"Some folk find it a bit strange when I say I’ve not thrown a dart in a week": After a week’s rest, Dave Chisnall feels ready for success via family Flamingo Land outing
PDC
For Dave Chisnall, a quiet period is almost over. The English darts player has spent plenty of time with his family in recent weeks, but the itch to return is starting to come back. After a short break without darts, Chisnall is preparing for a busy week in which he will immediately have to get back to work.
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The period around the World Matchplay is traditionally not known as the busiest phase of the PDC season. Particularly for players who do not go deep in Blackpool, a few relatively quiet weeks can emerge. Chisnall made the most of that and deliberately chose to spend time with his family before ProTour return next week.
"It’s been a quiet few weeks from a darts perspective, with the time just after the World Matchplay, and the few weeks before and after the World Darts Championships the quietest times of the season," said Chisnall for his weekly column with Kwiff.
"There’s always a bit of a lull before and after Blackpool, especially if you don’t go too deep into the tournament, because of how the schedule is setup so it’s nice to get back to it next week."
At the moment, Chisnall is still enjoying time with his family. Although he says he loves spending time with them, he is already looking forward to picking up his darts again. "I’m actually spending the day at Flamingo Land with the family and as nice as it is to spend some time with them – it isn’t half easier to be chucking a few darts lol!"
Ready for a busy week
The holiday period has meant that Chisnall has gone some time without practising. That may sound surprising for a professional darts player, but the 45-year-old Englishman stressed that it was a deliberate choice. "It’s been a good few weeks and the kids have had some fun but I’m ready to play some darts now."
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The timing is important too. "I’ve got the World Series Qualifier on Monday, followed by two Pro Tour events Monday through Wednesday. My form has really picked up there, which enabled me to get to Blackpool in the first place."
A week without throwing a dart
Just how seriously Chisnall has stepped away from darts is clear from the fact that he has now gone a week without throwing a single dart. After that, the Englishman will return to his normal routine.
"Some folk find it a bit strange when I say I’ve not thrown a dart in a week, but I genuinely haven’t and won’t now until Saturday. I’ll have a good few hours on the practice board on Saturday, and the same on Sunday before hopefully cheering on Liverpool coming back in this weekend’s Premier League action."
Chisnall confident about return to action and Liverpool.
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Chisnall confident about Liverpool
Football is another major passion of Chisnall's alongside darts. As a supporter of Liverpool, he is looking forward to the new Premier League season with confidence. Although he does not describe himself as an eternal optimist, he sees plenty of reasons to have high expectations once again.
According to Chisnall, Arsenal deserve to be favourites after the strong season they had. At the same time, he sees several positive developments at Liverpool. For Liverpool, Chisnall sees the strengthening of the attack as a major positive. He also expects an improvement defensively.
"Few would describe me as an eternal optimist, but I do fancy our chances again this year. The bookies make us third favorites and I think that’s fair. Arsenal are deserving Champions and are worthy favourites – the strength of squad they’ve built up is pretty staggering and fair play to Mikel Arteta.
"We finished last season with no recognised strikers, so to have Isak back properly and Ekitike is a big plus. Our achilles heel was our defence last year so any new defender in for Konate is big upgrade. Fingers crossed for 3 points on Sunday, and another Title come May."
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Chisnall's hope is therefore clear: a successful season for Liverpool and a strong resumption of his own darts campaign. For Chisnall, however, the real work begins even earlier. After his short family break, the practice board awaits, followed by a gruelling run of PDC tournaments. The rest has clearly done him good, but 'Chizzy' is itching to get back to the oche.
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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