week's ProTour treble-header, which culminated with him winning his second PDC ranking title of 2023 on Friday.
The Scot registered ton-plus averages in 13 of his 18 matches at the Barnsley Metrodome last week, and he capped off a stunning three-day spell by dispatching Ryan Joyce in Friday's finale.
"Nowadays, get me to a dartboard, I enjoy playing darts," claimed Anderson, who also celebrated a Players Championship success back in March.
"I’m not going to say ‘I need to do this’. It doesn’t help me. I just turn up and play darts.
“My practice over the kids’ holidays has not been great. I think I’ve practiced with Ryan [Searle] two or three times since Blackpool, but I'm playing well.
"When I play Ryan, he’ll tell you. I’m averaging between 104 and 112 every time we play. I might get the odd 90, but it’s not very often."
Anderson kicks off his World Grand Prix campaign against Portugal's Jose de Sousa on Monday night, in their first televised showdown since they locked horns in the 2021 Premier League.
The two-time World Champion is without an individual TV title since September 2018, although his title odds have been slashed from 50/1 to 16/1 with BoyleSports following his sensational recent displays.
The 52-year-old was a runner-up to Michael van Gerwen in the 2016 edition, and he believes a new champion could be crowned in this year's double-start showpiece.
“I don’t think it [the winner] will be a favourite, I think it will be an outsider," added Anderson, who would play eighth seed Rob Cross or UK Open champion Andrew Gilding if he overcomes De Sousa.
“It could be wide open. Luke Humphries, Chizzy [Dave Chisnall] and Chris Dobey are all playing well.
"I am coming here feeling alright. I've got new darts, they're going well. Maybe it will be an old 52-year-old [who wins], you never know!"
The BoyleSports World Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
2023 BoyleSports World Grand Prix
Session Schedule
Monday October 2 (1800 BST)
First Round x8
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Brendan Dolan
Jose de Sousa v Gary Anderson
Krzysztof Ratajski v James Wade
Martin Schindler v Raymond van Barneveld
Nathan Aspinall v Stephen Bunting
Gerwyn Price v Danny Noppert
Michael Smith v Callan Rydz
Rob Cross v Andrew Gilding