Nathan Aspinall has revealed he predicted Luke Littler's shock first-round exit at the World Grand Prix before the tournament even began, claiming he told his companion on the drive to Leicester that Littler would not win his opener. Aspinall, who has endured a rollercoaster few weeks that included being really unwell in Amsterdam and having his car smashed in during his time in Leicester, still battled through to the quarter-finals with a whitewash victory over Luke Woodhouse.
"So, this is easy to say, because it happened. But driving up on Monday morning, when I was speaking to Sean, I said that I don't think Littler's going to win tonight," Aspinall told Boyle Sports. "And the reason behind it is, obviously, he's been playing; he doesn't care about tournaments, he's won them all. He was playing for this record. Obviously, because he got beat in Amsterdam, I didn't think he'd be as focused, and he won. And losing fantastic dart players, he's had a fantastic year. So, I wasn't too shocked to see the result of him, to be honest with you."
Aspinall, who defeated Woodhouse in sauna-like conditions at the Mattioli Arena, produced a stunning 96 average in the victory. "It's got to be the highest I've had by a mile, I would say," he said. "Obviously, the conditions were really, really tough. I and Luke spoke at the break. God, it was so warm out there tonight. But no, I just composed myself very well. I was trying to clutch on to how I finished the game against Kevin, you know, but composure and taking those big pressure moments out at crucial times was amazing on Monday. That's what got me through the game. And I think tonight was the same, you know. I did my breathing work that I've been working on with my sports psychologist, and it paid dividends tonight."
Reflecting on a crucial moment, Aspinall added: "And the 104 to win the second set was absolutely massive. And again, that just shows the bottle I've got. You know, I remember I was walking back on, and I was averaging 96; he was 82, and I'm thinking, bloody hell, if he pinged that 57, it would have been 1-0. So, no, I was just dead happy. Great performance. My scoring was fantastic tonight. The first two sets, starting, were amazing. Went a bit rubbish in the first set, but no, big win. Very happy and happy to be in the quarters."
Aspinall also admitted he would have preferred to face Littler rather than Woodhouse, saying: "But you've got to be real, and Woodhouse would back me up on this. In my position, I would have preferred to play Luke. Me being little, he would have preferred to play me, of course. So, yeah, it was nice to not play him in the second round for once, and what happens when I don't play him?"
Now preparing for a quarter-final clash against Ryan Joyce, Aspinall believes luck is essential for major tournament success. "Yeah, I think it's a cliché, but to win a darts tournament or a major tournament, you need a bit of luck. I think I got that in the first round with Kevin missing them match starts. I put a great show on tonight," he said. "Joyce is a good mate of mine, he's unreal on his double-16, but he can't score like me, and he knows that. So, I think, you know, if he's finishing, if I score like I did tonight, he's not going to beat me, simple as that."
