Rocket ready to blast into Premier League

10/02/2010

Ronnie is eagily anticipating his return to the Whyte & Mackay Premier League on Thursday night at The o2 in London.

The Rocket is up against Terry Jenkins on the first night, his first apperance in the Premier League since he last took part in 2006. That year Ronnie just missed out on the play-off's and this year will be hoping to progress even further.

"Obviously finishing in the top 4 is the obvious goal for me going into this years tournament, and then you want to go on and win it. One of the big changes is the size of the crowds, because the biggest audience in 2006 was Bournemouth with 3,000 fans and now we're talking between 8,000 and 10,000 at the o2. Thats's great!! Bring it on!"

"It's all about being on that stage and settling down because the big stage is where I want to be and it's up to me to be used to it"

Ronnie's rankings slipped since 2006 however a superb 2009 saw him rise back up to 6th.

"When I reached the semi-finals of The World Matchplay last June I went up to 6th in the world, and everyone was telling me then -with six nmonths to go that I was in the Premier League" he said. "I couldn't perform at all, in the floor tournaments or on the stage, and I thought it was all slipping away from me. It came down to me and Adrian Lewis fighting it out in the end, and we finished the same in the German Darts Championship and also the World Championship, so that put me through."

Ronnie V Terry Jenkins can be seen live on Sky Sports 1 Thursday night, the opening night of the 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts live from the o2 Arena London.