ASPINALL: I’M NOT ENJOYING DARTS

NATHAN ASPINALL admits he is “not enjoying” darts right now and would rather be at home with his family.

‘The Asp’ dug deep to edge past home favourite Ricardo Pietreckzo 6-5 in the second round of the German Darts Grand Prix.

But the Stockport ace, famed for feeding off the crowd and wearing his heart on his sleeve, revealed that right now his trademark fire has dimmed. 

Aspinall didn’t hide from the reality of his current form or mindset. 

He told DartsNews: “Yeah, it was a big game tonight. 

“Obviously, after the disappointment in Belgium, I was very, very upset with my game, and I didn’t play very well in the Players Championship event midweek. 

“I’m working on something behind the scenes to try and get myself fired up. 

“I’m a bit flat at the moment. I’m very flat when I’m playing. I’m not enjoying playing darts at the moment. 

“I don’t want to travel — I just want to be at home with my family at the moment. So I’m trying to find some motivation, and a lot of that comes from enjoying myself on stage.

“When I used to give it a little bit of something, that used to get me pumped up and I used to enjoy that. 

“That’s what I tried to do today. I don’t want to force it — I want it to be natural. 

“Ricardo was a perfect opponent because he likes to give it a little bit on stage, and that obviously fired me up. 

“He played well, he battled — kind of like playing myself, really.” 

Aspinall also admitted the travel chaos is making him consider skipping European Tour events. 

British players are currently unable to use EU passport e-gates and are instead facing long queues for manual checks. 

He added: “I’ve got no idea. Obviously, I’m going to keep playing, it’s just hard work.

“Whether it’s passports or lost luggage — my luggage came at two o’clock this afternoon. That’s not the PDC or darts’ fault, it’s Brexit and airports. There’s nothing anyone can do.

“I think the only thing is I probably won’t play as many events. If I have a couple of weeks where it’s been a nightmare, I’ll just pull out if I want to, because I can’t be bothered. 

“If I’m playing really well, I’ll sit in an airport for three hours — I’m not bothered. If I’m playing rubbish, I don’t want to do it.” 

Aspinall returns to action on Sunday afternoon in Munich and will face Martin Schindler for a spot in the quarter-final.

Image by Taylor Lanning.