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Premier League Darts: John Henderson ready for dream debut against MVG
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 tonight.
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.
Henderson told www.pdc.tv: "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."
Current league leader Van Gerwen will be hoping to avoid back-to-back Premier League defeats for what would be just the second time since his 2013 debut campaign.
The world number one suffered a shock 7-3 reverse to James Wade in Exeter on Night Four to end his winning start to the campaign, before crashing out of the UK Open at the first hurdle to Mervyn King the following day.
"I didn’t perform to my best in the last two matches but fair play to James Wade and Mervyn King, they played good games to beat me," said three-time World Champion Van Gerwen.
“Those games are gone now and I have to focus 100 per cent on the next game against John Henderson, who is a player I have a lot of respect for and I know he’ll be up for it in front of the amazing Scottish fans.
“Any match or tournament I don’t win is a bad one for me but that doesn’t say anything for the next match – the same as it wouldn’t say anything if I had won the UK Open.
“Everybody can see from the table for the last six years that I am the most feared opponent for the other players and I know that if I play my best, I win. It is simple as that."
The opening clash of the night will see former World Champion Rob Cross meet World Championship and Premier League finalist Michael Smith in a repeat of Sunday's UK Open semi-final, which saw Cross come out on top 11-7.
Departing Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld will make his final Premier League appearance in Aberdeen as he looks to move off the foot of the table with victory against Scotland's Peter Wright.
In-form Welshman Gerwyn Price is the only player yet to taste defeat in this year's competition, and he will be looking to preserve his unbeaten record against Mensur Suljovic, while second-placed Wade could go top with victory over Daryl Gurney.
The top four players at the end of 16 nights will face off in the Play-Offs at The O2 on May 23, while the ninth-placed player following Judgement Night in Rotterdam will face an early elimination.
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.
2019 Premier League Darts Table
- MVG P 4 W 3 D 0 L 1 LegD +7 Pts 6
- Wade P 4 W 2 D 1 L 1 LegD +4 Pts 5
- Cross P 4 W 2 D 1 L 1 LegD +4 Pts 5
- Price P 4 W 1 D 3 L 0 LegD +3 Pts 5
- Suljovic P 4 W 1 D 2 L 1 LegD -1 Pts 4
- Wright P 4 W 1 D 2 L 1 LegD -1 Pts 4
- Gurney P 4 W 2 D 0 L 2 LegD -3 Pts 4
- Smith P 4 W 1 D 1 L 2 LegD -1 Pts 3
- Van Barneveld P 4 W 0 D 2 L 2 LegD -6 Pts 2