Nathan Aspinall becomes 35th player to achieve European Tour and Players Championship double

The European Tour made its debut in 2012 with the inaugural Austrian Darts Open. Since then, 35 players have managed to win at least one event on both the European Tour and the Players Championship circuit. Nathan Aspinall became the latest name to join this elite list last weekend by claiming the European Darts Trophy.

The 33-year-old Englishman was in fine form in Göttingen, defeating compatriot Ryan Joyce 8-4 in the final to lift his first European Tour title.

The first player ever to achieve this double was Justin Pipe. The Englishman kicked off 2012 by winning the opening Players Championship of the year on January 28, and just a few months later, he made history by taking the title at the very first European Tour event — the Austrian Darts Open — where he beat James Wade 6-3 in the final.

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It didn’t take long for other big names to follow suit. Later in 2012, Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, Adrian Lewis, and Simon Whitlock also added their names to the list of players who had won titles on both tours.

Over the years, the list has grown to include some of the biggest names in the sport — including John Part, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, James Wade, Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price, Luke Humphries, and Luke Littler.

Aspinall’s inclusion in this prestigious group is notable not only for the achievement itself but also for the long gap between his two milestones. ‘The Asp’ won his first Players Championship title back in 2018 but had to wait over six years before finally tasting success on the European Tour stage.

He will return tonight to the Premier League Darts stage before another double header of Players Championship action next week. 'The Asp' now has breathing room to potentially pick and choose going forward into the next part of the season, something he couldn't do before.

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