TERRY Jenkins opens up his 2009 Premier League Darts campaign tonight against wild-card entry Jelle Klaasen.

The Bull, from Ledbury, will be hoping the pressure of the crowd will get to the young Dutchman in his first taste of the competition.

The tournament, which starts tonight at the Liverpool Echo Arena, will be in front of 10,000 vociferous fans and screened live on Sky Sports.

“The main difference in the Premier League to the other tournaments we play in is the crowd,” Jenkins said. “You can’t let them get to you.

“They are loud, they enjoy themselves and you have to try and block them out when you’re at the oche. I’m not sure how Jelle will cope with that but he is a good player.”

But Klaasen is backing himself to reach the semi-finals in his first campaign.

“If I play well, I know that I can make the semi-finals,” the Dutchman said.

“I’ll be trying to do that and if I do make it then great but it’s only my first time and it’s going to be a great experience — that is the most important thing for me.

“People have told me that it is amazing playing in front of so many people but I think I can handle it.”

Jenkins is pleased with how he has been playing in the lead-up to the Premier League, despite bowing out of the coral.co.uk Players Championship in the first round last week.

“If you look at the averages of that first round, only Phil Taylor had a better one than me and I lost,” said Jenkins. “I averaged nearly 102 in that match against Wayne Jones.

“Taylor has been unstoppable lately but that is because he is putting in eight to 10 hours of practise a day — it’s like he is obsessed. I like to have time to relax.”

Legendary darts commentator Sid Waddell said: “Terry’s Premier League record shows that he’s the biggest battler in the competition. The world championship puts such stress on the players in the early rounds, even Taylor, so I wasn’t too surprised to see Jenks become one of the top seeds to be eliminated in round one.

“But in the Premier League he’s the hardest guy to beat because, for my money, he’s the best at getting 110 to 140 check-outs when he needs them. He’ll be worth watching because he never knows when he’s beaten.”

Jenkins is hoping he will be able to secure more high check-outs throughout the tournament with £1,000 on offer each week for the highest one.

“I do seem to to take two or three of those cheques home each season so hopefully I can do so again this year,” Jenkins added.

“But that is not something I focus on when I’m practising, I look at my scoring — hitting that treble 20 consistently. After all, it’s smaller than a double.”