The Russian ace to reach his third World Championship. Koltsov told of his pride at reaching the Alexandra Palace. “It’s very important for me to win the EADC Qualifier, because this means that I can represent my country at the World Championship. It is prestigious and important to me," he said. After failing to gain a PDC Tour Card in January, Koltsov entered the Challenge Tour. The World Cup of Darts regular performed well across the year, even posting a season-high 112.16 average in one game. His Challenge Tour stint has given the 30-year-old a fresh burst of confidence - enough to set a fairly ambitious target. "I participated to gain experience with good British and European players. These competitions show what I have in me and that I can play this level," Koltsov said. "The goal now is to throw the 100+ averages every match. I will be playing the Challenge Tour again next year, if I don’t get a Tour Card in Germany.” The Alexandra Palace hasn't been too happy a hunting ground for him so far. He won his first ever World Championship game, against Haruki Muramatsu, but lost to Kevin Painter in the first round. Two years ago his run was ended immediately by Dragutin Horvat. Koltsov, who faces Chris Dobey in the first round, knows he has a massive challenge on his hand. “A match is a match, everything is unpredictable. You have thousands of people behind you and you have to be ready for it. I want to prepare myself better this year than the previous World Championships. “All the players who participate in the World Championship are the best players on the planet. You can’t underestimate any player, they are all very strong. Everyone also has the same goal and that is to become world champion. It is a very difficult goal to achieve, but nothing is impossible. ”