HE is a three-time Lakeside World champion, and can already claim to be the greatest darts player ever to have come out of the North-East. But when he takes to the stage at an empty Ricoh Arena on Thursday evening, Glen Durrant readily admits he will be competing in the biggest match of his life. His only hope is that an even bigger one follows a couple of hours later.

Having topped the table during the Unibet Premier League Darts group stage, ‘Duzza’ finds himself taking on two-time PDC World champion Gary Anderson in the semi-finals, for a place in the final against either Peter Wright or Nathan Aspinall.

Durrant is yet to win a major title since crossing over to the PDC, and with the Premier League second only to the World Championships in terms of status and prestige, the Teessider knows he is standing on the brink of something special.

“It could turn out to be the biggest night of my life,” said Durrant. “The first Lakeside title is always going to take some beating, but winning the Premier League would be incredible. When I made the decision to move to the PDC, it’s nights like this I was dreaming of. The Premier League is one of the pinnacles of the sport, so to be in with a chance of winning it is fairytale stuff.”

Having enjoyed a successful maiden season after switching from the BDO, Durrant was one of nine players awarded a Premier League place at the start of this year. He had earned his spot through a string of strong performances, not least the run that took him to the last eight of the Worlds at Alexandra Palace last December, but there were still doubts as he prepared to make his Premier League debut. Would he be able to do himself justice? Would he embarrass himself in front of thousands of fans? He need not have worried.

“I didn’t think I’d get be chosen in the first place to be honest – I was convinced Chizzy (Dave Chisnall) would pip me to the final spot – so I’d be lying if I said there weren’t a few doubts,” said Durrant. “I was thinking, ‘Please let me not finish on zero points’.

“That first match against Michael Smith was massive. I knew I had Fallon (Sherrock) next, and that would have been really tough if I’d been going into it on the back of a defeat. Thankfully, I beat Michael, drew with Fallon, and things went from there. Halfway through, I was pretty sure I was going to finish top.

“It’s a shame I didn’t get to play at Newcastle because half of Middlesbrough was booked up to go there, it would have been some night. But with everything that’s going on in the world, we know how lucky we are as darts player to be playing our sport. I feel very fortunate to have played in front of the massive crowds at the start of the Premier League. The night in Dublin stands out. I lost on the night, but I was first on and the atmosphere was unreal.”

Durrant goes into Thursday’s game on the back of a disappointing first-round defeat at the World Grand Prix, but the early exit enabled him to spend some time on the practice board. He has ironed out a few technical issues, although he will be taking nothing for granted against Anderson.

“In my mind, he’s the fourth best player to have played the game behind Phil Taylor, MVG (Michael van Gerwen) and Eric Bristow,” he said. “It’s a massive challenge, but I’ll give it my best shot.”