Nathan Aspinall

Last updated

Nathan Aspinall
Nathan Aspinall Darts Actueel 2023.jpg
Aspinall in 2023
Personal information
Nickname"The Asp"
Born (1991-07-15) 15 July 1991 (age 32)
Stockport, England
Home townStockport, England
Darts information
Darts26g Target Darts
Laterality Right-handed
Walk-on music"Mr. Brightside" by The Killers
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC 2012–
(Tour Card: 2015-2016, 2018-)
Current world ranking 4 Steady2.svg (14 April 2024) [1]
WDF major events – best performances
World Masters Last 272: 2013
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'ship Semi-final: 2019, 2020
World Matchplay Winner (1): 2023
World Grand Prix Runner-up: 2022
UK Open Winner (1): 2019
Grand Slam Runner-up: 2022
European Ch'ship Semi-final: 2021
Premier League Runner-up: 2020
PC Finals Last 32: 2018, 2020, 2021
Masters Semi-final: 2020, 2024
World Series Finals Runner-up: 2023
Other tournament wins
PDC Challenge Tour 2017
PDC Development Tour 2015

Players Championships

Players Championship (BAR) 2018, 2020 (x2), 2022 (x2)

World Series of Darts

US Darts Masters 2019

PDC Home Tour

PDC Home Tour 2020

Nathan Aspinall (born 15 July 1991) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked No. 4 in the world. He is the current World Matchplay champion. He also won the 2019 UK Open and 2019 US Darts Masters.

Contents

Early life

Aspinall played semi-professional football as a goalkeeper, having once been scouted by Manchester United's academy. He was offered a deal by Rangers but turned it down as his family did not want to move to Scotland. He played in Stockport County's academy until he was 15, joining Cheadle Town. He worked as a trainee accountant before quitting to become a professional darts player. [2]

Career

Aspinall began playing in PDC Development and Challenge Tour events in 2012. His first semi-final in those came in 2013, where he lost 4–2 to Max Hopp. [3] He won a two-year PDC Tour Card in 2015 through the Q School Order of Merit and qualified for the UK Open, where he beat Chris Dobey 5–1 and James Richardson 9–4, before losing 4–9 to James Wade in the fourth round. [4] [5] Aspinall's first European Tour appearance was at the Dutch Darts Masters and he squeezed past Jamie Robinson and Vincent van der Voort both 6–5. [6] In the third round Justin Pipe eliminated him 6–4. [7] Aspinall won the seventh Development Tour event of 2015 with a 4–2 victory over Benito van de Pas. [8] He also lost in the final of two other events during the year. [9] Aspinall made his first televised appearance in the final of the 2015 PDC World Youth Championship, where he played the German Max Hopp. After 10 legs of holding throw, the final deciding leg was thrown by Aspinall, and despite having match darts, it was Hopp who won 6–5. [10]

2016

Aspinall was beaten 6–5 by Stuart Kellett in the second round of the 2016 UK Open. [11] At the sixth Players Championship he reached his first quarter-final on the main tour and narrowly lost 6–5 against Vincent van der Voort. [12] Aspinall qualified for his first Grand Slam of Darts, but could not get a win out of his group fixtures with Raymond van Barneveld, Mensur Suljović and Danny Noppert to finish bottom of his group. [13]

2018

Aspinall won his first ranking PDC title in September 2018, beating Ryan Searle 6–4 in the final of the 18th Players Championship of the year, in Barnsley. [14] This victory helped him qualify for his first world championship.

2019

At the 2019 World Championship, Aspinall, a 500/1 outsider before the tournament, [15] defeated world number six Gerwyn Price, [16] Kyle Anderson, [17] Devon Petersen [18] and Brendan Dolan [19] on his way to the semi-finals, where he lost 6–3 to Michael Smith.

Following Gary Anderson's withdrawal from the 2019 Premier League, Aspinall was selected as one of nine 'contenders' to replace him. He would play a one-off match against Michael Smith on night six in Nottingham.

Aspinall won his first PDC major at the 2019 UK Open, defeating Toni Alcinas, Christian Kist, Madars Razma, Steve Lennon, Ross Smith and Gerwyn Price to reach the final, where he defeated Rob Cross 11–5 to take the title, securing the final leg with a 170 checkout. [20] The win took Aspinall into the top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit for the first time in his career.

Aspinall won the 2019 US Darts Masters, the first event on the 2019 World Series of Darts. [21] It was Aspinall's first World Series event, and the only one he was selected to compete in during the 2019 edition. [22] Aspinall averaged 107 in defeating Michael Smith 8-4 in the final. In the previous rounds, he beat Shawn Brenneman, Rob Cross, and Peter Wright. Aspinall won £20,000, and the win was only his second televised tournament win, after the 2019 UK Open.

He played in the 2019 World Matchplay for the first time, losing to Mervyn King 10-5 despite averaging 103, and he was also seeded, made him the first player to make his World Matchplay debut as a seed since Simon Whitlock in 2010.

2020

At the 2020 World Championship Aspinall once again reached the semi-finals, beating Gary Anderson en route. He eventually fell to defending champion Michael van Gerwen.

2021

At the 2021 World Championship, Aspinall beat Scott Waites 3–2 in the second round before losing 4–2 in the third round to Vincent van der Voort.

2022

At the 2022 World Championship, Aspinall was whitewashed 4–0 in the third round by Callan Rydz.

At the World Grand Prix in October, Aspinall reached the final, where despite briefly rallying from 4–0 down, he finally succumbed 5–3 to Michael van Gerwen.

He also reached the final of the Grand Slam of Darts in November, losing 16–5 to Michael Smith, who won his first major title.

2023

At the 2023 World Championship, Aspinall lost 4–3 in the third round to Josh Rock.

In July he won a second televised major at the World Matchplay, defeating Jonny Clayton 18–6 in the final. [23]

2024

At the 2024 World Championship, Aspinall suffered a shock early exit, losing 3–0 in the second round to Ricky Evans.

At the 2024 UK Open Aspinall defeated Scott Mitchell 10–6 in the fourth round but 10–9 to Damon Heta in a deciding leg in the fifth round.

Problem during matches

While throwing a dart, Aspinall often stops to grip it differently. Commentators and others suggested that this is due to dartitis. Michael van Gerwen indicated in 2022 that, during a match, he thought his opponent was suffering from this problem. Aspinall himself invariably denies during interviews that the hiccups have a mental cause. [24] [25]

World Championship results

PDC

Career finals

PDC major finals: 6 (2 titles, 4 runners-up)

Legend
World Matchplay (1–0)
Premier League (0–1)
UK Open (1–0)
World Grand Prix (0–1)
Grand Slam of Darts (0–1)
World Series of Darts Finals (0–1)
OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore [N 1] Ref.
Winner1. 2019 UK Open Flag of England.svg Rob Cross 11–5 (l) [26]
Runner-up1. 2020 Premier League Flag of England.svg Glen Durrant 8–11 (l)
Runner-up2. 2022 World Grand Prix Flag of the Netherlands.svg Michael van Gerwen 3–5 (s)
Runner-up3. 2022 Grand Slam of Darts Flag of England.svg Michael Smith 5–16 (l)
Winner2. 2023 World Matchplay Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Jonny Clayton 18–6 (l)
Runner-up4. 2023 World Series of Darts Finals Flag of the Netherlands.svg Michael van Gerwen 4–11 (l)
  1. ↑ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

PDC World Series finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Legend
World Series of Darts (1–1)
OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1. 2019 US Darts Masters Flag of England.svg Michael Smith 8–4 (l)
Runner-up1. 2023 New Zealand Darts Masters Flag of England.svg Rob Cross 7–8 (l)

    Performance timeline

    Tournament201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
    Ranked televised events
    PDC World Championship DNPDid not qualify SF SF 3R 3R 3R 2R
    UK Open DNP 4R 2R DNQ 3R W 4R 4R 4R QF 5R
    World Matchplay DNPDid not qualify 1R 1R QF QF W
    World Grand Prix DNPDid not qualify QF 1R 1R F 1R
    European Championship DNPDNQ 1R DNQ 2R 2R SF 1R 2R
    Grand Slam of Darts DNPDNQ RR DNQ RR QF DNQ F 2R
    Players Championship Finals DNPDid not qualify 2R 1R 2R 2R 1R DNQ
    Non-ranked televised events
    The Masters DNPDid not qualify SF QF WD 1R SF
    Premier League Darts Did not play C F SF DNP 5th
    World Series of Darts Finals NHDid not qualify 1R QF 1R DNP F
    PDC World Youth ChampionshipDNP F Did not play
    BDO Ranked televised events
    Winmau World Masters 1R Not a BDO playerNHPDC
    Career statistics
    Year-end ranking--1027364721261494


    PDC European Tour

    Season12345678910111213
    2015 GDC
    DNQ    		 GDT
    DNQ    		 GDM
    DNQ    		 DDM
    3R    		 IDO
    DNQ    		 EDO
    1R    		 EDT
    DNP    		 EDM
    DNP    		 EDG
    DNQ
    2016 DDM
    DNQ    		 GDM
    1R    		 GDT
    DNQ    		 EDM
    DNQ    		 ADO
    DNQ    		 EDO
    DNQ    		 IDO
    DNQ    		 EDT
    DNQ    		 EDG
    2R    		 GDC
    DNQ
    2017 GDC
    DNQ    		 GDM
    DNP    		 GDO
    2R    		 EDG
    DNQ    		 GDT
    DNQ    		 EDM
    2R    		 ADO
    DNQ    		 EDO
    1R    		 DDM
    3R    		 GDG
    3R    		 IDO
    DNQ    		 EDT
    2R
    2018 EDO
    DNQ    		 GDG
    1R    		 GDO
    1R    		 ADO
    DNQ    		 EDG
    DNQ    		 DDM
    DNQ    		 GDT
    DNQ    		 DDO
    DNQ    		 EDM
    DNQ    		 GDC
    DNQ    		 DDC
    DNQ    		 IDO
    DNQ    		 EDT
    DNQ
    2019 EDO
    DNQ    		 GDC
    2R    		 GDG
    DNQ    		 GDO
    QF    		 ADO
    3R    		 EDG
    QF    		 DDM
    1R    		 DDO
    2R    		 CDO
    2R    		 ADC
    2R    		 EDM
    2R    		 IDO
    QF    		 GDT
    SF
    2020 BDC
    QF    		 GDC
    3R    		 EDG
    QF    		 IDO
    3R
    2021 HDT
    3R    		 GDT
    SF
    2022 IDO
    SF    		 GDC
    DNP    		 GDG
    DNP    		 ADO
    SF    		 EDO
    QF    		 CDO
    2R    		 EDG
    DNQ    		 DDC
    2R    		 EDM
    QF    		 HDT
    SF    		 GDO
    2R    		 BDO
    3R    		 GDT
    QF
    2023 BSD
    2R    		 EDO
    DNQ    		 IDO
    3R    		 GDG
    F    		 ADO
    3R    		 DDC
    3R    		 BDO
    QF    		 CDO
    QF    		 EDG
    QF    		 EDM
    QF    		 GDO
    3R    		 HDT
    2R    		 GDC
    2R
    2024 BDO
    1R    		 GDG
    QF    		 IDO
    3R    		 EDG
    WD    		 ADO
    DNP    		 BSD
    		DDC
    		EDO
    		GDC
    		FDT
    		HDT
    		SDT
    		CDO


    Performance Table Legend
    WWon the tournamentFFinalistSFSemifinalistQFQuarterfinalist#R
    RR
    Prel.    		Lost in # round
    Round-robin
    Preliminary round    		DQDisqualified
    DNQDid not qualifyDNPDid not participateWDWithdrewNHTournament not heldNYFNot yet founded

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    References

    1. ↑ "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
    2. ↑ Walters, Mike (10 December 2019). "Aspinall was bailed out by 1p bank transfer before fairytale Ally Pally run". The Mirror. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
    3. ↑ "2013 PDC Challenge Tour England Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
    4. ↑ "PDC Qualifying School Day Four". PDC . Retrieved 28 December 2016.
    5. ↑ "2015 UK Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
    6. ↑ "Dutch Darts Masters Day Two". PDC . Retrieved 6 June 2015.
    7. ↑ "2015 PDC Dutch Darts Masters Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
    8. ↑ "PDC Unicorn Development Tour 7-8". PDC . Retrieved 28 December 2016.
    9. ↑ "Nathan Aspinall 2015". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
    10. ↑ "World Youth Glory For Hopp". PDC . Retrieved 28 December 2016.
    11. ↑ "2016 Coral UK Open Day One". PDC . Retrieved 28 December 2016.
    12. ↑ "Payne Edges Out Wade For Maiden Title". PDC . Retrieved 28 December 2016.
    13. ↑ "2016 Grand Slam Of Darts Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
    14. ↑ "Nathan Aspinall wins Players Championship 18 in Barnsley". Sky Sports . Retrieved 30 December 2018.
    15. ↑ "Van Gerwen Favourite With William Hill". PDC . Retrieved 30 December 2018.
    16. ↑ Sport, Guardian (21 December 2018). "Gerwyn Price beaten by Nathan Aspinall as PDC world darts shocks continue". The Guardian . Retrieved 30 December 2018.
    17. ↑ "Aspinall continues ground breaking run with victory over Anderson to move through to last 16". Dartsnews. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
    18. ↑ "Aspinall verslaat Petersen in absolute kraker op WK Darts". Sportnieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 December 2018.
    19. ↑ Haigh, Phil (29 December 2018). "Nathan Aspinall bludgeons Brendan Dolan to make PDC World Championship semi-final on debut". Metro . Retrieved 30 December 2018.
    20. ↑ Phillips, Josh. "2019 Ladbrokes UK Open Finals Day". PDC . Retrieved 3 March 2019.
    21. ↑ "Dafabet US Darts Masters Glory For Aspinall". PDC. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
    22. ↑ "Nathan Aspinall reacts to stunning US Darts Masters win on World Series debut". Metro. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
    23. ↑ "Awesome Aspinall storms to Betfred World Matchplay title". www.pdc.tv. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
    24. ↑ "Dokter Van Gerwen stelt diagnose bij Nathan Aspinall: 'Lijkt op darteritus'". Sportnieuws (in Dutch). 22 July 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
    25. ↑ "KIJK. Aspinall, tegenstander van 'Dancing Dimi', stelt dat aarzeling niets met psychische dartsziekte heeft te maken: "Het is gewoon een kwestie van grip"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 15 March 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    26. ↑ Phillips, Josh. "2019 Ladbrokes UK Open Finals Day". PDC . Retrieved 3 March 2019.
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