"Do I like it? I'm 50-50 on it" - Nathan Aspinall on the fence over 'cut-throat' Grand Slam of Darts format

Nathan Aspinall's opening performance at the Grand Slam of Darts was the best in the afternoon session, as he demolished a hapless Maik Kuivenhoven 5-1, winning five legs in a row and finishing off with a 111.68 average.

He was in a very positive mood afterwards. "I've really enjoyed it," Aspinall admitted in his press conference. "I've had ups and downs this year, but I'm in a very, very good headspace at the moment."

He had his family urging him on along with the passionate Wolverhampton crowd. "Kirsten and the girls were there, always helping me along. I've just enjoyed it. The crowd were amazing. From the walk-on, they were unbelievable. I wanted to perform and entertain them, and that's why I gave it a little bit extra at the start. They paid their money, you know what I mean?

"That got my heart going and the blood flowing. Listen, it was a great performance from me against an opponent who could have been very difficult."

While he is favourite to top Group P before a dart was even thrown, he was not prepared to get complacent. "On paper, people might not have looked at my group and thought it was a tough one, but Karel Sedláček has been playing fantastic this year, and Mike has been playing fantastic over the last month. I knew I had to put in a good performance tonight, and I did that. I'm very happy."

The crowd were teased as Aspinall almost won the match with a nine-darter. He found seven treble 20s in a row, but was unsuccessful when going downstairs. He ended up finishing it off with a 13-darter, narrowly missing out on the tournament record average.

It seems that nine-dart legs are proving hard to come by for 'The Asp.' "Well, I missed double 12 the day after in Belgium as well. I'm one of those players who doesn't hit a lot of nine-darters, but when they do come, they come in flourishes, you know what I mean? I fancied it then, but obviously it didn't go in."

Nevertheless, he took immense pride from the dominant victory, with leg-difference very much on his mind. "The win is the most important thing here, especially with the legs as well. We said five what? Five-one? Five-one, plus four. That is big.

"Even if Mike wins tomorrow, that puts me in good stead. So, no, it was a great performance. I'm very happy. I get to go home now for a couple of days because I've won, which I'm buzzing about, and I'll be back on Tuesday ready to go again."

This year sees a new format at the Grand Slam of Darts. There are now 16 groups with 48 players in the event, up from 32 the previous year. The 2023 runner-up knew how important a win was, especially seeing fellow top talents Jonny Clayton and Josh Rock see their qualification chances dented.

"It's brutal. It's absolutely brutal. It's so cut-throat," he admitted, on the fence on whether it if for his liking. "Do I like it? I'm 50-50 on it, you know what I mean? But listen, there are going to be some shocks. There are going to be a lot of the top six here who don't make it through the group. I don't want to be one of them, which is why I've been so focused."

"That was the most focused I've been on a stage in a long time because I knew how important it was. Yes, I was jumping around like an idiot, but that's me! I was so focused, though. I went down a little bit earlier tonight, before we walked on stage, just to get my mindset right. That first game was massive, and it was a big win."

Whatever the format is, the Grand Slam of Darts is a huge tournament ahead of the PDC World Darts Championship. Many champions went on to taste success at Ally Pally, but Aspinall was not interested in all of that.

"I'm not a stats man. I'm not that bothered about whether winning this gives you a good chance at the Worlds. I take every tournament as it comes," he said. "I'm not thinking that far ahead, which for me is a bonus. It's a result for me."

"Listen, I may as well win every single tournament I play in. If I win this one, I'm not suddenly going to go and win the Grand Slam and be ready for the Worlds. It's just another tournament, you know what I mean? I feel good this week, I really do. So, let's see what happens."

Aspinall will take some time off before the World's after failing to qualify for the Players Championship Finals. "I chose to pull out of the last two events. That was more of a selfish decision, really. It's my wife's birthday that weekend, and she's spent the last 12 years in Minehead. I thought, 'You know what? We'll have a weekend away.' Instead of practising and playing tournaments, we'll have a weekend off and enjoy ourselves. We'll get ready for the Worlds that way."

He backed up that decision with that scintillating display on the big stage. "I think I've proved my decision was right. Everyone knows I've still got this little issue with my throw, and it's really bad on the floor. I spoke to Jason, my manager, about not wanting to play in those last Pro Tours because I didn't want anything negative going into the big televised tournaments.

"I think I've proved my decision was right. That was a great performance. I don't think there was any stopping me tonight. I know there wasn't! There was a bit of composure on the big shots, but there was no stopping me at all. I've got to keep this positive mentality because once I start thinking negatively about my throw and my game, anything can happen, you know what I mean? But I've been positive today and positive tonight. I'm very happy with the win."

Aspinall produced some massive checkouts on the stage. The 149 finish was the pick of the crop, but it was also followed by a 120 in a blistering period that saw his average skyrocket.

"After the second leg, I knew I'd come from a 12-darter or something, and the 149 was a big shot. To be fair, when I took out the 149, I was a bit nervous at the time, I'm not going to lie. After taking out that 149, I had to go 3-1-0, even though there was only a hold of throw. I gave it a big celebration and thought, 'Right, you're playing well here, Nathan.'

"To take out a shot like that, you've got to be playing well. I kind of chilled out a little bit. Honestly, the crowd were fantastic today. I'm all about the energy of the crowd, and they helped me put in a good performance. I hope they enjoyed it."

He will hope to conjure up some more magic in his final group match against Karel Sedlacek. "He doesn't look it, but honestly, the respect I have for him is huge. He's a fantastic guy," he said, lavishly praising the Czech.

"I think I'm the only guy ever to celebrate a game when he loses like I did when he beat me in a Pro Tour. I love him. Honestly, he's got a fantastic family and he's a fantastic guy. He's got a bit of a tit of a manager, though. Sorry, Matt. But yeah, he's a great guy. Listen, I went out there to do a job. He beat me once, and that was the last time I played him. He knows I'm going to be on it when I play him, and I'll come out of that game on top."