Leonard Gates is relishing his second round showdown against Nathan Aspinall at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship on Wednesday evening.
The enigmatic American will play two-time semi-finalist Aspinall for a place in the third round tonight, as he bids to break new ground at Alexandra Palace.
The reigning CDC Continental Cup champion made the second round on his debut in 2022/23, and he enjoyed a winning return on Monday night, running out a 3-1 winner against Cameron Menzies.
"It's a wonderful feeling to come back and get through my first round," reflected Gates, who landed a hat-trick of ton-plus checkouts on his way to victory.
"The energy and the atmosphere is possibly even better than when I was here last time. It's phenomenal.
"I really can't explain what the support means. You can feel that energy in your body, and that's a great motivation for me."
Gates has been the stand-out player on the North American circuit in 2024, winning a trio of CDC titles to finish top of the 2024 Order of Merit.
The 54-year-old also captured the CDC Continental Cup title in October, which earned him a place in last month's Grand Slam of Darts.
Gates defeated two-time World Champion Peter Wright in the round-robin phase, and now he's bidding to claim another major scalp on the sport's biggest stage.
"I think I've improved greatly over the last few years," added Gates, who won the North American Championship in 2022.
My performance against [Cameron] doesn't show what I've done back home in the States.
"I'm on a roll, everybody is telling me I'm on a roll, and I want to keep it that way. It's like a snowball rolling down a hill, it builds and builds and builds.
"I'm just going to focus and play my game, because I definitely know what Nathan can do, and if you lose focus, he will destroy you.
"Nathan has a lot of backing. He has a lot of fans, but the monster is coming!"
Wednesday's action will also see UK Open semi-finalist Ricky Evans take on DPA Oceanic Masters winner Gordon Mathers, with sixth seed Dave Chisnall awaiting the winner.
Latvia's Madars Razma will play former Lakeside Champion Christian Kist in round one, while Jim Williams opens the evening's play against Paolo Nebrida, who is making his third consecutive Ally Pally appearance.
2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship
Wednesday December 18 (1900 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Jim Williams v Paolo Nebrida (R1)
Madars Razma v Christian Kist (R1)
Ricky Evans v Gordon Mathers (R1)
Nathan Aspinall v Menzies/Gates (R2)