“It’s been a difficult few months since the World Matchplay" - Nathan Aspinall sees hard work pay off with 3rd Euro Tour title of 2025 in Germany

Nathan Aspinall stormed to his third European Tour title of the year on Sunday night, beating Dirk van Duijvenbode 8–6 in a thrilling German Darts Championship final in Hildesheim.

“I took a 6–2 lead but Dirk did to me what I do to a lot of players – he came back fighting,” said Aspinall in his interview afterwards. “I’ve really enjoyed this weekend, I enjoyed that final and I’m very happy to win my third title.”

The 34-year-old from Stockport showed blistering form throughout the weekend, confirming his position as the number one player on the European Tour. His latest triumph adds to earlier victories in Göttingen and Leverkusen, and he now heads to the European Championship in Dortmund (23–26 October) as top seed.

Aspinall started strongly, sweeping past Germany’s Maximilian Czerwinski with a 103 average before producing an even better 107 in a dominant win over Ross Smith. By finals day, his scoring power was untouchable.

He averaged an incredible 110 in his third-round win over Ireland’s Steve Lennon, then saw off Jermaine Wattimena 6–4 in a competitive quarter-final. In the semis, he fought back from 6–3 down to beat Dutch youngster Gian van Veen 7–6, landing seven 180s in a superb comeback performance.

In the final, Aspinall faced another Dutchman in red-hot form. Van Duijvenbode, who had hit a perfect nine-darter earlier in the tournament, looked dangerous from the start — even threatening another perfect leg in the second with seven flawless darts.

The pair traded blows in the opening stages, locked at 2–2, before Aspinall hit top gear with three straight legs of 14, 13 and 14 darts to surge 5–2 ahead. A brilliant 121 checkout on the bull extended his lead to 6–2, but Van Duijvenbode refused to fold, roaring back to level at 6–6 as the crowd inside Halle 39 erupted.

Aspinall held firm under pressure, taking the next leg and finishing the match in style with a clinical 74 checkout on tops to seal an 8–6 victory.

Aspinall averaged 101 across the weekend and was quick to praise the quality of the event. “I think it’s been an amazing weekend of darts,” he said. “I’m the number one seed going into the European Championship, and this has given me another huge confidence boost.”

His third European Tour title of the season puts him alongside elite company — Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Luke Humphries and Dave Chisnall are the only others to have managed the feat. “I’m in very good company,” Aspinall added. “It took me ten years to win my first one, but I’ve found the formula now.”

He’ll face Rob Cross in Dortmund next week and believes the hard work at home is paying off. “It’s been a difficult few months since the World Matchplay, but I’ve worked hard and I’m thrilled to see the results coming through.”

With his confidence sky-high and silverware piling up, Nathan Aspinall looks every inch one of the men to beat heading into the European Championship.