“I had a realistic chance of getting my hands on a trophy” - Dave Chisnall rues missed chances as World Matchplay pressure builds

Dave Chisnall has admitted his latest week on the PDC circuit left him with “mixed emotions” after two quarter-final runs ended with the feeling that a much bigger opportunity had slipped away.

Chisnall reached the last eight in both European Tour and ProTour competition, but the Englishman was left frustrated after defeats to Ryan Joyce and William O’Connor. Writing in his latest column for Kwiff, the 45-year-old said the results looked solid on paper, but felt they could have delivered far more.

“Whilst two quarter-finals on the surface looks like a good week, I arguably should have done a lot better,” Chisnall wrote, adding that he felt he had “a very realistic chance” to end his wait for a title.

The ProTour defeat to O’Connor was one of the matches that left Chisnall frustrated. He recalled being 2-0 up and on a finish before O’Connor produced a 134 checkout, going treble 18, tops, tops, to drag himself back into the contest. “Those sort of legs really knock the stuffing out of you, and it gave him the momentum to go out and see it through,” Chisnall said.

The European Tour run brought similar frustration. Chisnall led Gian van Veen 5-1 in Kiel, only for the Dutchman to reel off four consecutive legs and force a decider. Chisnall still survived that scare, and gave Van Veen credit for finding another level when the match appeared to be slipping away.

“The really good players have gears and are able to find different levels when needed - and that’s what he did in Kiel,” Chisnall wrote.

His next performance against Ryan Joyce brought a much harsher self-assessment. Chisnall said he averaged around 85 and described the display as “a bit of a disaster”, insisting the problem was not limited to his finishing. “I played shocking against Ryan Joyce, with an average of about 85, and wasn’t just my finishing that was poor. It was everything,” he admitted.

Joyce, like O’Connor later in the week, went on to reach the final of the event that had ended Chisnall’s run. That only added to the sense of a chance missed, particularly with the World Matchplay race now entering a decisive period.

Chisnall says he believes he needs around £6,000 more to secure his place at next month’s World Matchplay in Blackpool. With four ProTour events and one more European Tour event in Slovakia still to come later this month, he remains confident that qualification is within reach.

“It would mean the world to me to get back on that Blackpool stage and make up for the disaster there in 2024,” Chisnall wrote.

For now, Chisnall’s week was not short on progress. The frustration came from knowing that both quarter-finals carried the possibility of something more.