Dave Chisnall is back from a tour of Ireland to reflect on famous rivalries and some of his best back-and-forth matches from his past 15 years playing in the PDC.
Dave Chisnall: Biggest Darting Rivalries, August 7th 2026
It was nice to be in Ireland for a few days, seeing some old faces and a lot of young ones after stopping by a couple of darts academies. I was at The Woodpecker Darts Academy in Ashford, County Wicklow last weekend seeing the next generation of talent emerge.
Whether people are happy with the ‘Littler’ effect and the impact that ‘The Nuke’ has had on the game – one thing you can say for sure is that he’s inspiring a lot of youngsters to pick up their darts.
As long as you’ve got kids with the appetite to pick up darts and keep playing then the sport will be in good health. I was well looked after over there and can’t wait to go back. The fans in Ireland are always particularly great with me.
Dave Chisnall: Famous Rivalries
Somebody messaged to ask about my biggest rivalries in darts, and the honest answer was that I don’t really have rivals. You see some lads get up there and don’t like each other, some people are a lot more intense than me on stage. People like Gezzy and Kim (Huybrechts) can get wound up whilst in the zone, but that’s never been my stye really. There are players that I’ve played a LOT of games with however, starting with
Dave Chisnall Rivalries: Michael Van Gerwen
I’ve had some great tussles up there with Michael before. One of the most memorable ones was the last week of the Premier League in 2015. It’s me and him to win the darts version of the ‘League Leaders Shield’ and it’s 5-5 in a race to 7 down in Brighton. I took out 161 to go 6-5 up on the throw. If I beat Michael, I win the League Table and trouser a nice £25k bonus.
I missed a dart a Double 18 and then Michael took out 108 on tops. He would go on to win the tournament too – I lost 10-9 to Gary Anderson in the semi-finals despite being 9-7 up.
Dave Chisnall Rivalries: Phil Taylor
I knocked Phil out of the World Championships in 2012 in my first proper year on tour. It was something that really brought me to the attention of the wider darting public and helped launched my career with the PDC. Like most people, I had a losing record against Phil but I actually liked playing him.
He whitewashed me in the final of the World Grand Prix in 2015 I think, and when he was properly ‘on it’ he was in a different world. Phil in that run 2005-2015 was utterly brilliant.
Dave Chisnall Rivalries: Michael Smith
Me and Mike and Gary Anderson always joke that there are more or less similar age gaps between the three of us, Mike 35, Me 45 and Gary 55. You forget BullyBoy is so young because he’s been on the circuit so long. He won his first ever title on tour beating me in Barnsley in 2012 to win his last Players Championship event.
It was Double 5 last dart in hand too! Smithy and I have had some great battles over the year, including getting the better of us last year on The Euro Tour when taking out everything. Hopefully he gets back to playing some of the darts that saw him become World Champion again soon.
Please note that the information provided in this Dave Chisnall: Darting Rivalries article is for entertainment purposes only. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information provided. Any action you take upon the information on this article is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any losses and damages in connection with the use of our article. We do not encourage gambling and remind you to gamble responsibly.
18+ | BeGambleAware.org
