BUCKSKIN'S Colin Monk begins his bid to become the Embassy World Darts Champion at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green tomorrow evening.

The 33-year-old builder has been seeded eighth for the tournament where he has been ever-present since arriving as a qualifier in 1994.

In his opening round match, Monk will take on the young Finn Marko Pusa, who is making his debut at Lakeside.

He said: "I've been practicing a lot recently because I've got to be on my toes as Pusa is an up-and-coming new star.

"Being seeded means that I don't meet any of the big guns in the first round, but any of the 32 players in the tournament are all capable of beating each other."

In the past year, Monk has had a good run on the circuit, finishing as the runner-up in Denmark and reaching the last four in the Belgium and Welsh Opens. In previous years he has won the World Masters and the Denmark, Norway and German Opens.

Going into his eighth successive appearance at the Lakeside, Monk is looking to maintain a proud record that has never seen him lose in the first round.

His best-ever run in the Embassy saw him reach the semi-finals in 1998, a feat he will be hoping to better in 2001.

Two of the main obstacles blocking his route to the last four meet in the first round as top seed Mervyn King takes on another former semi-finalist in Chris Mason.

Monk could meet the winner of this contest in the quarter-final.

He said: "The winner of King and Mason will go far in the tournament, while Raymond Barneveld is looking strong in the bottom half of the draw.

"You need a bit of experience to do well in this tournament because it can be a bit nerve- wracking.

"The way I've been practising, it should go according to plan. I just have to hope that Lady Luck is on my side."