"Came out saying we are all boring – he is the world’s worst" - Aspinall responds with wink to statements by Gary Anderson

Nathan Aspinall gave a sneak peek at his favorite walk-on, the most beautiful stage in darts and the distinctive rituals that make him sharp before he enters the field of battle.

According to The Asp, Michael van Gerwen's walk-on still remains by far the best, despite the fact that Luke Littler is now getting the crowd with him with emergence on the song "Greenlight." The Dutchman enters the stage with the song Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes - something Aspinall says is still unbeatable at the moment.

“For the crowd obviously, everyone loves Greenlight for Luke Littler. "But for me Van Gerwen. He was the guy when I was growing up, one of my idols.

“When he walks out and you’re stood there and the whole place goes green… the aura that Van Gerwen has got for me is still the best. I have a lot of respect for Michael for what he did for the game when I first started. He still has the aura about him, I don’t care what anyone says. 

“Yeah, he is not playing that well at the moment, but he is still Van Gerwen. He has done a lot for me as well off the oche, that is why I respect him so much.”

The current world number 23 still calls the iconic Winter Gardens in Blackpool his favorite venue. Yet his return there this summer was disappointing: in the first round of the World Matchplay, he lost 10-6 to Wessel Nijman.

“The Matchplay – that’s why I was absolutely gutted I got beat first round. For me it’s my local tournament being in Blackpool and I’m from Manchester. The crowd and support I get in Blackpool, sometimes for me it is too much. It affected me this year coming back.

“I won it two years ago, last year I was injured and I played. I just wanted to have a deep run and put a good show on. My walk-on at Blackpool is something else and then I got hammered. I played Nijman and he was fantastic. If you ask 90 percent of the players that have played in every venue it is the Matchplay.”

Where Gary Anderson calls the new generation of darters "boring," Aspinall shows that his preparation is anything but ordinary. His secret? A wonderful mix of Disney and rap.

He laughs, “Anderson has came out saying we are all boring – he is the world’s worst, he doesn’t do anything. I have tunes on. 

“My pre-match ritual is I always have three songs on before I walk out. I have Moana – ‘How Far I’ll Go’, my daughter’s song. I have ‘My Girl’, my other daughter’s song. And Eminem – ‘Lose Yourself’.

“It’s completely random. Eminem is my idol and the other two songs mean a lot because they are songs that remind me of my daughters.”