Nathan Aspinall says he has “nothing to prove” after his inclusion in the Premier League line-up for 2025 sparked debate.
Aspinall is part of the star-studded eight-player Premier League line-up alongside Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Stephen Bunting, Chris Dobey and Gerwyn Price, which gets under way on Thursday February 6 in Belfast – live on Sky Sports.
However, when the 33-year-old was named as one of the participants, his inclusion drew backlash from world No 6 Dave Chisnall and reigning World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker, both of whom saw their omission in favour of Aspinall’s participation unfair, citing his popular walk-on song Mr Brightside as part of the reason why he was included.
Despite the negativity, Aspinall believes that he has earned his spot in darts’ biggest roadshow and has no issues with Chisnall’s comments due to the fact that he doesn’t believe ‘Chizzy’ himself would have personally written them.
“I came off social media for a start,” world No 11 Aspinall told Sky Sports.
“I said it recently, the only opinion that matters is the PDC’s. People are entitled to their opinion, people are entitled to favourites.
“But for me, the only opinions that matter are Matt Porter’s and the PDC’s and they put me in so I am in.
“I don’t need to prove anything. I am really good friends with Chizzy [Chisnall] and it isn’t Dave who would have written that.
“I have no issues with Dave because he won’t have written that.
“That is a separate issue that I will deal with.
“And I am not going to talk about Mike De Decker. I am sick of talking about Mike De Decker.”
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Stephen Bunting earns one of four wildcard slots to join world champion and reigning Premier League champion Luke Littler in a star-studded field
Although ‘The Asp’ is very confident he will bring his best darts across the 16 nights of the Premier League, he knows the crowd will be looking forward to his walk-on tune that has darts fans singing along every week.
However, Aspinall, who has used the song for four years, is still yet to learn the lyrics.
“I will never forget the first time I met Barry Hearn and he said we are entertainers as much as sportspeople and that is what I bring to the table,” Aspinall added.
“I am an entertainer. I am also really good at darts, but I am also an entertainer as well and that is just who I am as a person.
“The crowd love it. It shows how powerful it is that players want to play me just to hear that song.
“It means a lot to darts fans around the world.
“I just really, really need to learn the words because after four years I still don’t know the lyrics.”
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Ahead of their match at Ally Pally, Ricardo Pietreczko joined Aspinall in a ‘Mr Brightside’ sing-along
Darts is a lonely sport: I am trying to get the lads to speak to someone
Aspinall admittedly had a difficult 2024, with his ‘dartitis’ flaring up and affecting his rhythm in periods alongside injuries.
Dartitis is a psychological condition that can affect darts players, making it difficult to release the dart.
To help combat it, Aspinall has worked with a sports psychologist and has introduced hypnotherapy after advice from Bunting, which he credits with getting him in a much better headspace.
However, he is is encouraging all other professionals around him to ensure they “speak to someone” about the “immense” pressure which the sport brings.
“It is coming and going at the moment. It is something I spoke to my sports psychologist about and since September, I have been with a hypnotherapist,” the Stockport thrower said.
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During Aspinall’s match with Andrew Gilding, the Asp got a little distracted by the Alexandra Palace crowd as he stopped playing for a short while to watch the antics at Ally Pally
“He is working absolute wonders on me. It is not fully gone, it is not fully there.
“I will keep working hard behind the scenes to prevent it getting bad again.
“I am confident that it will finally do one.
“I think there is a lot more people speaking to sports psychologists and hypnotherapists.
“In other sports, you have teams behind you but we are individuals.
“I am trying to get the lads that are struggling to speak to someone.
“It is a very lonely, hard sport, the pressure is immense.
“Every other sport have it, why can’t we?”
‘2025 is going to be my best year yet!’
What is in store for Aspinall moving forward? He believes a lot of success as the sport continues to have more and more darts opened following the phenomenal rise of reigning world champion Littler.
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Laughs all round as Luke Littler and Aspinall joke after missing out on nine-darters in their quarter-final of the World Darts Championship
“I am working really hard behind the scenes trying to get fit and healthy,” Aspinall said.
“I am trying to have a cleaner life than I have in previous years.
“I do think this is going to be the biggest year of my career. I am doing everything in my power to make that a reality.
“It is mad. The last 12 months since Luke [Littler], it has gone through the roof.
“You just look at the numbers in Bahrain, it was sold out, and to be honest that is not an audience I ever thought we would get to.
“It is amazing the doors that are opening for me at the moment. Long may it continue.”
Sky Sports will once again be home of the Premier League in 2025, with every night exclusively live along with the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and more! Stream darts and more top sport with NOW
