KYLE ANDERSON is looking forward to facing close friend Damon Heta in the first round of the 2018 Melbourne Darts Masters.
Anderson will face fellow-Australian Heta in the second event of the World Series of Darts treble-header Down Under, with both players desperate to claim the bragging rights.
The pair will renew rivalries on the oche on Friday at The Hisense Arena, and Anderson can't wait to get reacquainted with his old school pal.
Whenever you saw me as a kid you saw Damon next to me
"Damon was my best mate, we were inseparable," said Australian number two Anderson.
"We went to school together, we did our homework together, whenever you saw me as a kid you saw Damon next to me.
"There were nights when we stayed up late playing video games until about 4am, then woke up at 7am and started all over again!
"We had a chat earlier and I said to Damon there's a good chance we could draw each other and I'm looking forward to it because we haven't played each other for years."
Former Auckland Darts Master Anderson is a regular fixture on the World Series events Down Under, while Heta will be making his third televised appearance after starring in Sydney in 2014 and Auckland in 2016.
Anderson knows exactly what kind of game in store and expects their clash of styles to make for an exciting encounter.
"He's a very good player, but he's a slow player - I like my rhythm and he likes slow play," Anderson added.
"We've been battling since we were juniors when I was top and he was second.
"I haven't seen since I flew out to England and that's four years ago now so it will be great to enjoy the big stage with him
"We're two little fellas from Maddington, Southern Perth, we're here on TV and we're going to enjoy it."
Tickets for the Melbourne Darts Masters are available from ticketek.com.au.
The Melbourne Darts Masters will be broadcast live on Fox Sports in Australia and through the PDC's international broadcast partners, as well as through PDCTV-HD for Rest of the World Subscribers.
UK coverage through ITV4 will be from 7pm on each night.
2018 Melbourne Darts Masters
Draw Bracket
(1) Michael van Gerwen v Raymond Smith
Simon Whitlock v Corey Cadby
(4) Peter Wright v Mike Bonser
Raymond van Barneveld v Raymond O'Donnell
(2) Rob Cross v Haupai Puha
Michael Smith v Tim Pusey
(3) Gary Anderson v James Bailey
Kyle Anderson v Damon Heta
Schedule of Play
Friday August 10 (7pm)
First Round
Raymond van Barneveld v Ray O’Donnell
Michael Smith v Tim Pusey
Rob Cross v Haupai Puha
Gary Anderson v James Bailey
Peter Wright v Mike Bonser
Michael van Gerwen v Raymond Smith
Simon Whitlock v Corey Cadby
Kyle Anderson v Damon Heta
Best of 11 legs
Saturday August 11 (7pm)
Quarter-Finals
Best of 19 legs
Sunday August 12 (7pm)
Semi-Finals
Best of 19 legs
Final
Best of 21 legs