Darts world No.6 rank Dave Chisnall has claimed Nathan Aspinall and Gerwyn Price are ‘lucky’ to be in the Premier League as he hit out at the selection process after he was snubbed
Dave Chisnall has claimed Nathan Aspinall and Gerwyn Price are ‘lucky’ to be in the Premier League as he hit out at the PDC’s decision-making.
Chizzy has climbed to world No.6 after a strong 2024 away from the major TV events, but he was omitted from the eight-player Premier League line-up. Chisnall missed out as Aspinall, Price and Chris Dobey were awarded a place in the tournament despite being further down the world rankings.
The Premier League line-up was never going to please everyone with former world champions Michael Smith and Peter Wright axed from the league, while World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker hit out at the “scandalous” decision not to award him a place.
Chizzy admitted that after being dumped out at the World Championships at the first hurdle and a quarter-final run at the Masters being his best run in a TV major by some distance all year, he wasn’t expecting to be named in the 17-week tournament.
“The Premier League line-up was hardly surprising this week, but you’d have to be gutted if you were someone like a Mike de Decker or Damon Heta,” he said.
“I never expected to get a phone call – despite being World No.6 – because of how poor I’ve been on TV this year. But Mike can feel let down after his great run at The Grand Prix. Maybe being No.24 in the world counted against him.”
Chisnall went on to claim that Aspinall and Price were fortunate to retain their place in the competition, suggesting their reputation with the crowd has been rewarded rather than their performances over the past year.
“Nathan and Gerwyn can both feel a bit lucky in my opinion to be involved this year,” the former Premier League semi-finalist said. “Gezzy has had a lot going and struggled in 2024, whilst Nathan has done similarly.
“His run to the quarter-finals of the Worlds probably got him involved, that and everyone loving his Mr Brightside theme song. It’s a great entrance, but it should be about the darts, and not your walk-on that gets you involved in these big competitions.
“Nothing against them personally, as both great lads and get on well with, but it should be about your actions on the dartboard, not on a song and a dance.”
Both Aspinall and Price reached the quarter finals at Ally Pally earlier this month but neither player won a ranking event in 2024, with the Welshman winning two World Series of Darts events. The Premier League gets underway on February 6 in Belfast.