Michael Smith will make his highly-anticipated Alexandra Palace return this evening, as he begins his defence of the Paddy Power World Darts Championship on a star-studded opening night.
Smith celebrated a sensational World Darts Championship success in January, landing an incredible nine-dart finish en route to a 7-4 success against Michael van Gerwen in the 2022/23 showpiece.
The 33-year-old will take on either Dutch debutant Kevin Doets or Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finalist Stowe Buntz in his second round tie on Friday, as he opens his challenge for back-to-back titles.
“I cannot wait to get to Ally Pally now, because I will finally see myself holding that trophy on the [champions] wall," said Smith, who has appeared in three of the last five World Championship finals.
“If I am struggling, I can just look up and see it. I think that is going to give me the inspiration that I need.
“I’ll be very proud when John McDonald announces me as the reigning and defending champion, but I’ll also be sad as well, because I don’t want it to end.
“I’m not quite ready to be called the former World Champion yet!”
The world number one is bidding to become only the fourth player to retain the World Darts Championship title, a feat previously achieved by Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson.
“When I won the World Championship, I said I had completed darts,” recalled the St Helens star - a 10/1 shot to retain the Sid Waddell Trophy with title sponsor Paddy Power.
“I literally thought about it for six or seven months – I hadn’t been practising, I was going to Vegas on holiday. I thought what else can I do?
“Now it’s about adding a second, a third and a fourth [World Championship] title. I want to win every major that the PDC has to offer. Then I really can say that I’ve completed darts!”
Smith enjoyed a strong start to life as World Champion, winning January's inaugural Bahrain Darts Masters, lifting a European Tour title in April while also making semi-finals in the Premier League and World Grand Prix.
However, the former Grand Slam champion has since suffered a host of early exits in recent televised events, and is determined to return to winning ways on the sport's biggest stage.
“Something has been missing on stage, but there’s no better place to find it than at the World Championship,” added the reigning champion.
“I know what it takes to win it now, and I know I can bring my A-game. To become only the fourth player to go back-to-back would be amazing.
“I don’t want to be a one-time World Champion, and I want to win even more titles than Gary [Anderson] and Adrian [Lewis].
“When you retire, people can sometimes forget that you’ve won it, but when you’ve won it multiple times, you leave a legacy behind, and that is what I want to leave now.”
Friday's bumper opening night will also see 2010 runner-up Simon Whitlock kick off his campaign, as the Australian veteran takes on 2022 PDC Asian Championship runner-up Paolo Nebrida.
Whitlock - featuring in his 15th consecutive PDC World Championship - will take on two-time World Champion Gary Anderson in a blockbuster clash on Saturday if he overcomes Nebrida.
Elsewhere, Cameron Menzies will play Rusty-Jake Rodriguez - the sole Austrian representative in this year's event - with the winner set to face 2018 champion Rob Cross in round two.
The tournament 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, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship
Friday December 15 (1900 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Kevin Doets v Stowe Buntz (R1)
Cameron Menzies v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez (R1)
Simon Whitlock v Paolo Nebrida (R1)
Michael Smith v Doets/Buntz (R2)