"I went, ‘Oh no.’ You don’t want to play the woman": Dave Chisnall on drawing Fallon Sherrock and issues with his throw

Dave Chisnall left the Alexandra Palace stage relieved, reflective and quietly optimistic after booking his place in the second round of the 2026 World Darts Championship, overcoming Fallon Sherrock in a match that tested both his game and his mindset.

After a difficult year by his own admission, the former world number three was quick to acknowledge the significance of simply getting through, even if the performance itself was not one he was entirely satisfied with.

“I’m buzzing, to be fair,” Chisnall said afterwards. “Everybody knows it’s been a bad year for me, but you know what? I said to Fallon, if you hit your doubles there, it could have been a lot tighter. I don’t know if I would have picked up more, you don’t know that, but if she could have won the first set 3–1, she missed doubles, then she missed the 1–5–8. But yeah, I’m pleased, and I can only get better.”

One of the key positives for Chisnall was his finishing, an area of his game that has often been questioned throughout his career. Against Sherrock, he converted 47 per cent of his attempts on the outer ring.

“Forty-seven per cent on the doubles is a really strong showing on the outer ring,” he said. “If I get my scoring well and it forces me to focus on doubles, I’ve got a great chance, don’t I? Because over the years, people say I’m rubbish at doubles, but it showed there, it was quite good.”

The win sets up a second-round meeting with Ricardo Pietreczko, but Chisnall knows he will need to raise his level. “Everybody knows Ricardo’s a good player. So am I,” he said. “But I won’t go up there playing like that. I think it’s Saturday. It’ll be a different me.”

Chisnall arrived at this year’s World Championship with little external expectation, having endured a prolonged slump in form that has seen him slide down the rankings. “There’s no expectations,” he explained. “I’ll just go and play my game. And if I can do that, I’ll go a long way. But I have been struggling for the last nine or ten months, and I don’t know why I started struggling. If I get that throw right, I’ve got a sweat on. If I get that right, I will be hard to beat.”

Much of Chisnall’s frustration centres around technical inconsistencies in his throw, something he is acutely aware of but has found difficult to correct. “When I’m throwing, I’m pulling it back past me sometimes, not all the time,” he said. “And when I’m throwing straight on, I’m not rushing the throw. For some reason, I’m just going… and they go everywhere.”

That awareness only adds to the frustration. “It’s very frustrating,” he admitted. “The more you try to stop it, the worse it gets. But it’s not the whole game, it’s only part of it. I’m just going to try and keep focused and keep it where I want my throw to be.”

Despite the struggles, Chisnall insists the hunger to compete and win remains undiminished. “The hunger is there. I want to play,” he said. “I’ve been here 15, 16 years. I’ve been through a bad spell before and I’ve come through it. I’m not a quitter, so I’ll just keep going.”

His confidence, however, is something he describes as fragile and situational. “I have, and I haven’t,” he said when asked if he still believes in his game. “When I practise, it’s good. When I come here, I think it’s the nerves that makes you do that. But I don’t feel nervous up there. Even when she was missing doubles, I was just trying to cheer myself up. It wasn’t working. I was just trying to let it travel. When I got a double, I was quite good at it.”

Unlike some players, Chisnall has no interest in seeking external technical help. “It doesn’t interest me,” he said. “I’m just my own person. If it’s not happening, it’s not happening. I know I’ll get it back. I’ve got 100 per cent belief in me on the floor. It’s just a blip.”

When reflecting on the most difficult periods of his career, Chisnall was candid and emotional, placing his current struggles into perspective.

“It’s one of the hardest,” he said. “I had a hard time when my mum passed away. That would probably be the hardest, really, because obviously I lost my mum. But I got over that. My family kept saying, stop thinking about your mum, and that went on for six or seven months. I don’t even know what this time is. I don’t know why I’m doing this. It’s just happening. I’ve just got to battle through.”

The draw against Sherrock brought its own challenges, particularly with the unique atmosphere that often accompanies her matches at Ally Pally. “I didn’t see the draw,” Chisnall said. “One of my mates messaged me saying, ‘You’re playing Fallon,’ and I went, ‘Oh no.’ You don’t want to play the woman, because you don’t know what the crowd will be like. They love the underdog. Is that the word for Fallon? Because she’s a good player. They just want her to do well.”

In contrast to some previous experiences, the crowd response was something Chisnall welcomed. “The crowd was absolutely insane. No booing, no whistling, no nothing. Just respect to both of us. I like that,” he said. “I think we both got total respect up there. It felt like a flowing game. We were hitting some good scores, missing doubles, then nicking legs on doubles.”

There was also an unusual moment during the match, when Chisnall later discovered he had been sharing the stage with two wasps. “One of the security guys flicked one off my neck, then there was one on my arm and he flicked that one off as well,” he revealed. “No, it wouldn’t have made a difference if I’d known.”

Chisnall’s visible frustration on stage was not directed at his opponent, but at his own standards. “I was disappointed in my game,” he said. “I’m a lot better than that. I’ve got to be a lot better if I want to beat Big T.”

Preparation for this year’s tournament has been more intense than usual, even if the issues persist. “I’ve practised a lot this month, more than I normally do,” he said. “I’ve had a few of my mates round to help me practise. In practice, it’s not there, that follow-through. It’s only when I play on the big stage. It’s hardly there on the Pro Tours. It’s just when I play up there.”

Ultimately, Chisnall drew a clear distinction between performance and result. “I’m proud of winning,” he said. “The second set was a great set. The third one was a bit more nervous, Fallon got into the game more and she could have taken it. I’m not proud of my performance, but I’m proud of the win.”

With fellow North West players such as Luke Littler, Michael Smith and Stephen Bunting flourishing, Chisnall remains unconcerned by his own drop from third to 21st in the rankings. “I don’t look at rankings,” he said. “That’s darts, isn’t it? You have a good run, that’s why you’re up there. You have a bad run, that’s why the money comes off. That’s just how it is.”