Over the years we’ve grown accustomed to seeing some famous faces at the darts in the crowd.
From Prince Harry to Stephen Fry, there have been some really big names spotted in the crowd at the darts over the years.
However, perhaps the most high-profile darts fan right now is England international footballer, James Maddison.
The Tottenham star is often spotted at darts events, he’s friends with a number of PDC players and he’s even taken on a darts-inspired celebration whenever he scores.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Maddison has been discussing which PDC player he’d most like to face on the oche, and he gave a rather interesting answer.
James Maddison wants to play against Nathan Aspinall
Maddison named Nathan Aspinall as the player he would most like to play against in the PDC.
Maddison said that he really likes Aspinall as a person, and that he’d love to have a game against the former World Matchplay champion.
“Which professional darts player would you most like to play against?” Maddison was asked.
“Oh, good question, I really like Nathan Aspinall at the moment, yeah, really good guy,” Maddison said.
Maddison was then asked another darts-related question.
“What’s your favourite checkout in darts?” Maddison was asked.
“In darts? 100, but when they miss the treble 20, and go double 20, double 20,” Maddison said.
Aspinall and Maddison have played together
Maddison names Aspinall as his dream opponent, but these two have actually played on the same team before.
Indeed, as part of a promotional video for Sky Sports, Maddison and Aspinall teamed up against Michael Smith and Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven.
Luckily, Maddison and Aspinall managed to win that exhibition game, in somewhat surprising circumstances.
Indeed, despite two PDC pros being involved, it was actually Maddison who threw the winning dart at double 2 to finish a lowly score of just five.
The Asp has had a rough 12 months. Aspinall has suffered with some serious injury problems as of late, and while he’s now back to full fitness, his rhythm hasn’t quite returned just yet.
Aspinall was in solid form at the start of 2024, as shown by his performances in the Premier League, and if he can rediscover that level of performance, perhaps he could make a run at the World Championships in December.