Nathan Aspinall returns to the Premier League Darts action tonight looking to kick on after finishing fifth in the last two years of the weekly event that lasts for 17 weeks.
The Asp narrowly missed out on the finals night last year. In truth, his form epitomised his form across the whole campaign and was largely inconsistent during the weekly event that goes across Europe.
This year, Aspinall’s place in the competition has been questioned. Last year saw him reach just one semi-final in the televised events and he was dumped out before round three in five of the eight events.
However, his run to the World Darts Championship quarter-final seems to have put him in good shape and he was buzzing to receive the nod as one of the eight players to make up the field in 2025.
That hasn’t gone down particularly well with some players – most notably Mike De Decker who hinted Aspinall only got the nod because of the fact he walks out to Mr Brightside by The Killers.
Nathan Aspinall shares Premier League concept ahead of night one
It’s fair to say that Aspinall was stunned by De Decker’s comments. In fairness, although the Belgian did win the World Grand Prix, it was always going to be a long shot for him to be picked for the Premier League.
He was sent packing at the World Championship by Luke Woodhouse in the second round and is a relative novice when it comes to reaching the business ends of major tournaments.
On the other hand, Aspinall is a two-time major winner, has reached two other major finals and has been a semi-finalist at four other big televised tournaments during his career to date.
Aspinall has come up with a brilliant idea to curb any negative comments from the unfortunate players, sharing his new idea for picking the Premier League participants in the future.
He said: “In my opinion, if it was down to me and I actually, God’s honest truth said this last year, if it was down to me I would make it the top eight in the world.
“To save all the stuff that happened through the disappointment from, Mike De Decker, who is world number 24 by the way, do you know what I mean? To save all the, is he in, is he not? Top eight, it’s done. That’s what I would do and yes, I would have missed out this year but I would have taken it.
“In my opinion, top eight, if you make it 10 players, top ten and then there’s no arguing is there and the rankings pick it themselves. But it’s not that and I’m buzzing that I’m in!”
What the Premier League would look like if top eight concept was implemented now
It’s a nice idea that Aspinall has shared regarding the Premier League. As he said, he wouldn’t be in the mix for the competition had the PDC decided to go with the top eight for 2025.
However, it would stop a lot of the childish remarks from the unfortunate players who miss out. On the other hand, however, the Premier League is about entertainment week in and week out, with the likes of Aspinall and Gerwyn Price adding to the whole entertainment factor.
| World Rankings Top Eight | Player |
| 1 | Luke Humphries |
| 2 | Luke Littler |
| 3 | Michael van Gerwen |
| 4 | Rob Cross |
| 5 | Stephen Bunting |
| 6 | Jonny Clayton |
| 7 | Dave Chisnall |
| 8 | Damon Heta |
Aspinall is one of the most likeable players on tour. With that in mind, De Decker’s comments felt a little bit distasteful and he should focus on following up his first major victory with more good runs at television events.
Aspinall is unlikely to be in the thoughts of many people to win the Premier League this year. However, he’s enjoyed a very decent career to date and on his day, the top players will find it tonight to despatch Aspinall if they’re not at their very best.