Nathan Aspinall on his rise to success after UK Open win: "I didn't want to be a one-shot pony"

The Stockport ace became the new UK Open champion after . He has now leaped from 34th to 16th in the PDC Order of Merit, and also became the second player after Colin Lloyd to seal a major title with a 170 finish. Aspinall is at the high point of his career so far. He claims that it couldn't have happened without hitting the low point first. "I had my card in 2015. I was still working and I wasn't good enough, to be honest, and lost my card and then didn't win it back," he told . "It was probably the best thing that could have happened to me because it gave me my hunger back. I realised how much I wanted to be a pro darter, and I worked so hard on my game to win my card back. "When I had my card the first time I took it for granted and thought I'd made it. I got a bit lazy. I had to lose it before I could realise how much I wanted it. You need that hunger and I got that back when I lost it." The 27-year-old hit headlines in December when he reached the semi-finals of the World Championship. His subsequent Minehead success has proved that the Asp is no flash in the pan. "I had a good run at the worlds and it was all about backing that up," he said. "I didn't want to be a one-shot pony. "A lot of people have done well at the worlds or big tournaments before and never really backed it up and that was my big aim coming into the year, to qualify for major tournaments, and my first one back since the worlds and I won it! So I couldn't have really got off to a better start. "I've always believed I had the game to do it but did I think it would happen in my second year as a pro? No. But it has happened and I have to grab that with both hands and kick on."