Nathan Aspinall fired back at critics after his second-straight whitewash at the World Darts Championship.
The No.12 seed booked a spot in the quarter-finals of the tournament for the first time since 2020 with a 4-0 thrashing of German talent Ricardo Pietreczko.
PDCAspinall’s performances continue to get better and better[/caption]
Aspinall’s win followed his 4-0 mauling of Andrew Gilding in the third round.
Most crucially for Aspinall, each win from the second round onwards has seen an increase in his three-dart average.
The 33-year-old began with a 88.03 average over Leonard Gates and followed it with an average of 92.17 against Gilding.
Aspinall landed a three-dart average of 94.28 in his clash with Pietreczko, underlining his improvement with every passing game.
The English star also conceded just two legs out of 14 against Pietreczko.
Despite the dominant natures of his victories, Aspinall has still had detractors on social media.
But he was quick to remind people that when it’s all said and done, no-one remembers averages or legs lost.
“I’ve been criticised on social media about my performances,” Aspinall told talkSPORT.
“But I won 4-0, what more do you want from me? I dropped seven legs last game, two then.
“They don’t print averages or 180s on trophies. I let the main people do that. I just want to win.”
PDCAspinall has dropped only one set throughout this year’s World Championship[/caption]
“But it was a better performance and felt a lot more comfortable from the start. Those last two sets, I’ve shown people what I can do. That’s what I’ve been doing in practice, I’m very relaxed.”
By reaching the quarter-finals, Aspinall has now hit his pre-tournament goal, meaning ‘there will be no pressure’ when he next takes to the oche at the Alexandra Palace, where he will face Luke Littler or Ryan Joyce.
A key factor behind Aspinall’s dominant display against Pietreczko was the crowd, who rarely stopped singing throughout the match.
Aspinall insisted he had ‘never heard anything’ quite like the atmosphere that surrounded his match, but was surprised at the lack of support for Pietreczko given German fans traditionally turn out in droves whenever one of their own is playing.
The 33-year-old had also sparked intrigue when he labelled Pietreczko ‘odd’ in his post-match press conference after beating Gilding.
Pietreckzo somewhat lived up to the tag during the match as he was seen smirking to the side, winking at the camera and even celebrating when Aspinall hit double tops twice to take out a leg.
PDCDespite Aspinall’s dominance, Pietreczko was laughing and smiling throughout[/caption]
Aspinall felt the German’s strange quirks were down to the ‘hostile atmosphere’ and it ultimately reflected on the board.
“I’ve played him in the Grand Slam, the only other time I’ve ever played him,” Aspinall said.
“He got a lot of abuse when he played Beau Greaves and Beau beat him. He beat me 5-4 and he was very odd, that was what I meant in the interview.
“He’s odd on the stage sometimes but at the end of the day, he’s only been on the tour two or three years. He’s not used to it.
“I’ve played [Michael] Van Gerwen in Rotterdam, I’ve played Gerwyn Price in Cardiff. I know how to deal with those situations.
“He’s probably never played in such a hostile atmosphere. I would’ve preferred a closer game, but listen, it’s a learning curve for Ricardo. He’s a fantastic dart player, one of the best players in Germany.”