"If my Aunty had b****cks she would be my uncle" - Dave Chisnall refuses to use what ifs on European Tour loss

Dave Chisnall faces a major challenge next week: capturing his first 2025 ProTour title. 'Chizzy' is determined to regain the form that won him last year's Players Championship Six in Germany and get his season underway.

The world number 9 reached the quarterfinals of the Belgian Darts Open last week, but had to acknowledge his superiority there to Luke Littler. Despite a strong 4-2 lead, Chisnall failed to finish the match. Littler's spectacular "Big Fish" finish (170-checkout) completely turned the match around and the world champion ended up taking victory 6-4.

Still, Chisnall also saw positives in his performance against "The Nuke" on the EuroTour. "That boy Luke Littler can chuck. I’ve been saying it for over a year – you don’t need me to tell you how good he is," explains the multiple major finalist in his column for Kwiff.

Despite the disappointment, he was still able to get something out of his strong form. “It was both good and bad I suppose, with that sort of form and performance showing that it’s still there, despite the disappointment of the result," he says. “If I had beaten Luke, I think I would have gone on to lift the trophy. But if my Aunty had bollocks she would be my uncle so ifs don’t mean anything in this game.”

After his elimination in Belgium, Chisnall traveled directly to Leicester for Players Championship 5 and 6. There, however, he did not advance beyond the last 64. He played an impressive match against Dom Taylor with an average of 106, but still lost. The next day he went down 6-1 against Niko Springer.

Chisnall, a six-time finalist at a major, is currently experimenting with minor adjustments to his throw in an aim to improve his performance. A strange problem is playing tricks on him. “It’s hard to explain, but the first dart is going too high, and I have to switch. I’ve tried messing around with my throw, but it doesn’t work," he says. “The weird thing is, I end up seeing the bottom of my flight when I hold the dart. It catches the corner of my eye and I end up losing concentration."

He compares his situation to that of a golfer or tennis player who can go to a coach to hone his technique, but in darts it is different. "Only I know how to throw my darts and I will just have to work on and find a way of fixing.”

Still, Chisnall remains optimistic about his chances in Hildesheim, where the ProTour descends next week. The German stage evokes fond memories, as this is where he kicked off his season with a title last year.

“Hildesheim brings back good memories; I was in similar form this time last year, a bit inconsistent, and came here and won to kickstart my season so fingers crossed history repeats itself this week," he says with optimism.

He knows what he needs to improve to shine again. "I do think my game is in good nick, especially when the first dart goes into Treble 20, it’s just getting that more regular and hitting doubles more often when it matters," Chizzy concludes. “March and then April is extremely busy, with lots of Pro Tour and Euro Tour action, and I’d be a bit disappointed to not have something to put on the mantelpiece by the end of April.”