Aspinall claimed a 10-6 victory over the Deal ace who was having his best run in some time. He hit a 96 average and 52 percent on the doubles including a 170 checkout. ‘The Asp’ got out the blocks really fast going three-nil up with a 121 checkout for a 12 darter highlighting this. Smith responded with a 126 checkout but at the first break, Aspinall extended his lead to 4-1. He came back to extend his lead further to 6-1 to cement his authority on the contest. Smith managed to get a few legs back to reduce the deficit to 9-6 but it was too much of a mountain to climb in the end. for more information about the UK Open including the schedule, prize fund breakdown, TV coverage and format. Rob Cross (95.03) 10-7 (97.34) Josh Payne Michael Smith (100.97) 10-1 (93.15) Steve Beaton Simon Stevenson (93.69) 5-10 (100.21) Gerwyn Price Nathan Aspinall (96.33) 10-6 (91.98) Ross Smith