"I’d be up for anything" - Chris Dobey voices his opinion on possible Premier League changes as he targets return in 2026

Chris Dobey is striving for a big end to the year to keep his Premier League hopes alive, with the former World Masters champion believing that he can claim another big major before the year closes.

He was just one of the many big names in darts to travel to Manchester for the 2025 Target Launch, with him enjoying the occasion. Yeah, it’s brilliant. It’s nice to see faces you don’t often see, and there’s some good stuff coming out," Dobey said in an interview with Online Darts. "So yeah, I’m delighted to be here."

Many players on tour have started to make the jump to Gen 2 darts, as they seek to get that extra advantage on the dart board. When asked whether he will make the jump to the Gen 2s, he replied: "Not yet – possibly soon. I’m playing well with the Gen 1s, you know. I know I’m going to get left behind with the Gen 2s eventually, but if I’m playing well, that’s all that matters."

Overall, it has been a decent campaign for Hollywood. He started the year with a World Championship semi-final, overcoming the pain of the year before when he was pegged back by Rob Cross in the quarter-finals. While his only other standout major run is a World Series of Darts quarter-final, he has made four Sunday evening sessions on the Euro Tour, and won two titles on the floor. With the World Grand Prix swiftly approaching, Dobey feels like his game is in a good position.

"I think it’s up there, Dobey said. "If I can find those doubles early enough, I think I’m definitely capable of winning something in the next month or so. It could be better, but yeah, it’s not far away."

Doubles are a key component for success in the Grand Prix, with its double-in double-out format one of the most challenging on the circuit. "That’s the way it is. It always goes in your head – if you miss one or two, you automatically start thinking about it," he said. "But you saw against Gezi [Gerwyn Price] – I didn’t miss many doubles in that game. It’s all in the head really. If they go, they go. It’s hard, but you’ve just got to bounce back from that."

While it has not been a smooth 2025 for Michael van Gerwen, he still proved that he is a forced to be reckoned with on the oche, coming out on top in the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. With the Dutchman coming back to form, Dobey believes that the field is very wide open.

"Yeah, you can’t really pick a winner. I know everyone puts Littler in the mix every time, but it’s hard to choose," he said. "There are so many good players out there. You saw Michael come back – after everything he’s been through the last few months, to go out and win that last week, he’s done brilliant. Credit to Michael for that. There aren’t many people who could come back like he did. He’s proved he can be in the winner’s circle again."

Dobey went on to reveal that he never had any doubt in van Gerwen's talent. "Who doubts him? I still claimed he was the best in the world even through his bad patch. Never, ever write him off," Dobey said.

"I think it’s good [started winning]. When people were playing him before, they were going in thinking, “He’s easily beatable,” which isn’t the case. You want him playing his best – it brings the best out of me. We’ve had some great matches in the past, and hopefully I can get over that hoodoo against him at the Worlds. He’s beaten me a couple of times there, so yeah, I’d like to face him again and try to get one over on him."

It may still be a number of months away, but there is already a lot of speculation surrounding the Premier League, ranging from what the format will be to who will be competing in it. Dobey featured in this year's event, finishing 6th in the standings. This was a slight improvement on his full debut campaign in 2023, where he finished 7th despite winning the first night.

When asked if the Premier League is discussed much in the practice room, Dobey said: "I wouldn’t say so, but there’s definitely chat on tour. You get people talking about changing the format or who might be in. I’m pretty certain there’ll be some new faces in the Premier League next year. But it’s up to me now to perform, knuckle down, put the practice in, and try to get myself in the mix for next year.

"I’d say I’m up there. I’m not particularly playing my best darts right now – I need to pull my finger out and get deeper into the majors. Hopefully I can put myself right in that mix."

There has been an idea circulating around which sees whoever is on top of the league given the choice on who they play, making it more unpredictable and exciting. Dobey was not opposed to the idea: "I’d be up for anything. Certain people have their favourites to play against, so yeah, it wouldn’t bother me whatsoever. Whoever I play, I’ll be up for it," he said.

"It brings in the crowd too – they’ll want to see certain games. I think the format, the two years I’ve been in, has been different, but with the standard so high now, it might be a good idea to expand it and go back to the old format. When everyone’s preparing for one big game, you get the best out of them. If you get to the final now, sometimes it’s three matches against three quality players – it’s always tough, and you don’t always get the best final that way. But yeah, I’ve loved both my turns in the Premier League, and hopefully I can get myself in the mix and go again."