LUCKY PENNY HELPED ASP INTO BIG TIME
DARTS NATHAN’S AMAZING REVIVAL
NATHAN ASPINALL was so broke he had to borrow a single penny before his life was transformed by a fairytale run at Alexandra Palace.
And the ‘Asp’ – once a goalkeeper scouted by Manchester United (above) – admits the transfer of 1p into his bank account to rescue him from the breadline was the greatest save of his life.
But the 28-year-old’s run to the last four to the William Hill PDC darts world championship earned him a bumper £100,000 payday.
Aspinall (below, in action at last year’s championship) is now in the financial comfort zone after adding the UK Open title to his semi-final run at Ally Pally. And he admitted: coming from.“it’s no secret that I was struggling financially 12 months ago.
“Going into the world championship, I would have settled for winning a couple of games and giving a good account of myself.
“To reach the semi-final was beyond my wildest dreams – and now I don’t have to worry where the next meal is “Last year, I was down to my last £20. It was a big worry. I have two daughters, aged eight and two, and I was going into games thinking, ‘If I hit this double, I win £1,000 and that pays a month’s rent’. That’s how bad it was.
“I had £21.98 in the bank and I wanted to use a cash machine in a Holiday Inn hotel, which charged £1.99 to make a cash withdrawal.
“A mate transferred a penny into my account so I could withdraw £20 – I went to the tournament and won £10,000. But my life really changed at Ally Pally last year when I was 2-0 down against ‘Gezzy’ Price in the second round, and 2-0 down in the third set.
“Somehow, I nicked that set and, all of a sudden, had the crowd on my side, playing in front of millions on telly. When I went on to win, I knew this was what I wanted to do.”
SNOOKER ALLEN DEFENDS TITLE
DEFENDING champion Mark Allen branded himself “poor” after he got his Scottish Open title-defence off to a shaky start.
Northern Ireland’s top potter (above) was forced to fight back from 2-0 down to beat world No 123 Andy Hicks 4-2 at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena.
“My performance was pretty poor. I’ve had a long ten days in York getting to the UK semi-finals, I just felt really tired out there,” Allen said. “I’ve got a day off now though to recharge the batteries, so hopefully I’ll come back stronger.”
Gerard Greene and Fergal O’brien both lost 4-2 in the first round in Glasgow.
Meanwhile, Ronnie O’sullivan reckons Ding Junhui can take snooker to another level if he wins the World Championship.
Chinese superstar Ding, 32, (inset) claimed a third UK title on Sunday with a 10-6 UK Championship win over Stephen Maguire in York, his first major success for almost nine years.
O’sullivan said: “Ding has the bottle, and as a bloke he is an unbelievable class act.
“And if he was to win the World Championship... snooker is huge enough in China, but if he won at the Crucible it would take it to the next level.”