Stephen Bunting is dreaming of a winning return to Unibet Premier League action in Liverpool on Thursday, having battled demons in the five years since his last appearance.
Since breaking onto the PDC scene in 2014, Bunting was thrust into the 2015 Premier League where he avoided elimination and finished eighth in the league phase.
A loss of form and a confidence crisis saw the former BDO champion lose his momentum in 2016 and 2017, before the last two years have seen the St Helens man climb back up the rankings.
Bunting, whose last homecoming appearance in Liverpool saw him go down to Phil Taylor, will make his Premier League comeback against Rob Cross at M&S Bank Arena.
"I can't wait to get back out there in front of my home city," said Bunting, who will be hoping to make it back-to-back wins for Premier League Challengers following Luke Humphries defeat of Gary Anderson in Exeter.
"I never thought I would get the chance to play in the Premier League again, I've been to some real low places in the last five years.
"Obviously, when I came over to the PDC I made a great start and soon found myself in the Premier League.
"But during that Premier League I felt that was when I started to lose a bit of confidence and it just got worse over the next couple of years.
"I felt very self-conscious, like people were laughing at me. A real low point came when I was playing at a local pub when I couldn't hit a double.
"It was then that I phoned my management team and said 'I need to see a sports psychologist' and that's been the turning point really.
"It's like I'm a new person now. I'm loving playing the game again and to have this opportunity to play in Liverpool again is what dreams are made of."
Night Six of the Unibet Premier League will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers and through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and RTL7.
2020 Unibet Premier League
Night Six
Thursday March 12
M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Michael Smith v Peter Wright
Daryl Gurney v Glen Durrant
Gerwyn Price v Michael van Gerwen
Rob Cross v Stephen Bunting
Gary Anderson v Nathan Aspinall
Tickets: mandsbankarena.com