The Premier League Darts storms back into Aberdeen for the annual extravaganza at P&J Live on Tuesday evening.
For the north-east darting enthusiasts it is an annual pilgrimage to see their heroes in action in the Granite City.
Among those taking to the oche will be world champion Luke Humphries, 17-year-old sensation Luke Littler and the reigning Premier League Darts champion Michael van Gerwen.
Peter Wright is the sole Scottish representative who will be cheered on by the home support.
Here are some of the memorable moments of the Premier League Darts in Aberdeen over the years.
The first visit to the AECC
The inaugural Premier League Darts competition took place in 2005 with all 11 host venues in England.
The following year saw Aberdeen and Newport in Wales introduced as new venues.
Aberdeen was hit by heavy snow when the Premier League Darts came to the AECC for the first time on March 2, 2006.
Phil Taylor stayed top of the table thanks to an 8-4 victory against Scotland’s Ronnie Baxter, while Raymond van Barneveld thrashed Roland Scholten 8-3 in a one-sided Dutch derby.
Van Barneveld paid tribute to the Aberdeen crowd afterwards, saying: “They are good every week but the fans in Aberdeen are awesome.
“I was out at a restaurant for a meal and there were fans coming up to me saying I was their hero.
“The fans in Holland don’t treat me like this, it means a lot to me.”
Taylor makes history in Aberdeen
In 2009, Phil Taylor broke his own record for the highest average in the history of televised darts when with a 116.01 average on his way to an 8-3 victory against Canadian John Part.
Afterwards the darts legend called for the Granite City to host more events in the future.
He said: “Aberdeen could definitely host the World Championships, especially with the AECC, which is a terrific venue.
“If it did happen it would be one of the best World Championships you’d see.
“We always seem to be down in London but why not come up here?”
Barney hits nine-darter in 2010
A year later, the 4,000 fans packed inside the AECC witnessed a moment of brilliance from Raymond van Barneveld as he hit a nine-darter on his way to an 8-6 win against Terry Jenkins.
It ended a run of five defeats on the spin for the Dutchman who said: “It’s the first nine dart finish in Scotland so I’m very proud of that.
“It’s strange that I could suffer five defeats on the trot and then do something like that.”
Taylor’s perfect finish in 2012
Phil Taylor also produced a nine-dart finish in Aberdeen two years later – and admitted he needed to deliver something special to topple Kevin Painter.
The Power triumphed 8-5 with a perfect leg of darts. He said: “I had to do a nine-darter just to get in front.
“He was hitting 140s on his throw and then following it in.
“In my mind I was thinking if I can hit a nine-darter I could win a leg and try to put him off.
“I thought I had to do something out of the ordinary to crack him.”
Anderson defends home crowds
The Flying Scotsman Gary Anderson won four legs on the spin to draw 6-6 with James Wade in an impressive comeback in 2015.
He hailed the 4,500 Aberdeen fans for helping him gain a draw and said he was fed up with opposing players complaining about being jeered when they come north of the border.
He said: “People moan about the Scottish crowd but we play twice in Scotland and the players moan like hell and it gets on my nerves.
“I have to put up with it every week about people saying Dublin’s great, Belfast is all right and Wales is great but they need to bite the bullet.
“Everyone has a bite at Scotland and it keeps getting written away. If they have a problem they need to see me about it.
“Everything is on their home turf and I have kept it quiet for too long.”
An epic in Aberdeen
Home favourite Gary Anderson defeated Michael van Gerwen 7-5 in a thriller in the final match of the regular season in 2018.
The win meant Anderson avoided meeting MVG in the semi-finals and would instead take on second-placed Michael Smith with Rob Cross facing world number one van Gerwen in the following week’s Play-Offs at the O2.
Van Gerwen went on to win the title, beating Smith 11-4 in the final in London.
Henderson’s homecoming
Most would agree the greatest moment in Premier League Darts history in Aberdeen came in 2019.
The withdrawal of Gary Anderson due to a back injury meant nine players were invited to appear on each of the phase one nights throughout the season. In Aberdeen, Huntly’s John Henderson received the invitation and the local hero was handed the ominous challenge of taking on Michael van Gerwen.
But Henderson more than rose to the challenge, hitting six maximums as he came from 5-2 down to earn a 6-6 draw against the Dutchman.
In the final leg, Henderson checked out 57 to spark deafening roars and wild celebrations at the AECC.
An emotional Henderson said: “The reception from the fans was unbelievable.
“I’ll never go through anything like this again.
“It was absolutely brilliant.”
More fireworks in store for 2024?
The Premier League Darts has switched to an eight-person knockout competition every night over the past couple of years.
Welshman Jonny Clayton beat van Gerwen in the final in Aberdeen in 2022, while it was Dimitri Van den Bergh who tasted victory 12 months ago when he pipped Gerwyn Price to the title.
Scotland’s Peter Wright will face Michael Smith in the quarter-finals at P&J Live on Thursday evening with the winner taking on either Luke Littler or Nathan Aspinall.
In the bottom half of the draw, Michael van Gerwen faces Rob Cross and Gerwyn Price takes on world champion Luke Humphries.
With only three events remaining, the top four players will advance to the Play-Offs on May 23. Luke Littler leads the way on 31 points followed by Humphries (26), Aspinall (25) and van Gerwen (24).
Five points are awarded for a win, three for the runner-up and two points for losing semi-finalists.
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