"For the kids to hear 12,000 people chanting their daddy's name..." - Emotional Nathan Aspinall touched by crowd reception in Manchester

Nathan Aspinall lost out in the semifinals on the Night 10 of Premier League Darts 2024. 'The Asp' first defeated Rob Cross, but then had to concede defeat against Luke Littler.

For Aspinall, it was pretty much a home game at the AO Arena in Manchester. "I can't thank the crowd enough," he says afterwards. "My kids were there, my family were there, and they got to witness that amazing atmosphere, which was electric. Something I've never heard before, it was special. It was emotional I'm not going to lie, it was amazing."

"For the kids to hear 12,000 people chanting their daddy's name..." Aspinall continues emotionally. "And I felt that on stage you know, I'm looking out to the crowd and I can see my kids there and yeah, it was a special occasion tonight. I'm very happy with how I handled myself in the first game, I think I had so much emotion and it's a big two points. It keeps me in the top four and puts the pressure on the rest of the boys."

Aspinall is one of the most popular players on the Pro Tour. "I've never changed and never will," he explains. "I'm not going to name no names but players in the world of darts, when they achieve success they change as people. I'm just a little chav from Stockport and I always will be."

Next week, Aspinall will take on Michael van Gerwen in the quarterfinals on the 11th day of play. "He's under pressure. He's not been performing well in the Premier League," Aspinall assesses. "The magic number is 24. I'm on 18, so I'm six points away with six weeks left. It's a pretty good position to be in."