ASPINALL VOWS TO RAISE HIS LEVEL
23/03/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
By Aaron Nijjar
NATHAN ASPINALL has vowed to improve his performance on the oche as he gears up to face Jermaine Wattimena at the European Darts Trophy.
‘The Asp’ overcame Ritchie Edhouse in a deciding leg, despite the European Champion landing checkouts of 170 and 130 in a late rally from 5-2 down which took the tie all the way.
World No. 12 Aspinall averaged just 88.59 against ‘Madhouse’ but still grinded out a 6-5 win to enter the last 16 at Göttingen.
Two-time major winner Aspinall admitted he was disappointed with his performance on stage but has vowed to raise his level against Wattimena today (Sunday).
He said: “Terrible. Absolutely rubbish. It was a struggle. I was beating myself up.
“It’s tough I’ve not had a win yet on the European Tour and I needed one tonight.
“I need to stop putting so much pressure on myself.
“I’ve got that win now so I can relax and I’m now on the European Tour Order of Merit.
“Ritchie is like me he never gives in. I’ve been in so many battles with Ritchie over the years he is a fantastic dart player.
“At 5-2 I thought I’d won. I was playing okay. But then he played really well for three legs and I was rubbish.
“But I think I showed my class at the end to win.
“Jermaine is a great player but I won’t play that Shiza again!
“I’ve got to get one for my mate Dobey tomorrow.”
Wattimena produced his second-highest career average in a stunning win over Chris Dobey.
The Dutch ace’s 6-4 triumph saw him average a sensational 111.07 to overcome the Premier League star, who took a 3-1 lead with back-to-back 12 darters early in the contest.
Aspinall has a terrific record against Wattimena winning six of their seven matches.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
