DOBEY: “HE’S THE BEST DOUBLE HITTER IN THE WORLD”

By Aaron Nijjar  

CHRIS DOBEY believes Ryan Joyce is the best double hitter on the PDC circuit.  

‘Hollywood’ played in the UK Open, beating his Premier League rival Stephen Bunting before losing to Dimitri Van den Bergh 10-9 in round five.  

World No. 8 Dobey has had a good start to the season finishing in the semi-finals of the World Championships and winning the Players Championship Three event.

However, the 34-year-old on the Tops and Tales podcast praised his North-East compatriot Joyce admitting he is the best finisher in the game.  

He said: “He just goes about his business like there’s nobody there in front of him. Yeah, I’ve said it for years now. I think he’s the best double hitter in the world.  

“And it actually has shown on stats now as well. So, it’s actually backed me up as to what I’ve been saying for the last few years.” 

Joyce had a fantastic 2023 as he picked up his second ProTour title and made the semi-finals of the Players Championship Finals.  

‘Relentless’ followed this up last year reaching the last four of the World Grand Prix where players must both start and finish on a double or bullseye.  

Dobey believes the tournament format suits Joyce’s game and tips him for future success. 

He said: “The Grand Prix, that’s all bread and butter from the North East. It’s what we play on regular basis.  

“And for Ryan [Joyce], that’s his competition. He’s just a down to earth lad as well. He’s not wanting to big himself up.  

“He knows how good he is, but he doesn’t like the short as well, which I think is a good thing.” 

He added: “You’re definitely going to start seeing the best of Ryan as well, because he’s finally getting to that scoring power that he’s been missing.  

“He’s always been great on the finishing side, but his scoring power is coming through now. 

“I want to dodge him if I can!” 

Dobey returns to action this Thursday at Brighton in the Premier League and faces Luke Littler.  

Image by Taylor Lanning.