Nathan Aspinall had the 5,000 strong crowd in hysterics after missing his seventh dart in an attempted nine-dart finish.
‘The Asp’ was in action against Josh Rock on the main stage in Minehead at the UK Open, looking to edge a step closer to the feat he famously achieved by winning the tournament in 2019 to secure the £115,000 prize.
ITV SportAspinall jokingly leant towards the board after missing his 7th dart[/caption]
He was trying to book his place in the semi-finals by beating the Northern Irish star, but found himself falling behind early on.
Rock built up an impressive lead early on marching up to 6-2, but Aspinall was looking to cling on to his coat tails.
And as accustomed when watching Aspinall on the PDC tour, his gritty determination made him a difficult opponent to shake off for Rock.
It became a nip and tuck contest at 8-5 with Aspinall gaining serious momentum.
He hit six perfect darts and two 180’s to send the crowd eagerly to their feet in anticipation of a perfect nine-dart leg.
But with 141 left to take out in three darts to complete the feat, he needed a treble 20 to open the throw.
And unfortunately he hit a single 20 and was well away from the wire of the treble.
After releasing the dart, he hilariously moved forwards towards the board.
He jokingly checked to see if the dart was close, satirically given the dart wasn’t his closest, which sent the crowd at the Butlins venue into hysterics.
The whole auditorium burst into audible laughter, and Aspinall himself afforded a wry chuckle.
ITV SportHe was then left giggling along with the crowd after his miss[/caption]
Even his opponent Rock let out a small grin, as once again Aspinall proved ever the entertainer.
Fans flocked to social media to praise Aspinall’s hilarious gag, with one writing: “You can’t not love this guy.
“No wonder they picked him for the Premier League. Real personality.”
Another wrote: “When I first started watching the darts, I didn’t understand why the commentators loved Nathan Aspinall so much. Now I get it.”
While a final fan concluded: “How can you hate Nathan Aspinall? Absolute legend.”
Unfortunately for Aspinall, despite his late surge, it wasn’t enough as Rock got the job done picking up a 10-7 victory.
It was a great moment for ‘Rocky’ who secured his career first place in a TV major semi-final.
Rock is looking to start to fulfil his potential when he burst on the scene as a real talent by winning the World Youth Darts Championship in 2022.
And the 23-year-old believes he can dominate the sport alongside Luke Littler for years to come.
“I had a solid 2024, but honestly I think 2025 is going to be my year,” he said.
“It is fantastic for the sport; Luke winning the Worlds at such a young age shows it is a young man’s sport now.
“My game is there to challenge, it always has been, it just has to come out when it needs to.
“There is six years between me and Luke. We can have a very long career. I believe that me and him will dominate the sport, 100 per cent.”
