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ST HELENS thrower Dave Chisnall is aiming to scoop darts’ biggest prize at the William Hill World Championship over the next three weeks – and believes he is one of the form players heading to Alexandra Palace.

Among his 95 rivals for the title and £500,000 prize, of course, will be fellow St Helens stars Stephen Bunting and Michael Smith, who finished runner-up to Michael Van Gerwen last time.

World number 10 Chizzy has enjoyed a strong year on the PDC circuit and is feeling good ahead of the World Championship, which begins tomorrow, Friday.

Chisnall will have to wait almost a week before getting his campaign underway on Thursday, December 19, against either Dutchman Vincent van der Voort or teenage Irish prospect Keane Barry.

However, after winning three ranking titles during 2019 and reaching the World Grand Prix final, the 39-year-old is in a positive mood.

“I don’t know anything about Keane, but Vincent has been playing very well,” said Chisnall. “I’m not bothered who I play because they’re all good players, but I’m feeling confident.

“Practice has been going very well. I do a couple of hours a day on the dartboard and on a Wednesday night I do a five-hour shift with my friends.

“I feel like I’m going into it as an in-form player. I’ve been playing very well. I’ve played good darts this year.

“People know that I’m a great scorer and they might just catch me out on the doubles, so they’ve got to do the same and hope I miss.

“My game is mostly scoring but my doubles have let me down in a few tournaments, which I’ve been disappointed about, but it’s been a good season.”

Chisnall had dropped out of the world’s top 10 in recent years, but has moved back up the rankings after his strong form in 2019 and has an eye on securing a return to the invitational Premier League and World Series tours.

“One of my goals is to get back in the Premier League,” he added. “I enjoy playing in the Premier League, and one of my goals is to get back in the World Series because I’ve missed out the last couple of years as well.”

Smith will be the first St Helens star to take to the Alexandra Palace stage, taking on either Worcestershire’s Luke Woodhouse or veteran Singapore star Paul Lim on Sunday evening.

Stephen Bunting is in action on Wednesday, December 18, as he plays either Spain’s Jose Justicia or former World Youth Champion Arron Monk in his opening tie.

The William Hill World Darts Championship will be shown on the Sky Sports Darts channel from December 13-January 1.