Nathan Aspinall should have been celebrating a hard-fought victory at the World Grand Prix. Instead, the darts star woke up to an ugly reminder that the drama surrounding major tournaments does not always stay inside the arena.
Aspinall battled back from a set down to beat Kevin Doets 2-1 in Leicester on Monday night, surviving a difficult opening-round contest at the Mattioli Arena. But when he returned to his black Audi the following morning, he discovered that the passenger-side front window had been smashed, leaving broken glass scattered across the seat and floor.
The incident clearly left Aspinall furious, and the 35-year-old did not hide his frustration when he posted a picture of the damage on social media.
“Dirty f***ing scrouts.”
It was a short message, but there was little doubt about how angry the former World Matchplay champion was.
Aspinall’s Nightmare After Big Win
The timing makes the incident even more frustrating.
Aspinall had just produced the kind of gritty performance that has become associated with him. Doets took the opening set, but Aspinall refused to fold and eventually fought back to win the match 2-1.
The match was far from straightforward. The World Grand Prix uses its unusual double-start format, meaning players must begin each leg by hitting a double or the bull before their scoring begins.
Aspinall admitted afterwards that playing Doets has become something of a personal challenge, especially after a difficult run against the Dutchman.
“Oh, I’m absolutely buzzing,” Aspinall told the PDC. “Playing Kevin’s always tough. Kevin beats me all the time, and he’s been going on about it in Den Bosch. I was trying so hard to beat him.”
He needed all of that determination because Doets made life extremely uncomfortable.
Aspinall eventually found a way through, but the reward for his effort was discovering that his car had been damaged while he was staying overnight in the East Midlands.
Was Anything Stolen?
One detail remains unclear: it is not known whether the people responsible actually took anything from the vehicle.
The broken passenger-side window suggests the incident may have been an attempted theft, but there has been no confirmation of exactly what happened or whether anything was removed from the car.
That uncertainty arguably makes the situation even more frustrating for Aspinall.
Regardless of whether anything was stolen, being left with a smashed car window after competing in a major sporting event is a miserable way to start the morning.
And this apparently was not an isolated concern around the tournament.
Previous Car Break-Ins Raise Questions
The incident has also attracted attention because there were reports of other players having their vehicles broken into during last year’s World Grand Prix at the same venue.
That does not establish that the same people were responsible or that the incidents are connected, but it does add an uncomfortable layer to Aspinall’s experience.
For players competing at a major tournament, security around hotels, venues and parking areas is obviously important.
Darts stars spend much of their lives travelling from tournament to tournament. Their vehicles can contain equipment and personal belongings, and a tournament environment naturally attracts attention from fans and the public.
The last thing a player needs after a long night on stage is to return to their car and find it damaged.
Aspinall Now Has Bigger Business
There is at least one positive for Aspinall: his World Grand Prix campaign is still alive.
His victory over Doets puts him into the second round, where he is scheduled to face Luke Woodhouse.
And that is a fascinating matchup because Woodhouse has just produced the biggest shock of the tournament so far.
The 37-year-old stunned defending champion Luke Littler on the opening night, recovering from losing the first set to beat the world No.1 by two sets to one. Woodhouse won the deciding set 3-1 and secured the match with a two-dart 75 checkout.
So Aspinall will now face the man responsible for one of the biggest upsets of the opening night.
That should make their second-round meeting particularly interesting.
Aspinall will also know that simply surviving the opening round is not enough. He has a chance to make a serious run in Leicester, and beating Woodhouse would put him into the quarter-final stage of a tournament featuring several of the world’s biggest names.
The Asp’s Fighting Spirit
There is something very fitting about Aspinall’s reaction to all of this.
His career has repeatedly involved fighting through difficult moments, and his victory over Doets was another example. He fell behind, faced pressure and still found a way to win.
His post-match comments reflected exactly that mentality.
“I showed so much battle, so much character and so much balls,” Aspinall said after the victory.
That attitude will be needed again against Woodhouse.
The smashed car window is obviously a completely different kind of problem, but it adds another unwanted distraction during a tournament where concentration can be everything.
A Major Distraction at the Worst Time
For fans, it is easy to focus entirely on what happens on the oche.
But moments like this are a reminder that professional athletes deal with plenty of things away from the spotlight. Aspinall had to prepare for a major tournament, play a difficult opening match, recover physically and mentally, and then deal with damage to his vehicle.
None of that helps when he steps back onto the stage.
The encouraging part is that Aspinall has already shown he can compartmentalise pressure. He lost the first set to Doets and still managed to turn the match around.
Now he has another challenge waiting.
Final Word
Nathan Aspinall arrived at the World Grand Prix hoping to make a deep run, and despite the frustration away from the board, he remains firmly in the tournament.
His victory over Kevin Doets showed plenty of resilience, while the damage to his car has provided an unwanted distraction at a crucial point in the competition.
Now comes Luke Woodhouse, the man who has already stunned the defending champion.
Aspinall has every reason to be angry about what happened to his car, but the best response on the oche would be to channel that frustration into his next performance.
After all, there is still a tournament to win.
What do you make of the incident involving Aspinall’s car, and should tournament organisers be doing more to protect players’ vehicles?