Steve Lennon says there’s no pressure on his shoulders as he prepares to make his Premier League debut as a contender in Dublin this evening.
Soon after the news filtered through that Gary Anderson had been forced to withdraw from the 17-week competition with a back injury, it was announced that the 2011 and 2015 winner’s place would be taken by nine "contenders" who take on the opponent that the Scot was due to face.
That initiative from the PDC opened the door for the 25-year-old Carlow man to play in front of a massive crowd at the 3Arena.
"It was the morning it was released about Gary Anderson pulling out, I was just scrolling online, reading about it, wondering who the tenth player would be and then I got the call from my manager to say I was one of the contenders picked, it was a bit of a shock to the system," Lennon told RTÉ Sport.
The former business student had a memorable 2018 where he rose to 37 in the rankings, however, the year ended on a sour note as he missed two match darts against Alan Norris to reach the third round of the World Championships.
"At 14 I started throwing a few darts waiting to play a pool match and realised I wasn't bad!"
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 19, 2019
☘️We caught up with Irish youngster Steve Lennon ahead of his @unibet Premier League debut in Dublin on Thursday.
▶️ https://t.co/nfgdREmHL1 pic.twitter.com/G6fH15G04B
"I was depressed after that game for quite a while but I just had to put it behind me and reflect on the whole year rather than one event," he said.
"I had a good year but it ended badly. I just had to take positives out of the whole year.
"Hopefully, I won’t be overwhelmed.
"I got a nice reception in the Grand Prix [at Citywest] so it would be nice to get a good reception tonight.
"When I first heard the news I started to over think it and stress about it but yeah it’s a fantastic opportunity and I’m so glad the PDC picked me and I’d like to thank them for picking me for Dublin but it’s not a ranking event, there’s no pressure on me and if I do lose it’s not the end of the world.
"To be involved in such a huge occasion is the main thing huge thing; anything that happens is a bonus. It would be great to get a win."
The winners of the last three World Championships, Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross, meet in the night’s big game, while Raymond van Barneveld will take his final Premier League bow in Dublin against World Matchplay finalist Mensur Suljovic.
Grand Slam of Darts champion Gerwyn Price will take on European Champion James Wade in the opening game of the evening, while 2018 Premier League finalist Michael Smith meets Players Championship Finals winner Daryl Gurney from Derry.
#Dublin 🎯🎯🎯 pic.twitter.com/h5tT0n6xE3
— Martin Leak (@mmleak1605) February 20, 2019
