Darts star makes brave Saudi Arabia crowd accusation and insists he’s ‘not stupid’

Nathan Aspinall was one of eight PDC players to compete at the inaugural Saudi Arabia Darts Masters on Monday, but the British star was not impressed with the atmosphere in Riyadh

Nathan Aspinall has confessed he’s uncertain whether the PDC will maintain its partnership with Saudi Arabia in the long run, following questions about the atmosphere in Riyadh. Eight PDC stars joined forces with eight Asian competitors for the debut Saudi Arabia Darts Masters at the Global Theatre on Monday.

34-year-old Aspinall was amongst the PDC contingent chosen for the event and kicked off his Saudi Masters journey with a commanding 6-0 victory over Lourence Ilagan. This marked the third occasion Aspinall had faced Ilagan in recent weeks, having previously met him at the World Championship and Bahrain Darts Masters.

Yet despite his triumph, Aspinall remained unconvinced about the general vibe within the unnervingly silent venue in Riyadh. After concerns arose about the lacklustre atmosphere at the Global Theatre, the world No.14 delivered a scathing verdict on the spectators, suggesting some fans “were not all there”.

When questioned whether this could mark the beginning of a prosperous long-term alliance with Saudi Arabia, Aspinall responded: “I don’t know. There is definitely a long way to go.

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“It’s certainly different. I am not stupid, I feel like they were not all there off their own accord shall we say. It was quite a small venue but you’ve got to start somewhere.

“Everything needs to start somewhere and as long as people walk away from this week and say, ‘we really enjoyed the darts’ and the Saudi Arabian press really enjoy the darts there is no reason why not. I’ve enjoyed my time out here so far, there is worse places to be.

“I could be sat in Glossop in the snow, so hopefully we can be back again. “Aspinall was amongst seven PDC players to secure their quarter-final spots in Saudi Arabia, with Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Stephen Bunting, Michael van Gerwen, Gian van Veen and Gerwyn Price accompanying him for Tuesday’s action at the Global Theatre. Completing the final eight is Man Lok Leung, who shocked Danny Noppert by defeating the Dutchman 6-3 to claim a rare victory for the Asian contingent.

The Stockport-born thrower is seeking a strong showing in the Middle East following his omission from Premier League selection earlier this month. Despite an enhanced campaign on the circuit, he was overlooked by the PDC.

The former World Matchplay winner reached the Players Championship Finals showpiece and progressed to the quarter-finals at the World Championship, World Masters and UK Open. He also advanced to the Premier League semi-final before falling to Luke Humphries at London’s O2 Arena.

Describing how he learned of his omission from the eight-man Premier League lineup, Aspinall revealed last week: “The only difference that was hard this year was that we were at an event and I was travelling with Stephen Bunting on a plane and he got a text message at 3.15pm saying he was in, I got a text at 3.21pm saying I wasn’t in. It was a difficult travel home. Matt Porter explained the reasons why I wasn’t in.

“I felt like I backdoored it last year, I probably didn’t deserve it last year. I felt like I deserved it this year if I did get it. You take the rough with the smooth, I am not dwelling on it. I haven’t put anything on social media because I can’t be bothered with people jumping on it. I have accepted the decision, we move forward, and it gives me the hunger and fight to not miss out again.”