World No1 Lloyd is ready to dethrone the Power

"I've got Fairy Liquid hands now, but they used to be like pieces of leather," explains the world's No1 darts player Colin Lloyd, as he sips demurely from a glass of mineral water.

Coming from a man whose building-site shoulders are wider than most oches, and who revels in the nickname "Jaws", those words seem slightly surreal. But the genial Lloyd, 32, is one of the game's new breed of arrow slingers; someone whose idea of exercise doesn't begin and end with the classic darts cliche of a raised pint glass and the 7ft 9¼in walk to collect his arrows. Instead he spends two hours at the gym three times a week, enjoys regular acupuncture and massage, and rarely drinks between tournaments.

"It's not a case of being the next Linford Christie," he chuckles. "It's a case of getting a bit fitter. Now when I play long matches I don't get tired. I'm not saying I'm not going to fail, but if I don't play well, it's not because I haven't given myself the opportunity. My preparation also includes acupuncture and proper sports massages, where the masseuse digs her elbows right into you. I love it. After the first couple of times I'd be in agony, but now the girl can't get a groan out of me because the muscles in my back are so relaxed. That's helping my darts too."

And the regime is working. Turning pro two years ago, Lloyd has gone from - in his words - "an also-ran, scratching around the top 16", to winning 14 titles and being ranked world No1. Only one major title eludes him: the world championship, which starts today in the bearpit of the Circus Tavern in Purfleet.

"It's a daunting place," Lloyd says. "The stage isn't huge, and the crowd are right on top of you. But I love playing there. There's a great buzz and being an Essex lad I get lots of support. I can stand in the pub all day and play darts. But as soon as you step on stage at the Tavern it's like being a film star - lights, camera, action!"

The bookies rate him as 7-1 second favourite to puncture the near-complete hegemony that Phil "The Power" Taylor has enjoyed since the early 1990s, and walk away with the £100,000 first prize. "Phil is the man," Lloyd concedes. "He's the toughest to play against, because he's so relentless. He's won the world title 12 times. At the moment I'm trying to not think about it too much, because then I'll try too hard, but it would mean the world to me if I were to win.

"I've wanted it from the age of 11, when I started playing. Back then I'd get up in the morning, play darts. Do my paper round, play darts. Wash and change, play darts. As soon as I got back from school I would practise some more. All my Dad would hear down stairs was thud-thud-thud, thud-thud-thud. Finally, around 8pm he'd say, 'that's enough'."

But success was a long time coming. The struggling Lloyd almost quit in 2002. "The person who is 16th in the rankings will make around £25-30,000 a year. It sounds decent enough, but your expenses - flights, hotels and petrol etc - will knock off at least 10 grand. So all of a sudden you're making £15-20,000 and it's not looking so great."

To get by, Lloyd spent nine hours a day labouring. "It was killing me. Thankfully I got the sponsorship to turn pro, and I make a decent wedge now. But don't get me wrong, I would go back if I had to, there's still a pair of work boots in the shed. They will come back on, along with a scraggy pair of tracksuit bottoms. I'm not that proud."

The PDC World Darts Championship is exclusively live on Sky Sports