Nathan Aspinall is eager to make up for lost time as he heads to the bet365 US Darts Masters looking to maintain his 100% record in the United States.
Stockport’s finest was victorious in the 2019 edition of the tournament, as he defeated Michael Smith 8-4 in a high-quality final at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.
However, he did not receive a PDC invitation to defend his crown last year as Smith went one better to capture the bet365 US Darts Masters title at Madison Square Garden.
Aspinall is especially excited to feature at the historic New York venue this year and he is keen to match the performances from his only previous trip to the United States.
“When I got the call to say I was going back to America, especially playing at Madison Square Garden, I was absolutely made up,” said Aspinall.
“I’ve only played in America once and I lifted that trophy so hopefully I can continue my 100% record in America and lift another one.
“It’s an iconic arena and I can’t believe I’m actually going to be playing there, it is a dream to be playing at such an iconic venue.
“It would be nice to win, I’ve not won a tournament for a while. I’ve had a few final defeats but it would be nice to go back out there and lift that trophy again.
“I was gutted to not be able to go and defend it last year but that was out of my control.
“Any title that you win is special, especially in somewhere like America on such a big stage.”
In addition to lifting the title on his last stateside visit, Aspinall was also impressed by the welcome that the PDC players received from supporters.
He believes that playing in America is different when compared to the more regular tournament venues.
“I think the main thing I noticed when I last played there was the darts fans.
"The people that come and pay their money are genuine darts fans and they want to see us, so they give us the best of order.
“It’s difficult for us as we don’t normally play in that environment, but there’s definitely a different feel, there’s a lot more pressure and it’s a lot more tense than the general tournaments in England and Germany.
“It’s a nice atmosphere and its nice to play in a different environment.”
Whilst the popularity of the sport is continuing to rise, there is yet to be flurry of US stars competing in the latter stages of PDC events.
Aspinall is hopeful that more events can be hosted in the country, with the aim of developing more players.
“I think we need more coming through to get it to that next level. The PDC are putting the World Series events on and it's bringing in fans in big numbers.
“They have a massive tour out there as well, but it's about getting more tournaments going and trying to improve that standard.
“It’s a big travel commitment for them to commit to the PDC, but it's small steps. These things take a long time, hopefully in another five, six or seven years, it can be part of our calendar every year - but more than one event.”
