Nathan Aspinall opens up on battle with dartitis that left him ‘in tears’ on the oche
Nathan Aspinall has opened up on his heartbreaking battle with dartitis.
The Asp’s throw has notably changed over the years, and despite claiming it was a regrip technique – Aspinall has now admitted he’s been dealing with an ongoing battle with dartits. Daritis is a psychological condition that affects darts players, causing them to have difficulty releasing the dart.
Opening up about the battle, he said it started in a 2023 Premier League match against Peter Wright – despite leaving 4-0, Aspinall struggled to release the dart and ended up losing 6-5, leaving him in tears.
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“All of a sudden out of nowhere I couldn’t throw my effing dart,” Aspinall explained on Sky Sports’ Game of Throws:Inside Darts documentary. “I just couldn’t let it go. It ended up getting worse and worse and worse to the point where I was in tears.
“Because I knew what it was. The dreaded D-word that no darts player ever wants to hear or get. Something called dartitis. It’s horrific, no one ever wants to get it. Not many people come back from it.”
(Image: Getty Images)
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He added: “It’s basically the fear of missing. There’s somewhere deep in the back of your head saying ‘you’re going to miss this’ so you stop.
“I lost the game 6-5, I went upstairs after the game and I was in the toilet and I was absolutely smashing ten lumps of shit out of the hand dryer. I lost my head.”
Aspinall continues to battle through the condition – and he will grace the Paddy Power PDC World Championship later this month. As one of the top 32 players in the world, The Asp was seeded for the draw, putting him straight through to the second round.
He will open his campaign against the winner of Cameron Menzies’ meeting with Leonard Gates.
