Nathan Aspinall reveals what Premier League run has done for him and his game

Daily Record

4 days ago

The Stockport star achieved a lifetime darts ambition by making the big night at London's O2 Arena
Positive Nathan Aspinall is adamant his run to the semi-finals of the BetMGM Premier League have set him up to fly for the rest of the year.
The Stockport star achieved a lifetime darts ambition by making the big night at London's O2 Arena for a last-four clash against Luke Humphries.
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Unfortunately for Aspinall, Cool Hand proved too strong with the World No.1 securing a 10-7 success to reach the Final against Luke Littler.
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But the 33-year-old believes the 16-week run to the showpiece stands him in superb stead for the remainder of the campaign.
Aspinall said: 'Yeah, I think already the Premier League's helped me, set me up for the rest of the year.
"The performances that I've put in, the results I've got, it's given me the belief that I can still win at the highest level.
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'We all know what I've got to defend in a couple of months, but apart from the Matchplay, there's nothing else to defend all year.
"I got beat first round in the Worlds two years ago as well. I've always had the belief in my own ability.
"The people around me always say that when I play in the Premier League, I'm playing regular against the best of the best all the time and it makes my game go higher and higher.
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"And I think that's what's happened. I'm more consistent now than I've been in probably the last two years and that's because I'm playing the best every single Thursday night. So it's been a big year for me so far.'
Aspinall feels he has more heights to hit and added: 'I don't think I'm playing anywhere near my best. I'm averaging in the hundreds, regularly.
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"I'm having a couple of 103s, 104s, but then 95s, 96s. So, I think level-wise, it's nowhere near my best that I've played.
"But I think I'm more consistent now than I've been over the last few years.
"I very rarely average under 94, 95 now, which I know the big numbers getting produced week in, week out, but that's still world-class starts if you're doing that in the biggest stages of all, so I know where my game's at.
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'There's still loads more to do, a lot more in the tank, a lot of work that I need to put in to get my game back to the pinnacle, but at the moment, especially with everything that's been going on this year, I'm very happy with where my game's at.
"I think people worry too much about averages. I think maybe I'm 1.8 off the fourth or something like that over, what, 50 games.
"It's absolutely nothing. I actually worry about how I feel on that stage and how I play.'
I think I have a mentality to win when I'm not playing my best or my opponent's not playing their best, or if they're playing well, I'll find a way to pull something out the backside, a big shot or something like that..'