ASP OPENS UP ON VIRAL TIKTOK

NATHAN ASPINALL reckons throwing a dart at an apple in a TikTok star’s mouth was scarier than throwing a match dart. 

World No. 6 Aspinall went viral recently when a clip of him launching an arrow into an apple clenched between the teeth of an influencer racked up thousands of views online. 

Two-time major Aspinall admitted he was bricking it over what could go wrong. 

He said: “I sh*t myself! I was very worried. My sponsor also sponsors him. We did a collaboration. He’s doing these crazy challenges and asked, ‘Would you throw a dart at an apple in my mouth?’ 

“I was like, ‘Really?’ But honestly, I was more nervous doing that than throwing a match dart — because if I miss, I’m going to hurt him! 

“But it was a bit of fun. Obviously, not everyone likes it because it’s not very PC in England, shall we say. But yeah, it was fun — and I hit the apple!” 

‘The Asp’ defeated Radek Szaganski 6-4 to advance into the quarter-final of the Poland Masters in Gliwice. 

Stockport thrower Aspinall confessed he switched off mentally at 5-1 up and nearly paid the price. 

He added: “Not very good. I started off quite well — I think I had a 5–1 lead — and I always do it: I think I’ve won the match in my head before I’ve actually won it. And yeah, he came back at me very strong. 

“The crowd got involved, as they should. They wanted him to win. But credit to him — he stuck with me and battled to the end. 

“I put in a great last leg, even though I missed some doubles. So, not a great performance, but I’m happy to get off the mark, and I’ll be ready for tomorrow.” 

Aspinall will need his best against world champ Luke Littler next at the World Series event — and there’s also the small matter of defending his Matchplay crown cash later this month. 

He revealed: “Yeah — but I’ll win it, so it doesn’t matter, does it? 

“Honestly, there’s a lot of pressure. I’ve had a good year, and that’s important. I’ve won a decent amount of ranking money before the Matchplay, so I’ve basically halved what I need to defend. 

“If I make the semi-final, I’ll stay in the top 16. If I have a bad tournament, I’ll probably drop out. But for every other tournament the rest of the year, I went out in the first round last year — so everything else is a bonus.  

“I’m not worried about it. Rankings are rankings. I know I’m more than capable of winning that tournament. I’ve done it before — one of eight or nine people who’ve won it. I know how to win it, and I feel confident I can do it again this year.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.