A giant battle of the oche takes places tomorrow night when huge 'Viking' Andy Fordham takes on formidable Phil 'The Power' Taylor.

As sports snobs around the country drink their cocoa and make sandwiches for work the next day, darts fans will be tuning in to Sky Box Office for a feast of arrows which includes a flashback to the 1980s.

As well as the two world champions battling for their share of a £100,000 jackpot, legend Eric Bristow - better known as the Crafty Cockney - will return to the screen to face life-long adversary John Lowe.

Boxing promoter Barry Hearn is behind the evening and he would not organise such a big event without a complete undercard - Dutchman Roland Scholten takes on another Londoner, Wayne Mardle, in the second bout - both of those matches are best of 11 legs.

Professional Darts Corporation world champion Taylor is odds-on favourite to win the main match over 13 sets by trouncing the British Darts Organisation's Andy Fordham, who has been off the oche for months with a wrist injury.

"It's the biggest game of my career," said Taylor, who has won 11 world titles. "Everything else after this will be second best. It's been on my mind for months, I will be glad when it comes around because it's driving me crackers."

Taylor is the one man every player wants to miss when draws are taking place in top competitions - especially televised events. But other pros believe they are beginning to see chinks in his armour and little-known Englishman Andy Calleby, a former Cambridgeshire county player, proved them right just a few weeks ago.

Calleby was a qualifier for the Paddy Power World Grand Prix in Dublin last month but he shocked the darts world by knocking 'The Power' out in the first round.

Gentle giant Fordham picked up the World Masters crown in 1999 before becoming Lakeside World champion this year. And, fittingly for someone nicknamed Viking, he has picked up a string of victories in European opens.

Fordham only got his hand out of plaster two weeks ago after fracturing his wrist.

Who would ever have thought Bristow v Lowe would be an undercard match?

Five-times Embassy champion Bristow - he made the final ten times in 12 years - is probably still the most famous player in the history of darts.

He would have picked up more crowns had it not been for 'Old Stoneface' Lowe, who secured the Embassy crown three times himself and remained unbeaten for seven years as England captain.

Bristow went off the boil in the early 90s when he suffered from 'dartitis' (being unable to release the dart smoothly).

Although he is out of the picture in the PDC rankings, my sources tell me he is back to his best. It just remains to be seen if he can produce the goods in front of the cameras again.

l Daily Echo reporter Jeremy Wilson talks to Phil Taylor in tonight's edition of The Pink.