JOHN HENDERSON will make a dream come true when he makes his Unibet Premier League debut in front of an adoring Scottish crowd at The BHGE Arena in Aberdeen on Thursday.
Crowd favourite Henderson, from Huntly in the Scottish Highlands, is set to be roared on by 4,000 passionate darts fans as he takes on four-time Premier League Champion Michael van Gerwen.
The fifth Premier League Contender to star in this year's competition, Henderson spoke to The Darts Show ahead of one of the biggest nights of his career.
"I'm playing against the best player in the world, so I've got nothing to lose and I'm going to go up there and enjoy it," said Henderson, who stunned Van Gerwen on his way to the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix in 2017.
"Although I beat Michael in the World Grand Prix a couple of years ago, I know that was in a completely different environment and won't count for anything on Thursday.
"I must admit it was a great surprise when I got the call to play in the Premier League, but it's always been a dream of mine since joining the PDC."
Henderson made the switch to the PDC in 2011, and enjoyed immediate success by reaching the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix, as well as featuring at the World Matchplay and World Championship in his first year on the professional circuit.
As well as his 2017 semi-final run in Dublin, the 45-year-old has also reached the quarter-finals of the European Championship in 2015 and the final of the German Darts Masters in the same year.
"If I was to retire tomorrow I would be happy with what I've achieved in this sport," world number 21 Henderson continued.
"In my BDO days I used to work alongside playing and winning trophies, but now I'm lucky enough to be devoting all my time to playing darts.
"I know there's a lot of room for improvement but I think I can push for top 16 and qualify for as many TV events as I can over the next few years.
"I know I'm not getting any younger and time's running out to achieve what I want to but I'm still enjoying the game.
"I think I've come on quite a bit since the worlds, I've got the confidence now and I've had a good start to the ProTour season so I can hopefully take that form into Thursday."
Night Five of the Unibet Premier League in Aberdeen will be shown live on Sky Sports, worldwide through the PDC's broadcast partners, and through PDCTV-HD for Rest of the World Subscribers.
Night Five - Thursday March 7
The BHGE Arena, Aberdeen
Michael Smith v Rob Cross
Daryl Gurney v James Wade
Mensur Suljovic v Gerwyn Price
Raymond van Barneveld v Peter Wright
Michael van Gerwen v John Henderson
Tickets: 08444 77 9000 or click here