Dave Chisnall believes the darting world still underestimates Phil Taylor's prime years, as he reflected on a confidence-boosting run to the quarter-finals of the Hungarian Darts Trophy in Budapest. The 45-year-old Englishman admitted 2026 has been a difficult year, but multiple wins on stage in Hungary have provided a major boost ahead of a crucial stretch in the season.
Chisnall, who qualified for the World Matchplay in Blackpool earlier this year, knew he needed more results to strengthen his position on the PDC Order of Merit. In Budapest, he finally got the confirmation he was looking for. "It was nice to actually win a few games on stage out in Budapest, and it's done my confidence the world of good after a bit of a poor year," he said in his column for Kwiff. "I did well to make it to Blackpool, but I needed results and it was good to both play well, and win games to reach last week's Quarter-Finals."
En route to the last eight, Chisnall defeated Wessel Nijman and Keane Barry, two in-form players on the PDC circuit. "Beating a player of Wessel's quality and then getting past Keane Barry was a good indication that things are moving the right way," he said. His run ended with a 6-4 loss to Ross Smith, a player Chisnall described as a "bogey player" over the last 18 months. "It was just a bit annoying going out with a bit of a whimper against Ross Smith," he added.
Despite the defeat, Chisnall's mood was far better than 12 months ago, when he exited the same tournament against Raymond van Barneveld, who averaged an impressive 107. "It's much better than the feeling here 12 months ago however, when Barney was channeling his stuff from 20 years ago with a 107 average to batter us up there in the tournament last year."
Looking ahead, Chisnall has the World Grand Prix in mind, with the ranking points from Budapest potentially crucial. "My doubles were always better starting than finishing funnily enough, so I'm looking forward to hopefully booking my ticket there," he said. "I had some good results in it, but did get whitewashed by Phil Taylor one year annoyingly – people still don't realise how good he was in his prime." Chisnall will miss the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam and failed to qualify for last weekend's European Tour event in Prague. His next official outings are scheduled in two weeks at the Players Championship events in Den Bosch. "It's been a quiet weekend after failing to make the Euro Tour event last week in Prague, and I won't be in Amsterdam for the World Series finals," he said. "I'll be back in a fortnight for two more Pro Tour events in Den Bosch, so you'll find me on the practice board for the next week or so touchwood and hopefully a few more Quarter-Finals are on the horizon soon."
