Glen Durrant is aiming to turn around his "nightmare" Unibet Premier League title defence when the tournament resumes on Monday.
The reigning Premier League champion endured what he admits is one of the toughest weeks of his career earlier this month, losing his first five matches and finding himself performance-wise at the bottom of the averages, checkout percentages and scoring tables.
Durrant has four games from April 19-22 in a bid to turn his season around and potentially escape elimination on Judgement Night at the Marshall Arena on Thursday.
The 2016 season saw Robert Thornton pick up just one point from his opening six matches before escaping elimination, while Daryl Gurney also survived 12 months ago despite being three points adrift after six games.
With typical honesty, Durrant admitted: "Daryl Gurney was playing quite well [last year] - the problem I've got is I'm on nil points and not playing very well.
"Jose de Sousa's second-bottom and there's a massive difference there [in performance].
"I probably need six points out of eight, that would be a story in itself. The positive things are that you're only 501 points away from a return to form.
"I've dreamed a thousand times about playing in the Premier League, you get this magnificent high of holding that trophy up and it's turned into an absolute nightmare for me now.
"I just want to go and start averaging over 90 again, start playing better, looking better on stage and having a much better demeanour."
Durrant begins the second block of Premier League action against Michael van Gerwen, having picked up a win and a draw against the three-time World Champion last season as well as high-profile victory in the 2019 World Matchplay.
Asked if the tie can kick-start his challenge, the 50-year-old said: "I hope so - and it's that word hope. If you'd asked me 18 months ago it would have been "I expect so", so there's the difference between then and where my game is right now.
"It just takes a spark, a win, a double, a bit of luck - and right now I'm praying for all of them.
"People have said to me that it would be crazy that the game to turn me would be the best player in the world in MvG but I just want to go into that game and start enjoying my game again and start performing.
"I had a yearly 97 average in my first year in the PDC and I just want to get back into some sort of form."
Durrant has spent some of the Premier League's ten-day break analysing changes to his throwing action, and also had three days without picking up a dart after returning home from Milton Keynes.
"I'm sick to the stomach but this is not the end of the world," he insists. "This is hurting but I've got a great life.
"Other people are worried for my health, my mental state, and I'll say out loud that I'm absolutely fine. I'm very happy at home. I feel fit, I feel okay - it's psychological and confidence, I'm absolutely certain.
"What I'd say to people is to watch the game eight months ago against Jeffrey de Zwaan in Milton Keynes, the first round of the World Matchplay, and then watch one of my Premier League matches last week.
"My throw, my demeanour, the angle of the darts, I've forgotten how to smile, I'm not enjoying the game.
"Watch those two matches, and then it's process of elimination of what the problem is; is it my mind? Is it technical? Is it the way I'm stood? Is it the way I'm holding the dart? Is it behind the scenes? Is it my preparation? Is it my practice routines?
"It's that process of elimination that since October I've been trying to work out where the problems are, but there's something fundamentally different to my throw which I can't seem to address.
"I firmly believe that it's in the mind. Something has creeped into my game but trying to correct it is not the easiest bit."
Durrant has praised the messages of goodwill which he has received over the past fortnight - including from niece Zara and her RAF colleagues (above) based in the Falkland Islands - and added: "The one thing that's come out of last week has been the support.
"I'm going through a tough time but I've had so many highs in my life and you've got to ride the lows sometimes.
"It's the latest chapter in the story, a challenge that I will overcome. I don't want people's sympathy - I thank them for it but I'm working incredibly hard to get it right.
"I'm accepting the situation, it's not like I'm pretending it's not here. It's gone on for too long, it's not where I want my game to be. I'm a champion - I'm a winner and it hurts like hell to be sat bottom of the league right now on zero points.
"A couple of wins and that will breed the confidence, and that's what I'm desperately in need of."
The Unibet Premier League will resume from April 19-22, as league phase Nights Six-Nine take place, with the bottom two players eliminated on Judgement Night while the remaining eight are left to battle it out for Play-Off spots.
The Unibet Premier League is broadcast through Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, RTL7 in the Netherlands, DAZN in various worldwide territories including Germany & America, as well as through the PDC's global broadcast partners and on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers outside of the UK, Ireland & Netherlands.
Unibet Premier League
Night Six - Monday April 19
Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
Rob Cross v Gary Anderson
Jose de Sousa v James Wade
Jonny Clayton v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Glen Durrant v Michael van Gerwen
Nathan Aspinall v Peter Wright
Best of 12 legs