Dave Chisnall

Dave Chisnall (born 12 September 1980) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked No. 10 in the world.

After his match against Hankey, the 2000 BDO World Champion advised Chisnall to turn professional.

He later went on to win the England National Championship.

His debut in BDO events came at the 2004 Welsh Open, losing in the last 32 to Alan Tabern.

In 2007 he won the BDO Gold Cup, beating Scotland captain Mike Veitch in the semi-finals, and Welshman Matthew Quinlan in the final.

Chisnall then fell two games short of qualifying for the 2008 BDO World Championship, losing to Robert Thornton.

A few days later Chisnall was again beaten by Thornton in the Winmau World Masters.

In 2008, Chisnall won the Isle of Man Open, beating Ted Hankey in the quarter-finals and Gary Robson in the semis before defeating Robert Hughes in the final.

The next day he took part in the 2008 Winmau World Masters but lost in the first round to fellow Lakeside qualifier Daryl Gurney of Northern Ireland.

In the World Championship, Chisnall gave Martin Adams a tough match, losing 3–5 in the deciding set to the number 3 seed.

Chisnall won one of five qualification spots for the 2009 BDO World Championship, beating Stewart Rattray to qualify.

In September 2009, Chisnall won back-to-back titles claiming the Welsh Masters with a 5–1 victory over Tony O'Shea, and the British Open, knocking out BDO World Champion Ted Hankey in the earlier rounds before beating Martin Atkins 2–0 in the final.

These successes helped him finish top of the BDO International Grand Prix Series.

He began his career in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and was the runner-up in their World Championship in 2010.

He switched to the PDC a year later where he has since reached six major TV finals and won 22 PDC ranking events.

Since his switch to the PDC, Chisnall has been a staple in the top 20 of the rankings, appearing in the Premier League five times, and representing England at the PDC World Cup on three occasions.

Chisnall was brought up in St Helens and played for a local football team until he was 17 when he broke his foot.

He switched to darts and first played in a friend's bedroom, throwing 180 on his first ever visit to the board.

His nickname ("Chizzy") actually originates from his work as a carpenter rather than his surname.

He competed in the qualifying rounds for the 2010 BDO World Championship but was beaten by Stuart Kellett.

He did, however, qualify through the BDO Invitational Rankings (ironically, Kellett himself failed to qualify).

He produced an outstanding run to reach the final of the 2010 World Championship beating number four seed Darryl Fitton in the opening round and Tony West in the second round.

Having been 4–1 down to defending champion and number five seed Ted Hankey, Chisnall produced a comeback to reach the semi-finals 5–4.

After losing the first two sets in the semi-final against top seed Tony O'Shea, he came back again to win 6–3 and reached his first World Championship final, where he was defeated 7–5 by number three seed, and Masters champion, Martin Adams.

Chisnall qualified for the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts as a result of his World Championship final, winning his first match against Simon Whitlock before subsequent defeats by Robert Thornton and Colin Osborne saw him exit the tournament.

In the 2011 BDO World Darts Championship he lost 4–1 in sets in the second round to Gary Robson.

Chisnall entered the Professional Darts Corporation Q School in January 2011.

He won a PDC tour card on the first day by defeating Terry Temple 6–2 in his final match.

He played in his first PDC event in Halle, Germany and hit a nine-dart finish but went on to lose to Vincent van der Voort 6–5 in the last 64.

In the Derby Pro Tour events he reached the quarter-finals on both days of the weekend but was defeated by Jamie Caven 6–3 and Wes Newton 6–4 respectively.

A month later at the second UK Open Qualifier of the year Chisnall reached his first PDC final where he was edged out 6–5 by Michael Smith in the final, but the result did ensure him spot at the UK Open.

He hit his second nine-darter of the season in the seventh UK open qualifier.

In the Eddie Cox memorial Players Championship in Barnsley he reached the semi-finals after defeating Dennis Ovens, Mark Walsh and John Part before a subsequent defeat by Paul Nicholson 6–5 after missing five darts for the match.

The following day in the Bobby Bourn Memorial Players Championship he got to the final before being beaten by Andy Smith by 6 legs to 2.

Despite the loss he had done enough to qualify for the World Matchplay in his debut season on the tour.

At the UK Open he entered the competition in the third round and defeated Richard North 9–2 and Ronnie Baxter 9–7 whilst hitting a 102 average.

He went on to defeat John Bowles in the fifth round 9–4, before losing to eventual runner-up Wes Newton 10–8 in the quarter-finals.

Chisnall lost in the first round of the 2011 World Matchplay 10–3 against Mark Walsh, but still broke into the top 50 in the order of merit for the first time.

He defeated Jelle Klaasen in the first round of the European Championship, but then lost 10–5 against Adrian Lewis in a match where both players averaged over 100.

In September, Chisnall reached the final of the fourth Dutch Players Championship of the year and lost 6–4 to Richie Burnett.