Aspinall hopes old friend Smith 'has a stinker' in winner-takes-all tie
Aspinall and Smith go way back and were seen holidaying together in Las Vegas at the beginning of this month, but on Thursday will play each other with the final place in the playoffs of the Premier League of Darts at stake.
The top three spots have been taken by teenage sensation Luke Littler, reigning World Darts Championship champion Luke Humphries, and Dutch stalwart Michael van Gerwen. With the trio having done enough to qualify for next week's play-offs already, it means there is just one spot remaining and two players who can claim it: Aspinall and Smith.
There’s only a solitary point that separates the old friends in the standings ahead of their quarter-final showdown, and with the loser of the quarter-final not getting any points and the winner getting two at the very least, it means there is nothing else for the pair to play for other than their first match of the night.
"I shouldn't have been in this position," Aspinall told reporters on Tuesday. "I should have beaten Michael hands down last week, but that's darts for you."
Aspinall was referring to the duo’s quarter-final on Night 15 in Leeds, when Aspinall's litany of mistakes on doubles allowed Smith to win 6-3 and progress to the semi-finals, thereby keeping the St Helens man in the fight for the play-offs.
Had Aspinall won he could have been the fourth and final competitor to qualify and would have sealed it with a week to spare.
"The thing is, we're playing four or five times a week," he said. "You are going to have games where you can't score, you're going to have games where you can't finish. I've learned to deal with that over the years."
Though he may look back on the loss philosophically now, Aspinall's frustration with himself at the time was clear to see.
"Yeah, there was a bit of anger on stage because it was such an important game for me but once I'd walked off, I got back to the hotel and it's just one of those things; I just had a bad night on doubles," he said.
"Mike didn't score well, he had a bad night scoring, he just finished.”
"As soon as I walked off I saw Kirsty, my partner, and she said 'I knew you wouldn't win because you have to do it the hard way. It's just who you are," he recalls with a laugh.
And he's inclined to agree: "Every Premier League campaign I've played it's come down to the final night," Aspinall says.
His first appearance in the tournament in 2020 saw him go all the way to the final of the playoffs, where he was beaten by Glen Durrant. But in order to get there, he needed a victory over Durrant in the final round to make it to the playoffs, which he duly delivered.
In the final round of the regular season last year, he needed to make it to that night's final in order to qualify for the playoffs, and though he made quick work of Jonny Clayton in the quarter - winning 6-1 - he was beaten by Gerwyn Price in the semi-final to narrowly miss out.
The man from Stockport says his extensive experience of needing something on the final day will be to his advantage on Thursday when he faces the player he beat in the Rotterdam final last month.
"I think me being in the position that I've been in three out of three times in the Premier League could put me in good stead ahead of Michael Smith who I don't think has ever been in this position before,” he says.
"I'm confident that I can handle the pressure better than Mike."
Asked if he felt it could go all the way to a final-leg decider, Aspinall said: "I hope not! I think the fans and the pundits and probably everyone would want it to go down to a last leg. I don't want that to happen.
"As much as I love Mike to bits, I hope he has an absolute stinker on Thursday night. I hope he plays shocking and I hope I win six-nil. Then I can walk off with a big smile on my face and everyone's happy."
Whether it’s Aspinall or Smith who takes the final spot, that will only be the first job done. There’s still the matter of the triumvirate who have already qualified, including the two Lukes, who Aspinall says have improved the Premier League of Darts in their respective debut seasons.
"Luke Littler's been a great addition,” he said. “I think he's proved why the PDC put him in. He's won the league hands down.
"He's been fantastic the way he's composed himself, even when his back's been against in with the booing in Liverpool and Leeds. He's handled it very well.
"He's really, really shocked me if I'm deadly honest. He's not felt any bit of pressure whatsoever, so full credit to Luke Littler.
"We all know what Humphries is about, he's a class act on and off the oche. I think they've both been fantastic and that's what's made it so enjoyable."
But before he gets there, he has to navigate his old friend and sparring partner, who he says will be seeing a different side to him this week.
"We still practised together last week before we played each other," he says. "Obviously everyone knows we went away together a couple of weeks ago.
"This time I've got to go in there not messing around.
"I have a big joke in the practice room all the time. I'm the one with the big mouth who tries to make people laugh, but I think this week I'm going to go there (with my) serious head on, put on my earphones and concentrate on my own game and not worry about anyone else."
Whatever happens on the oche, Aspinall is looking forward to the winner-takes-all nature of the contest that awaits.
"I know what it takes," he says. "These big-pressure moments are what I live for. I love the pressure, I love the adrenaline that's going to be involved on Thursday night.
"It's what we're used to; it's knockout, it's clutch darts. It's win and you've got a big night next week in the O2, lose and you're going home - in my eyes, empty-handed.
"I believe the pressure's on Mike. He's classed as the better player of the two of us, his ranking proves that. He's a world champion. I know I'm going to have the fans on my side.
“With a combination of everything, it's my game, isn't it? Sorry, Mike!"
