"It was a horrific game of darts" - Nathan Aspinall apologises to fans after win over Cameron Menzies at Winmau World Masters

Nathan Aspinall easily qualified for the quarterfinals of the Winmau World Masters. 'The Asp' didn't produce his best, but in truth, he didn't need to to beat Cameron Menzies 4-1. In the quarter-finals a meeting with Dimitri Van den Bergh awaits, who in turn won 4-3 over Michael van Gerwen.

Speaking post-match, the win seemed to be the only positive for Aspinall. “It was a horrific game of darts," he reflected in his post-match interview afterwards. “All I can do is apologise to the people who had to sit through 25 minutes of that. It was very tough, but I got the win in the end. I’ve shown my character and my resilience, one of the toughest games I’ve ever played."

"I think the pace of the game and the emotion that was on that stage. I’m trying to be really positive at the moment. I’m really good mates with Cammy, but he’s so expressive on the stage," continued the two time PDC major winner, looking for explanations for his poor performance. “He showed every single little emotion. I felt like I got dragged into that and, overall, it was a horrific game of darts, but I won."

Aspinall impressed in his opening match with a 3-0 win against Andrew Gilding and a 100+ average. Against Menzies, he was stuck with an average of just over 90. “Last night I was positive and I tried to play that game in the same way, but Cammy was struggling. I was struggling. Cameron showed me a lot of emotion on the stage. The emotion that I normally show is being positive, but I I felt like I was being very negative throughout the game," he concludes. “But, listen, I’m in the quarter final in the first major of the year. I ain’t going to feel too sorry for myself. I’m in the quarter-finals of the Masters and I am going back to the hotel to get a nice sleep in.”