“I showed so much battle, so much character, so much balls” - Nathan Aspinall delighted to end losing run against Kevin Doets

Nathan Aspinall had to work hard to reach the second round of the World Grand Prix. The Englishman fell behind against Kevin Doets but fought back to win 2–1 in sets. Afterwards, relief was the overriding emotion for ‘The Asp’.

“Oh, I’m absolutely buzzing,” Aspinall told the PDC. “Playing Kevin’s always tough. Kevin beats me all the time, and he’s been going on about it in Den Bosch. I was trying so hard to beat him.”

Aspinall made a subdued start, however. The unusual double-in, double-out format played its part, while the Leicester crowd was also noticeably quiet early on. After Doets took the first set, Aspinall knew he had to stay strong mentally. “When I went 1–0 down, I was gutted because I thought I was playing okay,” he recalled. “Then I came back out and thought, ‘Just don’t fold.’”

What followed was a performance Aspinall felt summed him up as a player. “If you can sum me up as a dart player in one performance, I think that was it,” he said. “I showed so much battle, so much character, so much balls, so much will to win in that game, and never, ever, ever gave up.”]

As the match progressed, the crowd became increasingly involved, just as Aspinall likes it. “I can’t play when it’s quiet. That’s why I struggle on the ProTour. I hate the quiet, and the first set was very, very quiet,” he admitted. “It’s a Monday night in Leicester. They’re not going to be absolutely tanked up and going mental. I expected it.”

Aspinall also tried to bring the crowd into the contest himself. “But once they started singing my song and started going, I thought, ‘Come on, you’re not just playing for yourself here. You’re playing for these out here who bought the tickets,’” he explained. “I want to put a show on. Once I started playing a bit better, I started taking some shots out. I started giving it a little bit, which is what the crowd pay their money for. They love seeing all that.”

He was particularly pleased with his composure in the closing stages. Aspinall pointed out that, a few years ago, he would probably have celebrated a big moment so wildly that he lost focus. This time, he stayed calm and finished the job.

The victory also felt particularly satisfying given his recent record against Doets. “Kevin has beaten me seven out of the last nine, I know that,” he said. “That’s why I celebrated like I did at the end. It wasn’t the fact I’m in the next round. It was the monkey off my shoulder with Kevin.”

Aspinall nevertheless acknowledged that he felt Doets had been the better player. “He should have won,” he conceded. “He missed his opportunities. I took the opportunities under pressure.”

After an emotional evening, Aspinall’s immediate priority was to unwind. “I want to go back now, chill out, probably have a game of golf tomorrow and get ready for one of the Lukes.”