Aspinall ends the wait for maiden European Tour Title “It’s been a sh*t few years but this is what I needed. It makes me believe in myself that I’m still good enough to compete with these boys.”

Nathan Aspinall won his first European Tour title after defeating Ryan Joyce 8-4 in Sunday’s Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Trophy final.

Aspinall, cheered on by a capacity crowd in Gottingen, delivered a sequence of remarkable performances on Finals Day to win his first title since his World Matchplay victory in July 2023.

The Stockport star averaged 98 and shot five 180s to overcome Joyce and win the £30,000 top prize at the Lokhalle, becoming the 38th different player to win a European Tour event.

After starting his career with a last-leg triumph over European Champion Ritchie Edhouse, Aspinall fought through another decider to defeat Jermaine Wattimena in an exciting last-16 match.

He then averaged 106.72 in a 6-1 thrashing of world number one Luke Humphries before defeating Gary Anderson in an exciting semi-final, boosted by a skin-saving 170 finish in the penultimate round.

Aspinall began where he left off, racing into a 4-1 lead over Joyce, and while the Newcastle thrower narrowed the deficit to a single leg at one point, Aspinall proved too powerful.

“It’s been a sh*t few years but this is what I needed. It makes me believe in myself that I’m still good enough to compete with these boys.”

“It felt like it was written in the stars”, admitted the former UK Open champion.

“Ryan is a great guy and a top player, and it was great to share the stage with him in the final.

“This is what I needed. This will help me to believe in myself and it shows I’m still good enough to compete against the top boys.

“Because of the situation I’ve been in over the last few years with the injuries and the dartitis, this is probably my proudest moment.

“The crowd were unbelievable. The support I got was amazing. This honestly means so much to me.”

Joyce, like Aspinall, broke new ground this weekend, defeating four televised championship winners to reach his first European Tour final.

The 39-year-old began his campaign with a landslide victory against Joe Cullen on Friday, before eliminating Belgian number one Dimitri Van den Bergh in round two.

Joyce continued his drive with hard-fought victories over world number four Rob Cross and Cameron Menzies, followed by a stunning 7-5 victory over Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals.

“I’m over the moon to get to my first European Tour final,” reflected Joyce, a winner of two Players Championship titles.

“I have really enjoyed this weekend, and hopefully this is just the start for me and I can make many more finals.

“I was just outclassed in the final, so fair play to Nathan. He’s a terrific player and he completely outscored me tonight.”

Van Gerwen won the European Tour’s last visit to Gottingen in 2019, defeating Niko Springer, Gian van Veen, and Gerwyn Price on route to the final four, despite Price’s 107 average.

Anderson joined his great foe Van Gerwen in the semi-finals, following up his comeback victory over Luke Woodhouse with deciding-leg victories against Martin Schindler and Ross Smith on the last day.

Smith, a former European Champion, competed in the quarter-finals alongside Humphries, Menzies, and Price, who averaged over 110 in his third-round victory over Wessel Nijman.

Aspinall ends the wait for maiden European Tour Title

Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Trophy

Sunday March 23

Afternoon Session

Third Round

Cameron Menzies 6-5 Mike De Decker

Ryan Joyce 6-4 Rob Cross

Gerwyn Price 6-3 Wessel Nijman

Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Gian van Veen

Ross Smith 6-4 Dave Chisnall

Gary Anderson 6-5 Martin Schindler

Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena

Luke Humphries 6-5 Michael Smith

Evening Session

Quarter-Finals

Ryan Joyce 6-3 Cameron Menzies

Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Gerwyn Price

Gary Anderson 6-5 Ross Smith

Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Luke Humphries

Semi-Finals

Ryan Joyce 7-5 Michael van Gerwen

Nathan Aspinall 7-6 Gary Anderson

Final

Nathan Aspinall 8-4 Ryan Joyce