Nathan Aspinall won his first ever European Tour trophy against Ryan Joyce on Sunday, collapsing to the floor with emotion as he ended a rotten run and claimed just his third professional title
Darts star Nathan Aspinall collapsed with joy after winning his first-ever European Tour trophy against Ryan Joyce in Germany on Sunday. The Premier League Darts player overcame his fellow Englishman 8-4 after a superb run that saw him beat Gary Anderson in the semi-final.
That 7-6 ousting of Anderson saw him save the match by checking out 170 with his opponent waiting on 40 – which he admitted was “something else” before being left stunned by his triumph in the final after breaking his hoodoo on the tour.
Aspinall immediately fell the floor after his win over Joyce was confirmed and held his head in his hands before he got to his feet and embraced his opponent.
He admitted he had suffered “a s*** few years” and said it was the proudest moment of his career, having only won two professional titles before this – with his last being the 2023 World Matchplay. He will now return to the Premier League on Thursday to face Michael van Gerwen.
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“It’s only taken 10 years,” he said after the final. “Honestly, I’ve had a good day today, that 170 against Gary [Anderson]. Unbelievable. When I went off after beating Gary my hands were shaking, I only had 15 minutes to prepare. Ryan is a great guy, I’m happy to share the final stage with him.
“But for me personally, can I swear? To an extent? It’s been a s*** few years for me. This is what I needed, it was a big win. It makes me believe in myself that I’m still good enough to compete with these boys.
“It means a lot to me, roll on [Michael] van Gerwen on Thursday night [in the Premier League]. Honestly, final word for this crowd, you guys are unbelievable and if anyone wants to buy me a pint at the bar, I’ll see you later.”
Joyce admitted he was beaten by the better man as he said: “I’m over the moon to get to my first-ever [PDC] final. I was just outclassed in the final, fair and square. I did well to win the four legs. Hopefully it’s the start of something good, hopefully I can make more finals.
“If I played like I can I’d have won 8-0. Fantastic, I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve enjoyed this European Tour more than any. The crowd has been fantastic.”
It came after Scottish star Cameron Menzies was left red-faced when he miscounted and hit the wrong double while having a match dart in an earlier round against Mike De Decker. He eventually prevailed 6-5 before losing to Joyce.
Menzies said: “I b******d that. If I spoke the words I want to say then I would be fined. I don’t know, man. I had a massive brain fart. Counting is usually one of my strong points but I screwed that massively. Lucky to win but I made an a*** of it.”
