"I'm growing in confidence and no pain" - Nathan Aspinall ready for Chizzy test despite cheeky text exchange

Nathan Aspinall made a good start to the 2024 Swiss Darts Trophy. 'The Asp', who only recently returned after a long absence due to an arm injury, defeated home crowd favourite Marcel Walpen 6-3 in the opening round. The 33-year-old Englishman will now take on first-seeded Dave Chisnall in the second round.

"I was playing a host nation qualifier but I'd actually heard of him and he played really well in the qualifiers," Aspinall says full of praise. "I knew I had to play well and obviously, coming back from my injury, that was a good game for me. The crowd were obviously cheering for him, but I needed that bit of pressure. He played well to be fair, but I'm up here to do a job and now I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

Aspinall will take on Dave Chisnall, who has already won two tournaments on the European Tour this year (Flanders Darts Trophy and European Darts Open), in the next round.

"When the draw came out I actually text him saying: 'You've had a good run on the Euro Tour this year, just don't bother,' but he said 'nah, I'm coming Switzerland,'" Aspinall recalls. "He'll have to play well against me though because I'm growing in confidence and no pain. I'll be ready for it."

The Swiss Darts Trophy will be broadcast on PDC TV. As usual with Euro Tour tournaments, the Swiss Darts Trophy consists of three tournament days. The afternoon sessions start on Friday and Saturday at 12:00, while the evening sessions then start at 18:00. On Sunday, the sessions start at 11:00 and 17:00.

The first round will take place on Friday. The 16 Order of Merit qualifiers and the winners from the various qualifying tournaments then make their appearance. The top-16 seeded players enter the tournament on Saturday in the second round. Sunday will see the denouement of the tournament, starting with the third round in the afternoon session. Sunday evening will be followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.