Glossop-based darts star Nathan Aspinall added another piece of silverware to his collection over the weekend, picking up the European Darts Open trophy in Leverkusen.
The Asp had to work hard for the win, seeing off his best pal Chris Dobey in the quarters after a last leg shootout, before knocking out Dutchman Wessel Nijman in the semis in identical fashion.
The 33-year-old then defeated Aussie Damon Heta 8-6 in the final, sealing his second Euro Tour title of the year.
In an exclusive interview following the event, the Dinting resident told The Chronicle:
“It went well considering the circumstances.
“My trip to Germany was a bit of a shambles. I ended up missing my flight on the Friday after not getting home until the early hours of the morning.
“Myself and Luke [Humphries] had a few too many beverages following the Premier League Finals Night,” joked Aspinall.
“I then managed to fly out on the Saturday, but due to the thunderstorms, I was sat on the tarmac for two hours - I didn’t land in Cologne until 6:45, and I was meant to be on stage at 9:30.
“But we made it there in the end and I managed to win my second tournament of the year.
“I played brilliant on the Sunday, but the Saturday was really tough.
“I didn’t play well at all in the first two games, I think I was still coming down from the Premier League- I was just exhausted.
“Luckily I played well in the semis and final and managed to get over the line.”
The triumph comes after the Stockport-born star’s semi-final exit in last Thursday’s Premier League Darts Finals Night.
Despite an impressive performance, The Asp found himself on the wrong end of a 10-7 defeat to world number one Luke Humphries at the O2.
“I was obviously gutted not to win, but it was a great campaign overall for me,” the 33-year-old told The Chronicle.
“To finish third and make it to the semi-final stage is a great achievement, and I think I’ve proved my doubters wrong.
“I played well but unfortunately Luke came on strong at the end.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him- he’s world number one for a reason, and he showed his class.”
Aspinall will look to make it back-to-back tournament wins this weekend when he travels to Copenhagen for the Nordic Darts Masters.
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