Robert Thornton will be hoping to make a big impact at this year's World Championship.
Name: Robert Thornton
Date of birth: 17/07/67 (48)
Nickname: The Thorn
World ranking: 6
Gritty, determined and resilient are just three of the words that can be used to sum up Robert Thornton the darts player.
The proud Scot is a three-time major winner having won the World Masters in 2007 (BDO), UK Open in 2012 and World Grand Prix in 2015.
Last season Thornton was the only player to reach the world championship quarter-finals without dropping a set, before he was beaten 5-3 by Michael van Gerwen.
The 48-year-old averaged a superb 111.77 in thrashing James Wade 6-1 in the semi-finals of the European Open, before going on to claim the title by beating Kim Huybrechts 6-2 in Dusseldorf.
But more was to come as he stunningly upset Michael van Gerwen to win the World Grand Prix final in the deciding set and claim his second PDC major title.
The Dutchman hit 18 maximums throughout the nine sets but was ultimately undone by Thornton's superior composure as he won 5-4 in Dublin.
Calm under pressure and with the tenacity of a pit-bull, you would expect Thornton to have a good run at Ally Pally.