KYLE ANDERSON is relishing the chance to take on World Champion Phil Taylor in the Sydney Darts Masters first round on Thursday night.
Anderson, 25, has dominated the DPA's Australian Grand Prix circuit this year and enters the Luna Park event - which is being shown live on FOX SPORTS - as the domestic number one.
He won seven tournaments to finish as the runaway leader on the AGP Order of Merit, and will also return to the World Championship later this year in London.
However, his first focus is on causing a huge upset in the inaugural Sydney Darts Masters as he takes on the sport's greatest ever player, 53-year-old Taylor, the 16-time World Champion.
"To play Phil is a dream come true," said Anderson. "He's the best player ever to play the game, the Roger Federer of darts - everyone wants to be Phil and to beat Phil.
"I had a gut feeling that I'd draw Phil but you can't take him lightly. Hopefully I can get a couple of legs won early and ride the momentum all the way home.
"That might sound cocky but you've got to be confident against Phil or he'll take you down.
"I played my brother Beau a couple of months ago and actually hit a nine-darter to finish the game, so if I can show that much ruthlessness towards my brother, who knows what I can show against someone who isn't part of my family!
"Against Phil, you can talk what you want but he's got that cetain aspect on the board that no-one can touch - when Phil's on form, he's on, but hopefully I can get on top of him and ride it out, and make a real statement for Australian darts."
Anderson - who was born in Perth but now lives in Mount Morgan, near Rockhampton in Queensland - made his World Championship debut last December, having won the 2012 DPA Oceanic Masters event to qualify for the darts' biggest tournament.
While Taylor went on to lift the title, Anderson headed back to Australia having lost 3-0 to England's Steve Beaton in the first round - but he insists that the experience will hold him in good stead in Sydney.
"I've got to admit that when I did go to the World Championship last year I was nervous," he reflects. "Living in a little country town at the moment, going on the big stage and playing in front of that amount of people was amazing and I did feel nerves.
"But hopefully this time around I've learned from my mistakes and I can progress into the next round."
The Sydney Darts Masters will be a family affair for Anderson, who will be wearing a specially-designed shirt which details a painting made by his cousin Kevin Binder and was joined in qualifying for the event by older brother Beau.
Perth-based Beau, 30, won Sunday's opening DPA Qualifier and also picked up victory in Wednesday's DPA Oceanic Masters, and will take on Andy Hamilton in the first round.
"I'm excited for him, and also for his wife because she came across [from Perth] to watch this," added Kyle, the younger of the pair. "Hopefully he can play the darts that we all know he can play, and that both of us can progress through to the next round.
"Maybe we'll have two brothers play off in a semi-final if we both made it through - that would certainly be something special!"
Anderson has also teamed up with former Australian Rugby League star and former World Super-Middleweight boxing champion Anthony Mundine, who is aiding Aboriginal sportspeople such as Anderson in their bids to become full-time professionals via the Sportaroo fundraising website.
"I've got a young boy and I'm engaged now to my partner, and that serves as motivation towards playing better and getting your moneys worth for what you do," said Anderson. "Playing darts used to be a hobby but now it's my job.
"The Sportaroo site is a funding campaign and something new for darts in Australia. There's some signed memorabilia from me and some corporate packages for me to go out and do some corporate business and motivational speaking about my past and what's happened.
"I've also got Anthony Mundine and Team Mundine on board and that's a big thing for how big Anthony is and that he's taken the time to help us out and get darts on the map in Australia."
To visit Kyle Anderson's Sportaroo website, visit www.sportaroo.com/kyle.
To see an exclusive YouTube interview with Kyle Anderson looking ahead to the Sydney Darts Masters, visit http://youtu.be/hTAUVommX-o.