''I’ve had no luck on the stage so far this year'' but Chris Dobey hopes to live up to top seed status at Players Championship Finals

It is not Luke Littler, Luke Humphries or Michael van Gerwen who leads the seedings list at the Players Championship Finals this weekend, but Chris Dobey. 'Hollywood' managed to earn the most prize money of all PDC players at the thirty Players Championship tournaments this season and is therefore the number one seed.

Dobey took home the grand total of £98,000 on the Players Championship circuit this season. Three times he won one of the tournaments and twice the former Masters champion finished as a losing finalist. A huge turnaround from previous years, in which Dobey actually performed at a slightly lesser level on the Pro Tour.

“I’ve worked hard to get my game back to where it should be, and my floor game has been impeccable this season,” says Dobey in conversation with the PDC ahead of the Players Championship Finals. “After a year in the Premier League (in 2023 ed.), I found it tough to perform on the ProTour. That was my aim this year, to improve my floor form, and what better way to do it than coming out as the number one seed at the end!”

The draw for the Players Championship Finals is based on the positions of the players on the Players Championship Order of Merit. As such, the number 1 plays against the number 64, the number 2 against number 63, and so on. Unfortunately for Dobey, Nathan Aspinall experienced a poor floor season and 'The Asp' finished in 64th place. Aspinall will thus be Dobey's opponent in the opening round in Minehead.

“It is tough playing one of your best friends,” Dobey previews. “There’s a lot more pressure this year because I’m going in as the number one seed, and I think it’s been a while since the number one seed actually went on to win it. I’ve had no luck on the stage so far this year; I’ve played alright, but my opponents have played better than me on the day. It’s not going to last for a lifetime. I will get my stage game back, and hopefully it will turn against Nathan [Aspinall].”

Dobey was missing from the recent Grand Slam of Darts earlier this month. Because there were many surprise TV finalists, winning three Players Championship tournaments proved not enough to secure qualification. “Missing out on the Grand Slam did hurt, because I feel like I deserved to be in it,” he admits. “I think it’s the first time a player has won three ProTour titles and not been in the Grand Slam, so it was tough to take. I had my chance in the [Tour Card Holder] Qualifier, but I played well; I just lost to the better player on the day. I think it will give me the kick up the backside I need and hopefully I can bounce back in Minehead.”