Chatting Bull with Dan Dawson - Issue #012

Originally it was worries about his throwing action, with a constant need to regrip his darts before he threw them. This may not sound like too big a problem, but with a player of such pace and aggression, being constantly knocked out of his rhythm was infuriating. He genuinely felt that it could end his career, but he somehow battled through it.

Then it was injury: tennis elbow, tendinitis, a myriad of problems with his throwing arm, all brought on by constantly repeating the same action, over and over again. The more successful he was, the more he had to throw, the worse the problems became. Despite all this, Aspinall won the World Matchplay, and only narrowly missed out on the Premier League playoffs - two years running. Injections helped, but there is a limit to how many times one can have them. Eventually, something had to give. He needed surgery.

That meant time away this summer, giving up ground in the ceaseless race to maintain his spot in the rankings and to ensure his participation in the biggest events in the world. But now he is back, with a scar on his arm and with very little competitive action under his belt, as we approach the business end of the year.

Image by Kelly Deckers

As of the time of writing, he still has ground to make up on his competitors to reach the European Championship and the Players Championship Finals (two of the big televised events of the year). Failure to qualify will see him lose further ground on his rivals, especially problematic when he wants to be competing in the lucrative Premier League and the prestigious World Series events again in 2025. This, however, is a far better position in which to be than he had previously feared - when Aspinall, who admits he “loves his life” and is “lucky to be a pro dart player for a living” was genuinely considering having to quit in his early 30s.

It is not just a new scar and re-jigged tendons with which Aspinall has returned though, the two months out of the sport have seen him take up running (his previous favoured hobby of golf has had to take a back-seat due to his wrist injuries). He looks lean, hungry, and pain-free. Yes, he may be rusty from weeks away from the heat of battle, but he might be better equipped than before. It is difficult to keep track of which version of “The Asp” this is: the third, fourth, maybe even fifth or sixth - but the wake-up call of nearly losing the chance to keep playing the sport that has been so good to him, could spur him on to be even better than he has already been.

Issue #012 Quiz Answers

1) 2014
2) Michael Smith
3) "Wonderwall" by Oasis

Want to test your darts knowledge? Sign up to the Target Darts newsletter for the next quiz.

Sign up to the Target Darts newsletter where we will send you the next issue directly to your inbox and also keep you updated on the latest news, products, and offers.