CHISNALL HITS BACK AT CRITICS AFTER TOUGH SPELL
27/03/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
DAVE CHISNALL has fired back at his critics and insisted there is “still life in the old boys yet” after a tough spell on the oche.
The world No.23 endured a difficult 2025 campaign, failing to win a title or reach the quarter-finals of any ranked major event.
But the St Helens thrower has shown signs of a resurgence this year, reaching the last eight at Players Championship Two and Five as he looks to climb back up the rankings.
Chisnall pointed to legends like Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson and Peter Wright as proof that experience can still triumph at the very top level.
He told Kwiff: “I still get some stick on social media who say I’m not where I was a couple of years ago, and they may be right but it’s been a busy couple of years and we all have peaks and troughs.
“Phil, Gary and Peter were all winning World Championships into their 50s.
“So whilst there are a lot of unbelievable young lads coming through, there’s still life in the old boys just yet. So watch this space!”
Chizzy, once of the European Tour’s most consistent performers with eight titles, has struggled to find form on the circuit this season, failing to advance beyond the second round in any of the first three events.
Chisnall’s most recent outing ended in a 6–3 defeat to Chris Dobey in the last 32 of the Belgium Open, where he posted a below-par average of just 84.22.
He added: “Last week in Belgium was a bit of an up-and-down experience with a bitterly disappointing Saturday against my good pal Chris Dobey.
“It was nice to get back to winning ways the Friday evening, with a 6-2 win over Thibault Tricole.
“He’s been a bit of a good omen for me, as a good performance over him, and he’s a mate of mine and travelled with, and a good win over him last month kicked off a bit of a run on the Pro Tour down in Leicester.
“I’ll be down there next week for another couple of Pro Tour dates and the game is still on the cusp of hopefully doing something that goes close to winning trophies again.
“The win on Friday was good and the game felt alright, but Saturday was bitterly disappointing with a poor average against Chris.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
