WAYNE MARDLE has been confirmed as the Sky Sports Wildcard for the 2008 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts - and he will open this year's event against Raymond van Barneveld in Glasgow on 31 January.
Mardle competed in the first two years of the Premier League before missing out on selection for the three-month extravaganza in 2007.
He enjoyed a good year on the PDC circuit, picking up two Players Championship titles and reaching the semi-finals at the recent Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship - knocking out Phil Taylor along the way.
The 34-year-old will now line up alongside Taylor, van Barneveld, James Wade, Terry Jenkins, Peter Manley, Adrian Lewis and World Champion John Part for the £340,000 2008 Whyte & Mackay Premier League.
"I'm absolutely over the moon," said Mardle. "It's a massive tournament for any professional player to be involved in.
"It's brilliant wherever we go and in many ways it's like being in a major final every week - it's huge.
"In the first two years my form wasn't there and I didn't do myself justice, but I'm raring to go."
Mardle will meet five-time World Champion van Barneveld to open the Premier League Darts at the SECC in Glasgow on Thursday 31 January.
Taylor, who has never been defeated in the previous three years of the Premier League Darts, takes on world number three and debutant James Wade, while 2006 runner-up Terry Jenkins faces Adrian Lewis.
World Champion Part completes the night's fixtures against Peter 'One Dart' Manley.
"Wayne is a massive crowd favourite and his inclusion as the Sky Sports Wildcard will give an added flavour to the 2008 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"His game has continued to mature in the past couple of years and his win over Phil Taylor in the World Championship showed that he is now matching his personality with high-quality performance.
"I'm sure he will challenge strongly in the Premier League, and I'm sure a first appearance in the play-offs will be his initial goal."
Mardle joins Part in returning to the Premier League this year, with the World Champion having previously competed in the opening season of the tournament in 2005.
Rory Hopkins, the Executive Producer for Sky Sports' darts coverage, said: "Wayne had a tremendous World Championship which capped off a good season for him.
"I'm sure TV viewers will be delighted to see him in the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts and we look forward to him lighting up our screens over the next few months."
Wade makes his debut in the tournament after rising to third in the world with his wins in the Stan James World Matchplay and SkyBet World Grand Prix last year.
Every night of the 2008 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts will be screened live on Sky Sports, with the top four players after the 14 league nights progressing to the play-offs on Monday 26 May.
The winner of the final in Cardiff will take home £100,000 - the joint highest individual prize in darts, matching the cheque John Part received for winning Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship on New Year's Day.
Over 50,000 tickets have already been sold for the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts.
Taylor and van Barneveld, currently the top two ranked players in the PDC Order of Merit who were watched by over 5,000 fans on both occasions they met in the 2007 Premier League, will come head-to-head at the Nottingham Arena on 6 March and the Liverpool Echo Arena on 10 April.
Click here for 2008 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts Ticket Information
Click here to see the 2008 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts Fixtures