ASPINALL VOWS TO BRING AGGRESSION ON OCHE
09/02/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
By Aaron Nijjar
NATHAN ASPINALL will show a new side in 2025 and it won’t always be Mr Brightside.
‘The Asp’, famous for his walk-on to The Killers’ hit, has taken a new approach for the year ahead vowing to show more aggresion on the Oche.
World No.10 Aspinall admits he’s been too friendly on stage, with his quarter-final loss to Luke Littler at the World Championship being a clear example.
Since ‘The Nuke’ is in the same management group as him and Chris Dobey, being aggressive towards the teenager doesn’t feel natural. However, it’s something he recognises he needs to change.
Aspinall said in an interview for Reach’s darts 2025 preview publication: “It is tough [playing Littler]. I pretty much get on with everyone, but I showed him too much respect that night.
“That’s the only thing I do agree with on social media, because I got a bit of criticism for being too nice. I do agree with that and I’m going to make a conscious effort [not to be]. I’m not just talking about playing Luke. I’m going to be playing him and Chris a lot this year. I’ve got to make sure I keep the friendships in the practice room.
“When I get on that stage, I need to show aggression. At the end of the day, I’m there for myself. You’ve seen with the [Premier League] announcement and the criticism I’ve had [from players like Dave Chisnall and Mike De Decker].
“People who I classed as my mates have said stuff about me. Obviously [they’re] not [mates]. They’re all out for themselves and that’s how I’m going to be this year.”
He added: “Listen, if I miss three darts at 32 and someone pings 164, then I’ll say ‘fair play’, that’s the type of guy I am. But if a guy takes out 101 to win a set against me, I won’t be fish-bumping him, nah. It’s a bit weak of me, doing stuff like that. I have processed a lot that has happened over the last few weeks and I’ve learnt from it. There’ll be a different Nathan on the stage this year.”
After an injury-plagued 2024 and a struggle with dartitis [a psychological condition affecting his ability to release the dart] the two-time Major winner is optimistic about the rest of 2025. He believes that the effort he’s put into his behind-the-scenes work will pay off and show positive results.
The Stockport thrower recorded his best start to a year since 2020, reaching two consecutive quarter-finals in Major tournaments, with the most recent being the Winmau World Masters.
He said: “Everything is fine with the elbow, On the mental health side, I’ve got a hypnotherapist and a sports psychologist, who’ve I’ve worked with for three years.
“It’s helped me massively. The hypnotherapy is to deal with dartitis more than anything. There are still little bits of it in my game but compared to three months ago, it’s night and day.
“He’s [the hypnotherapist] been working with a few other players as well. I was a bit annoyed about that – I thought I was the only one! Seriously, it’s doing wonders for me. I’m going to continue to work dead hard behind the scenes and hopefully, this year is the best year I’ve ever had.”
