# Nathan Aspinall

Nathan Aspinall (born 15 July 1991) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number twelve; he reached a peak ranking of world number four in 2024. Nicknamed "the Asp", he has won two PDC major titles, winning the 2023 World Matchplay and 2019 UK Open. Aspinall has finished as runner-up at four other major events: the 2020 Premier League, 2022 World Grand Prix, 2022 Grand Slam and 2023 World Series Finals.
He is a two-time World Championship semi-finalist with back-to-back semi-final appearances in 2019 and 2020. He won his first World Series of Darts title at the 2019 US Darts Masters. Aspinall has won a total of eight PDC titles in his professional career.

## Early life

Aspinall played semi-professional football as a goalkeeper, having once been scouted by Manchester United's academy. He was offered a deal by Rangers but turned it down as his family did not want to move to Scotland. He played in Stockport County's academy until he was 15, joining Cheadle Town. He worked as a trainee accountant before quitting to become a professional darts player.

## Career

Aspinall began playing in PDC Development and Challenge Tour events in 2012. His first semi-final in those came in 2013, where he lost 4–2 to Max Hopp. He won a two-year PDC Tour Card in 2015 through the Q School Order of Merit and qualified for the UK Open, where he beat Chris Dobey 5–1 and James Richardson 9–4, before losing 4–9 to James Wade in the fourth round. Aspinall's first European Tour appearance was at the Dutch Darts Masters and he squeezed past Jamie Robinson and Vincent van der Voort both 6–5. In the third round Justin Pipe eliminated him 6–4. Aspinall won the seventh Development Tour event of 2015 with a 4–2 victory over Benito van de Pas. He also lost in the final of two other events during the year. Aspinall made his first televised appearance in the final of the 2015 PDC World Youth Championship, where he played the German Max Hopp. After 10 legs of holding throw, the final deciding leg was thrown by Aspinall, and despite having match darts, it was Hopp who won 6–5.
While throwing a dart, Aspinall often stops to grip it differently. Commentators and others have suggested that this is due to dartitis. Michael van Gerwen indicated in 2022 that, during a match, he thought his opponent was suffering from this problem. Aspinall himself invariably denies during interviews that the hiccups have a mental cause. However, he later openly admitted to having the condition, having first encountered it during a Premier League match against Peter Wright in 2023.

### 2016

Aspinall was beaten 6–5 by Stuart Kellett in the second round of the 2016 UK Open. At the sixth Players Championship he reached his first quarter-final on the main tour and narrowly lost 6–5 against Vincent van der Voort. Aspinall qualified for his first Grand Slam of Darts, but could not get a win out of his group fixtures with Raymond van Barneveld, Mensur Suljović and Danny Noppert to finish bottom of his group.

### 2018

Aspinall won his first ranking PDC title in September 2018, beating Ryan Searle 6–4 in the final of Players Championship 18, in Barnsley.
Aspinall made his Players Championship Finals debut at the 2018 edition as the 25th seed. He defeated 40th seed Martin Schindler 6–1 in the first round but lost to 8th seed James Wade 6–4 in the second round.

### 2019: UK Open champion

At the 2019 World Championship, Aspinall made his debut as a ProTour Order of Merit qualifier. He was made a 500/1 outsider before the tournament. In the first round he whitewashed Geert Nentjes 3–0 before defeating the 6th seed Gerwyn Price 3–2 in a deciding set in the second round. Aspinall then defeated Kyle Anderson 4–1, Devon Petersen 4–3 and Brendan Dolan 5–1 on his way to the semi-finals, where he lost to Michael Smith 6–3.
Following Gary Anderson's withdrawal from the 2019 Premier League, Aspinall was selected as one of nine 'contenders' to replace him. He played a one-off match against Michael Smith on night six in Nottingham, losing 7–2.
Aspinall won his first PDC major at the 2019 UK Open, defeating Toni Alcinas, Christian Kist, Madars Razma, Steve Lennon, Ross Smith and Gerwyn Price to reach the final, where he defeated Rob Cross 11–5 to take the title, winning the final leg with a 170 checkout. The win took Aspinall into the top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit for the first time in his career.
Aspinall won his second televised title at the 2019 US Darts Masters, the first event on the 2019 World Series of Darts. It was Aspinall's first World Series event, and the only one he was selected to compete in during the 2019 edition. In the first round, he defeated Shawn Brenneman 6–2 before achieving wins over Rob Cross 8–5, and Peter Wright 8–7 in a last leg decider. Aspinall averaged 106.70 in the final, defeating Michael Smith 8-4. Aspinall received £20,000 in prize money for his victory.
He made his debut at the World Matchplay at the 2019 event. He was the first player to make his World Matchplay debut as a seed since Simon Whitlock in 2010. He lost to Mervyn King in the first round 10-5 despite averaging 103.

### 2020

At the 2020 World Championship, Aspinall once again reached the semi-finals. He defeated Gary Anderson before a 5–3 win over Dimitri Van den Bergh in the quarter-finals en route to the last four. He fell to defending champion Michael van Gerwen 6–3.
Aspinall followed his second world championship semi-final by reaching the semi-finals of the Masters, where he was beaten 11–10 by Michael Smith in a deciding leg. He was selected for his Premier League Darts debut season as part of the 2020 lineup after competing as a 'contender' the previous year. He qualified for the play-offs by finishing third in the league stage table. He defeated reigning world champion Peter Wright 10–7 in the semi-finals to set up a clash with fellow Premier League debutant Glen Durrant in the final. Aspinall succumbed to an 11–8 defeat to Durrant.

### 2021

At the 2021 World Championship, Aspinall came back from 2–0 down to beat Scott Waites 3–2 in the second round. He was eliminated from the tournament before the semi-finals for the first time as he lost 4–2 in the third round to Vincent van der Voort.
Aspinall finished third in the 2021 Premier League's league phase, losing 8–3 to José de Sousa on night 16 who took second place. The two met in the play-off semi-finals, with De Sousa beating Aspinall 10–9 in a deciding leg. He reached the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay, where he was defeated 16–9 by Michael van Gerwen. He then reached the semi-finals of the European Championship but lost 11–10 to Van Gerwen.

### 2022

Despite suffering with tendonitis, Aspinall was able to win his opening match at the 2022 World Championship, recovering from 2–1 down to defeat Joe Murnan, who had a dart to win the match. He was whitewashed 4–0 in the third round by Callan Rydz. He then withdrew from the Masters due to injury.
Aspinall reached the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay, where he was eliminated by Michael van Gerwen in a narrow 16–14 defeat. He also won two ranking titles during the year. He claimed the Players Championship 13 title with an 8–6 triumph over Matt Campbell in the final. He added a second Players Championship victory in the 22nd event, defeating Krzysztof Ratajski 8–3 in the final.
At the World Grand Prix in October, Aspinall reached the final following a 4–2 win over Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals, setting up a match against Michael van Gerwen for the prize. Despite briefly rallying from 4–0 down, he finally succumbed to a 5–3 defeat to Van Gerwen. The next month, he reached his second major final of the year at the Grand Slam of Darts, where he lost 16–5 to Michael Smith.

### 2023: World Matchplay champion

At the 2023 World Championship, Aspinall won his opening match 3–1 against Boris Krčmar. He lost 4–3 in the third round to Josh Rock.
Aspinall was a quarter-finalist at the UK Open, where he was beaten 10–6 by eventual runner-up Michael van Gerwen. He reached a sole 2023 European Tour final at the German Darts Grand Prix, losing 8–5 to Michael Smith. During the 2023 Premier League, he achieved his first nightly win on night 12 in Rotterdam. He got past Michael van Gerwen and Dimitri Van den Bergh to reach the final, where he defeated Gerwyn Price 6–4. He finished the league phase in fifth place, missing out on qualifying for the play-offs by failing to reach the final on night 16.
In July, Aspinall won a second major title at the World Matchplay. His run to the final included wins over Krzysztof Ratajski, Danny Noppert, Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen. In the final, he won 13 of the last 14 legs to defeat Jonny Clayton 18–6.
He made the final of the New Zealand Darts Masters but lost a deciding leg to Rob Cross who won 8–7. He was denied in a final once again at the World Series Finals, losing to Michael van Gerwen 11–4.

### 2024

At the 2024 World Championship, Aspinall suffered a shock early exit, losing 3–0 in the second round to Ricky Evans.
Aspinall achieved two nightly wins during the 2024 Premier League. He picked up his first win on night five in Exeter, beating Peter Wright and world champion Luke Humphries before a 6–2 victory over Rob Cross in the final. His second nightly win came in Rotterdam on night 12 where he defeated Michael Smith 6–4 in the final. Aspinall missed out on qualification for the play-offs by losing to Smith 6–3 in their opening match on night 16, with Smith claiming the final place.
In his defence of the World Matchplay, he was eliminated in the second round after an 11–8 loss to James Wade. Prior to the tournament, Aspinall admitted that due to a tennis elbow-like injury, he would be taking a break following his title defence. This resulted in him withdrawing from the World Series Finals in September. At the Players Championship Finals in November, he defeated number one seed Chris Dobey 6–1 in the first round, before exiting the tournament in a 6–3 defeat to Niels Zonneveld.

### 2025

Entering the second round of the 2025 World Championship as 12th seed, Aspinall began his campaign with a 3–1 win over Leonard Gates. After the match, Aspinall stated that he wanted to prove how good he was and go deep in the tournament after facing scrutiny for recent poor performances. He defeated Andrew Gilding 4–0 before dispatching Ricardo Pietreczko by the same scoreline to progress to the quarter-finals. Aspinall was denied a third Alexandra Palace semi-final by Luke Littler, to whom he lost 5–2.

## Personal life

Aspinall is a supporter of Manchester United and his local side Stockport County.

## World Championship results
### PDC

* 2019: Semi-finals (lost to Michael Smith 3–6)
* 2020: Semi-finals (lost to Michael van Gerwen 3–6)
* 2021: Third round (lost to Vincent van der Voort 2–4)
* 2022: Third round (lost to Callan Rydz 0–4)
* 2023: Third round (lost to Josh Rock 3–4)
* 2024: Second round (lost to Ricky Evans 0–3)
* 2025: Quarter-finals (lost to Luke Littler 2–5)

## Career finals
### PDC major finals: 6 (2 titles, 4 runners-up)

* Legend
* World Matchplay (1–0)
* Premier League (0–1)
* UK Open (1–0)
* World Grand Prix (0–1)
* Grand Slam (0–1)
* World Series Finals (0–1)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
| Winner | 1. | 2019 | UK Open | Rob Cross | 11–5 (l) |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2020 | Premier League | Glen Durrant | 8–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2022 | World Grand Prix | Michael van Gerwen | 3–5 (s) |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2022 | Grand Slam | Michael Smith | 5–16 (l) |
| Winner | 2. | 2023 | World Matchplay | Jonny Clayton | 18–6 (l) |
| Runner-up | 4. | 2023 | World Series Finals | Michael van Gerwen | 4–11 (l) |
* ↑ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

### PDC World Series finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

* Legend
* World Series of Darts (1–1)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
| Winner | 1. | 2019 | US Darts Masters | Michael Smith | 8–4 (l) |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2023 | New Zealand Darts Masters | Rob Cross | 7–8 (l) |

## Performance timeline

PDC
| Tournament | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| PDC Ranked televised events ||||||||||||
| World Championship | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | SF | SF | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | QF |
| World Masters | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | SF | QF | WD | 1R | SF | QF |
| UK Open | 4R | 2R | DNQ | 3R | W | 4R | 4R | 4R | QF | 5R | QF |
| World Matchplay | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 1R | 1R | QF | QF | W | 2R | |
| World Grand Prix | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | QF | 1R | 1R | F | 1R | 2R | |
| European Championship | DNQ | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | 2R | 2R | SF | 1R | 2R | 1R | |
| Grand Slam | DNQ | RR | DNQ | DNQ | RR | QF | DNQ | F | 2R | DNQ | |
| Players Championship Finals | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | DNQ | 2R | |
| PDC Non-ranked televised events ||||||||||||
| Premier League | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | C | F | SF | DNP | 5th | 5th | |
| World Series Finals | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 1R | QF | 1R | DNP | F | WD | |
| World Youth Championship | F | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| Career statistics ||||||||||||
| Year-end ranking | 102 | 73 | 64 | 72 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 11 | |
PDC European Tour
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 2015 | GDC DNQ | GDT DNQ | GDM DNQ | DDM 3R | IDO DNQ | EDO 1R | EDT DNP | EDM DNP | EDG DNQ |
| 2016 | DDM DNQ | GDM 1R | GDT DNQ | EDM DNQ | ADO DNQ | EDO DNQ | IDO DNQ | EDT DNQ | EDG 2R | GDC DNQ |
| 2017 | GDC DNQ | GDM DNP | GDO 2R | EDG DNQ | GDT DNQ | EDM 2R | ADO DNQ | EDO 1R | DDM 3R | GDG 3R | IDO DNQ | EDT 2R |
| 2018 | EDO DNQ | GDG 1R | GDO 1R | ADO DNQ | EDG DNQ | DDM DNQ | GDT DNQ | DDO DNQ | EDM DNQ | GDC DNQ | DDC DNQ | IDO DNQ | EDT DNQ |
| 2019 | EDO DNQ | GDC 2R | GDG DNQ | GDO QF | ADO 3R | EDG QF | DDM 1R | DDO 2R | CDO 2R | ADC 2R | EDM 2R | IDO QF | GDT SF |
| 2020 | BDC QF | GDC 3R | EDG QF | IDO 3R |
| 2021 | HDT 3R | GDT SF |
| 2022 | IDO SF | GDC DNP | GDG DNP | ADO SF | EDO QF | CDO 2R | EDG DNQ | DDC 2R | EDM QF | HDT SF | GDO 2R | BDO 3R | GDT QF |
| 2023 | BSD 2R | EDO DNQ | IDO 3R | GDG F | ADO 3R | DDC 3R | BDO QF | CDO QF | EDG QF | EDM QF | GDO 3R | HDT 2R | GDC 2R |
| 2024 | BDO 1R | GDG QF | IDO 3R | EDG WD | ADO DNP | BSD 1R | DDC WD | EDO WD | GDC WD | FDT WD | HDT 2R | SDT 3R | CDO 2R |
PDC Players Championships
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 2015 | BAR 2R | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | COV 2R | COV 2R | COV 2R | CRA 1R | CRA 2R | BAR 1R | BAR 2R | WIG DNP | WIG DNP | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | DUB 1R | DUB 1R | COV 1R | COV 1R |
| 2016 | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 3R | BAR QF | BAR 1R | COV 1R | COV 3R | BAR 1R | BAR 4R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | DUB 1R | DUB 1R | BAR 2R | BAR 1R |
| 2017 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | MIL 1R | MIL 1R | WIG DNP | WIG DNP | BAR 1R | BAR QF | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | DUB 1R | DUB 2R | BAR DNP | BAR 2R |
| 2018 | BAR 2R | BAR 3R | BAR 2R | BAR 3R | MIL 2R | MIL 1R | BAR 4R | BAR 1R | WIG 1R | WIG 1R | MIL 3R | MIL 2R | WIG 1R | WIG 4R | BAR 2R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR W | DUB 3R | DUB 2R | BAR 3R | BAR 2R |
| 2019 | WIG 2R | WIG 1R | WIG 2R | WIG QF | BAR 3R | BAR SF | WIG 2R | WIG 1R | BAR 4R | BAR 1R | BAR 3R | BAR 3R | BAR F | BAR 3R | BAR 2R | BAR QF | WIG F | WIG 2R | BAR 2R | BAR 4R | HIL 2R | HIL 3R | BAR 1R | BAR 3R | BAR F | BAR 3R | DUB QF | DUB 2R | BAR DNP | BAR DNP |
| 2020 | BAR 4R | BAR W | WIG 3R | WIG 3R | WIG 4R | WIG 3R | BAR W | BAR 1R | MIL 1R | MIL SF | MIL 3R | MIL 4R | MIL QF | NIE 3R | NIE SF | NIE 4R | NIE QF | NIE 1R | COV 2R | COV 1R | COV 4R | COV 4R | COV 4R |
| 2021 | BOL SF | BOL SF | BOL 1R | BOL 1R | MIL 1R | MIL 1R | MIL 2R | MIL 3R | NIE 4R | NIE 4R | NIE 2R | NIE 1R | MIL 1R | DNP | DNP | DNP | COV 2R | COV 1R | COV QF | COV 3R | BAR 2R | BAR 3R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 3R | BAR SF | BAR QF | BAR 2R | BAR DNP | BAR DNP |
| 2022 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | BAR 3R | BAR 2R | NIE DNP | NIE DNP | BAR 1R | BAR QF | BAR F | BAR 1R | BAR W | WIG 2R | WIG 1R | NIE 3R | NIE F | BAR SF | BAR 1R | BAR SF | BAR QF | BAR W | BAR F | BAR 3R | BAR DNP | BAR DNP | BAR 1R | BAR DNP | BAR 3R | BAR 1R |
| 2023 | BAR 3R | BAR 1R | BAR 3R | BAR 2R | BAR QF | BAR 3R | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | LEI 1R | LEI 2R | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | BAR 4R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | BAR 1R | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 2024 | WIG 4R | WIG 3R | LEI 1R | LEI 2R | HIL DNP | HIL DNP | LEI 3R | LEI 2R | HIL DNP | HIL DNP | HIL 3R | HIL 3R | MIL 2R | MIL 4R | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | WIG 1R | WIG 1R | MIL 2R | MIL 3R | WIG 2R | WIG 1R | WIG 2R | WIG 2R | WIG 1R | LEI 3R | LEI 1R |
* ↑ Not a tour card holder
Performance Table Legend :
| W | Won the tournament | F | Finalist | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR Prel. | Lost in # round Round-robin Preliminary round | DQ | Disqualified |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | #R RR Prel. | Lost in # round Round-robin Preliminary round | NYF | Not yet founded |