SIMON WHITLOCK will begin the defence of his partypoker.net European Championship title in Germany on Thursday against Belgium's Kim Huybrechts, while Phil Taylor meets Vincent van der Voort as the £200,000 event kicks off in Muelheim.
Australian star Whitlock his maiden major at the European Championship last year, when he defeated Wes Newton to claim the £50,000 first prize at the RWE Sporthalle.
The world number five has drawn in-form Belgian Huybrechts as he begins his bid to retain the title on Thursday night in Germany, and admits that it would be his greatest achievement to continue his success in the event this weekend by keeping hold of the crown.
"It was the greatest moment of my career when I won the European Championship last year and it's given me the hunger to win more major titles," said Whitlock.
"Everyone sets out to win every tournament that they play in and we all know that you can't win everything, but the feeling I got by winning the European Championship is driving me on.
"It was a brilliant weekend and to win three games on the final day to take the title was a big ask but I managed to do that.
"To win this again would be another massive achievement because the field's incredibly strong. I've got Kim first and he's been sensational for the last 18 months and deserves to have broken into the world's top 16 now.
"If I get past him, there's players like James Wade, Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Taylor in my half of the draw, so even getting close to the final will be tough, but it will be a great event."
Whitlock has won three other ranking tournaments since September's European Championship success, but said: "The standard's getting better all the time and it's crazy now.
"I've been playing some of the best darts of my life in recent months and although I've won a few tournaments, my results probably don't reflect how well I feel I've played.
"During the Premier League I was really happy with my form but I came up against some players who produced superb performances, and then in the UK Open I was drawn against Wes Newton and he was fantastic.
"It's a sign of how high the standard is now, and it's up to me to keep working hard and improving."
Taylor opens his European Championship challenge against Holland's Vincent van der Voort, with the World Champion capping a fine June by following up his UK Open win with victory in the Gibraltar Darts Trophy last weekend.
"I'm really looking forward to it," said Taylor, a four-time European Champion from 2008-2011. "I'm feeling great and my form's good, and to win in Gibraltar was a perfect warm-up for the European Championship."
World number four Wade will also be in action on Thursday night as he takes on Mark Webster, who was a late replacement in the event after Gary Anderson was ruled out on Wednesday through illness.
Raymond van Barneveld will return from a holiday in Las Vegas which has seen him skip the last two PDC ProTour weekends as he takes on Germany's Tomas Seyler in their opener.
Ronny Huybrechts, the elder of the Belgian brothers, kicks off the event against another European Championship debutant, Stuart Kellett, and Jamie Caven plays Dave Chisnall before Colin Lloyd meets Peter Wright, and Robert Thornton faces Brendan Dolan - a semi-finalist in last year's European Championship.
Bookies' favourite Michael van Gerwen plays Belgium's Kurt Van De Rijck in their opener on Thursday, while number three seed Adrian Lewis takes on leading Austrian Mensur Suljovic.
Newton, last September's runner-up, faces Jelle Klaasen and two heavyweight contests see Kevin Painter meet three-time World Champion John Part and number six seed Andy Hamilton face Terry Jenkins.
German teenager Max Hopp plays Paul Nicholson, Finland's Jani Haavisto faces Justin Pipe and Ronnie Baxter meets Mervyn King.
The second round will be played across two sessions on Saturday, with the quarter-finals being played on Sunday afternoon and the semi-finals and final taking place on Sunday evening.
Full coverage of the tournament will be available in the UK through www.LIVEPDC.TV, with ITV4 broadcasting live coverage from the majority of the tournament.
Coverage will also be live through RTL7 in the Netherlands, Sport1 in Germany, Fox Sports in Australia and Sky New Zealand.