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Nathan Aspinall

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Nathan Aspinall
Aspinall at the 2024 World Grand Prix
Personal information
Nickname"The Asp"
Born (1991-07-15) 15 July 1991 (age 33)
Stockport, England
Darts information
Darts26g Target Darts Signature Gen 2
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Mr. Brightside" by the Killers with intro to “Charlemagne” by Blossoms
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC2012–
(Tour Card: 2015–2016, 2018–)
Current world ranking12 Increase 2 (24 November 2024)[1]
WDF major events – best performances
World MastersLast 272: 2013
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipSemi Final: 2019, 2020
World MatchplayWinner (1): 2023
World Grand PrixRunner Up: 2022
UK OpenWinner (1): 2019
Grand SlamRunner Up: 2022
European Ch'shipSemi Final: 2021
Premier LeagueRunner Up: 2020
PC FinalsLast 32: 2018, 2020, 2021, 2024
MastersSemi Final: 2020, 2024
World Series FinalsRunner Up: 2023
Other tournament wins

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

Challenge Tour

PDC Challenge Tour 2017
PDC Development Tour 2015

Nathan Aspinall (born 15 July 1991) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently the World No. 12.

Nicknamed "The Asp", he has won 8 senior PDC titles, including the 2023 World Matchplay, the 2019 UK Open and 2019 US Darts Masters.

Early life

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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

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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]

While throwing a dart, Aspinall often stops to grip it differently. Commentators and others have 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.[11][12]

2016

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Aspinall was beaten 6–5 by Stuart Kellett in the second round of the 2016 UK Open.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

2018

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Aspinall won his first ranking PDC title in September 2018, beating Ryan Searle 6–4 in the final of Players Championship 18, in Barnsley.[16]

Aspinall made his Players Championship Finals debut at the 2018 edition as the 25th seed. He defeated 40th seed Martin Schindler 6–1 in the first round but lost to 8th seed James Wade 6–4 in the second round.

2019

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At the 2019 World Championship, Aspinall made his debut as a ProTour Order of Merit qualifier. He was made a 500/1 outsider before the tournament.[17] In the first round he whitewashed Geert Nentjes 3–0 before defeating the 6th seed Gerwyn Price 3–2 in a deciding set in the second round.[18] Aspinall then defeated Kyle Anderson 4–1,[19] Devon Petersen 4–3[20] and Brendan Dolan 5–1[21] on his way to the semi-finals, where he lost to Michael Smith 6–3.

Following Gary Anderson's withdrawal from the 2019 Premier League, Aspinall was selected as one of nine 'contenders' to replace him. He played a one-off match against Michael Smith on night six in Nottingham, losing 7–2.

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, winning the final leg with a 170 checkout.[22] The win took Aspinall into the top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit for the first time in his career.

Aspinall won his second televised title at the 2019 US Darts Masters, the first event on the 2019 World Series of Darts.[23] It was Aspinall's first World Series event, and the only one he was selected to compete in during the 2019 edition.[24] In the first round, he defeated Shawn Brenneman 6–2 before achieving wins over Rob Cross 8–5, and Peter Wright 8–7 in a last leg decider. Aspinall averaged 106.70 in the final, defeating Michael Smith 8-4. Aspinall received £20,000 in prize money for his victory.

He made his debut at the World Matchplay at the 2019 event. He was the first player to make his World Matchplay debut as a seed since Simon Whitlock in 2010. He lost to Mervyn King in the first round 10-5 despite averaging 103.

2020

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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

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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

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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

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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.[25]

2024

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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 lost 10–9 to Damon Heta in a deciding leg in the fifth round.

Prior to his appearance at the World Matchplay, Aspinall admitted that due to a tennis elbow-like injury, he would be taking a break following his title defence.[26]

Personal life

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Aspinall is a supporter of Manchester United[27] and his local side Stockport County.[28]

World Championship results

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PDC

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Career finals

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

[edit]
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)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1] Ref.
Winner 1. 2019 UK Open England Rob Cross 11–5 (l) [29]
Runner-up 1. 2020 Premier League England Glen Durrant 8–11 (l)
Runner-up 2. 2022 World Grand Prix Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 3–5 (s)
Runner-up 3. 2022 Grand Slam of Darts England Michael Smith 5–16 (l)
Winner 2. 2023 World Matchplay Wales Jonny Clayton 18–6 (l)
Runner-up 4. 2023 World Series of Darts Finals Netherlands 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)

[edit]
Legend
World Series of Darts (1–1)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2019 US Darts Masters England Michael Smith 8–4 (l)
Runner-up 1. 2023 New Zealand Darts Masters England Rob Cross 7–8 (l)

Performance timeline

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Tournament 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Ranked televised events
PDC World Championship DNP Did not qualify SF SF 3R 3R 3R 2R
UK Open DNP 4R 2R DNQ 3R W 4R 4R 4R QF 5R
World Matchplay DNP Did not qualify 1R 1R QF QF W 2R
World Grand Prix DNP Did not qualify QF 1R 1R F 1R 2R
European Championship DNP DNQ 1R DNQ 2R 2R SF 1R 2R 1R
Grand Slam of Darts DNP DNQ RR DNQ RR QF DNQ F 2R DNQ
Players Championship Finals DNP Did not qualify 2R 1R 2R 2R 1R DNQ 2R
Non-ranked televised events
The Masters DNP Did not qualify SF QF WD 1R SF
Premier League Darts Did not play C F SF DNP 5th 5th
World Series of Darts Finals NH Did not qualify 1R QF 1R DNP F WD
PDC World Youth Championship DNP F Did not play
BDO Ranked televised events
Winmau World Masters 1R Not a BDO player NH PDC
Career statistics
Year-end ranking - - 102 73 64 72 12 6 14 9 4

PDC European Tour

Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
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
1R 		DDC
WD 		EDO
WD 		GDC
WD 		FDT
WD 		HDT
2R 		SDT
3R 		CDO

PDC Players Championships

Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
2024 WIG
4R 		WIG
3R 		LEI
1R 		LEI
2R 		HIL
DNP 		HIL
DNP 		LEI
3R 		LEI
2R 		HIL
DNP 		HIL
DNP 		HIL
3R 		HIL
3R 		MIL
2R 		MIL
4R 		MIL
DNP 		MIL
DNP 		MIL
DNP 		MIL
DNP 		MIL
DNP 		WIG
1R 		WIG
1R 		MIL
2R 		MIL
3R 		WIG
2R 		WIG
1R 		WIG
2R 		WIG
2R 		WIG
1R 		LEI
3R 		LEI
1R
Performance Table Legend
W Won the tournament F Finalist SF Semifinalist QF Quarterfinalist #R
RR
Prel. 		Lost in # round
Round-robin
Preliminary round 		DQ Disqualified
DNQ Did not qualify DNP Did not participate WD Withdrew NH Tournament not held NYF Not yet founded

References

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  1. ^ "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 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. ^ "Dokter Van Gerwen stelt diagnose bij Nathan Aspinall: 'Lijkt op darteritus'". Sportnieuws (in Dutch). 22 July 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "2016 Coral UK Open Day One". PDC. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Payne Edges Out Wade For Maiden Title". PDC. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  15. ^ "2016 Grand Slam Of Darts Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  16. ^ "Nathan Aspinall wins Players Championship 18 in Barnsley". Sky Sports. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  17. ^ Phillips, Josh (28 November 2018). "Van Gerwen Favourite With William Hill". PDC. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  18. ^ "Gerwyn Price beaten by Nathan Aspinall as PDC world darts shocks continue". The Guardian. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  19. ^ "Aspinall continues ground breaking run with victory over Anderson to move through to last 16". Dartsnews. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  20. ^ "Aspinall verslaat Petersen in absolute kraker op WK Darts". Sportnieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  21. ^ Haigh, Phil (29 December 2018). "Nathan Aspinall bludgeons Brendan Dolan to make PDC World Championship semi-final on debut". Metro. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  22. ^ Phillips, Josh (3 March 2019). "2019 Ladbrokes UK Open Finals Day". PDC. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  23. ^ Allen, Dave (5 July 2024). "Dafabet US Darts Masters Glory For Aspinall". PDC. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  24. ^ Haigh, Phil (6 July 2019). "Nathan Aspinall reacts to stunning US Darts Masters win on World Series debut". Metro. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  25. ^ "Awesome Aspinall storms to Betfred World Matchplay title". www.pdc.tv. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  26. ^ "NATHAN ASPINALL LIKELY OUT UNTIL SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER DEPENDENT ON WORLD MATCHPLAY RUN DUE TO 'TENNIS ELBOW' TYPE INJURY". dartsnews.com. 14 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  27. ^ Walters, Mike (15 May 2024). "Nathan Aspinall has Man Utd-related motivation ahead of key Premier League match". The Mirror. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  28. ^ Stronge, Isaac Stacey (9 March 2024). "Meet Stockport County's celebrity supporters from best-selling band to darts stars". FootballLeagueWorld. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  29. ^ Phillips, Josh. "2019 Ladbrokes UK Open Finals Day". PDC. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
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