NATHAN ASPINALL has dropped a bombshell proposal to add a Ryder Cup-style tournament to the ever-growing darts calendar.
Aspinall, 34, made a bold pitch to the PDC as he spoke of his desire to launch a new darts event that is similar to golf’s cross Atlantic competition between Europe and the United States.
Nathan Aspinall has called for a rule change that could have seen him unable to compete
Speaking to Footy Accumulators, the world No.7 said: “One change I would make is having a Ryder Cup-style tournament. You could do the UK against the rest of the world.
“You’ve got all the Dutch players, all the Germans, the likes of Damon Heta and people like that.
“You could do triples, pairs, and singles matches, it would be mega for players and fans.
“If you did it somewhere like in the centre of Germany, and change every year, you could probably sell a 30,000 seater stadium comfortably, and it would create some atmosphere.
“I think you’ve seen from the World Cup that you have to gel as a team. Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, even though they’re mates, they didn’t gel at the World Cup, which is why they didn’t get far.
“You saw with Josh Rock and Darryl Gurney, and Gerwyn Price and Johnny Clayton, they clearly did gel, and that’s why they made the finals.
“The only issue is that there is that much going on in darts at the moment, I think the PDC is going to leave it as it is for now. You never know, in the future it might be something that they look into.”
Aspinall has made over £2.2million from darts over the years, winning the World Matchplay in 2023 and landing the spoils in the UK Open in 2019.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
The two-time World Championship semi-finalist has also become a Premier League regular.
But ‘The Asp’ also confessed how he no longer enjoys darts all that much, seeing it as simply a job.
Aspinall said: “I’m not a big darts fan anymore. I don’t sit at home when I’m not playing and watch it.
“I didn’t watch the World Cup, for example. If I’m out of the tournament, I won’t go back to my house and see who wins.
“Everyone thinks it’s all roses and you travel to these amazing places, which we do, but it’s very lonely.
“I treat it as my job now, and I’m here to make as much money as I can
Nathan Aspinall
“I spent five days in New York on my own and was so bored. I’m missing a wedding next month because I’m in Keel, so I’ll miss a lot of family time and key events. But I’m the one who has to make the sacrifices so my family can have a good life.
“I treat it as my job now, and I’m here to make as much money as I can. It’s about giving my family the best life I can, which basically means I do it for the money.
“I want to win trophies and win titles, but first and foremost, I want to win as much money as I can so my family can have a great life, that’s my main drive and my motivation.
“If you’re treating it as a passion and as a hobby, I don’t think there’s any pressure on you to win because you’re just enjoying yourself, so it’s harder for me. I don’t like losing, and I know that if I turn up to work and don’t perform, I’m not making any money, so there’s big pressure.”
List of all-time Darts World Champions
BELOW is a list of darts world champions by year.
The list does not include winners from the pre-Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era or BDO world champions.
That means Raymond van Barneveld, for example, is only listed once – Barney also won four BDO titles – and none of Eric Bristow’s five BDO titles are included.
1994 – Dennis Priestley
1995 – Phil Taylor
1996 – Phil Taylor (2)
1997 – Phil Taylor (3)
1998 – Phil Taylor (4)
1999 – Phil Taylor (5)
2000 – Phil Taylor (6)
2001 – Phil Taylor (7)
2002 – Phil Taylor (8)
2003 – John Part
2004 – Phil Taylor (9)
2005 – Phil Taylor (10)
2006 – Phil Taylor (11)
2007 – Raymond van Barneveld
2008 – John Part (2)
2009 – Phil Taylor (12)
2010 – Phil Taylor (13)
2011 – Adrian Lewis
2012 – Adrian Lewis (2)
2013 – Phil Taylor (14)
2014 – Michael van Gerwen
2015 – Gary Anderson
2016 – Gary Anderson (2)
2017 – Michael van Gerwen (2)
2018 – Rob Cross
2019 – Michael van Gerwen (3)
2020 – Peter Wright
2021 – Gerwyn Price
2022 – Peter Wright (2)
2023 – Michael Smith
2024 – Luke Humphries
2025 – Luke Littler
Most World Titles
14 – Phil Taylor
3 – Michael van Gerwen
2 – John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
1 – Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries, Luke Littler
Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
