Dave Chisnall spoke to kwiff on Friday afternoon just before he kicked off his Grand Slam of Darts qualifying campaign in Leicester with a 5-2 win over Viktor Tingstrom. That victory followed back-to-back first-round defeats to Jurjen van der Velde and Mensur Suljovic in the Players Championship events earlier in the week.
But Chizzy sounded defiant as he reflected on his recent struggles and set out his ambitions for the rest of November.
A frustrating week on the Pro Tour
It’s been a poor couple of days chucking, and even more frustrating than usual given the fact I prepared properly. My practice has been good, and I’ve been in good nick with the body and the sleep, so it’s a bit of a puzzler why I’ve thrown so poorly.
I lost to Jurjen van der Velde on Wednesday and Mensur Suljovic on Thursday, going down 6-3 and 6-4 respectively, with doubles being my Achilles’ heel again.
I missed the bullseye for a 167 finish and then I think I missed something like 18 darts at a double. When they start going inside, you start really overthinking it, especially on the odd numbers, and it’s a case of just not being in the right headspace.
It was the same again the next day against Mensur, who probably isn’t the best stylistic fit for me given how fast I chuck.
There’s plenty of life in me yet, though. I’m not finished by a long way.
A lot of darts is being able to lose well and take it on the chin. I’ve been at it a long time now, and you’ve got to keep perspective. Other players have suffered drops in form and found a way to come back. I’ve just got to keep at it.
Grand Slam dreams
November could still be a good month, with the Players Championship Finals coming up. I’ve been drawn against Gabriel Clemens, which looks like a good draw for me on paper, but he’ll probably say the same about playing me. So let’s see.
Today I’m at the Grand Slam qualifiers in Leicester and will be hoping to win three games and book a few days in Wolverhampton.
I’ve not got the best record there, but I’d love a chance to make amends.
Fingers crossed!
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