For the second time this year, Nathan Aspinall tasted glory in Germany as he was crowned the 2025 Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Open champion. The Asp’s story is not the only one thriving in Leverkusen and beyond.
Aspinall’s victory came just days after suffering Premier League heartache, as he bounced back superbly to once again dominate in Deutschland, triumphing 8-6 over Damon Heta in a thrilling and absorbing final.
The eighth event of this season’s European tour proved once again that it is not only the game’s top stars who make for a fabulous event and hugely enjoyable time for fans and watchers.
In a tournament where seeds fell like a drunk uncle at a wedding, the final was eventually contested between two of the biggest dogs in the yard – a pair who, prior to this tournament, had surprisingly only one Euro Tour title apiece despite their quality and longevity on the continental circuit.
Stockport ace Aspinall could have been forgiven for hanging his head in pity after falling short at the O2. But that’s just not his style. Look up grit, determination, and fight, and you’ll find a photo of Nathan teaching Mike Tyson how to spar.
The avid Manchester United fan – fresh off the back of a Premier League run far better than anything his football team has produced in years – faced best friend and stablemate Chris Dobey in his quarter-final. In terms of talent, there’s nothing between them, but when it comes to bragging rights, Aspinall held the clear edge, having won seven of their last eight meetings.
It threatened to go the distance – and in the end, that’s exactly what happened, with the former UK Open and Matchplay champion just keeping his nose in front of Hollywood’s throughout, doing just enough to get over the line. Not the ideal birthday gift for Dobes from his buddy, but he’ll bounce back – and surely, it won’t be long before his name is added to the Euro Tour honours list.
The semi-final against Nijman was a total slobberknocker, with both players taking lumps out of each other from start to finish. Wessel was pure class and showed exactly why he’s tipped to be one of the next big Dutch darts stars. But take nothing away from The Asp, who recovered in trademark fashion from 4-2 down to snatch victory in yet another last-leg thriller.
Heta’s Sunday evening began with a scare, surviving two match darts from Matt Campbell in an epic encounter. The Ginger Ninja should have been back home doing whatever it is Canadians do on weekends. Instead, he got a call-up and then had to ring William O’Connor for advice on how to get to Europe for a tour event in a hurry. Get there he did – and he leaves £6,000 richer, and subsequently a bigger safety net in his quest for tour card security.
In a game that swung back and forth, Heta just about edged it. That said, had Matt’s effort at double tops in the deciding leg not sailed a few miles over its target, he could well have walked away with more. But it didn’t – and that was the end of a very worthwhile trip across the Atlantic.
Come the semi-final, Heta finally managed to tame The Ferret, after Clayton had looked poised to become only the sixth player in history to win back-to-back Euro Tour titles. All the stats suggested a close battle that would go the distance – but the Aussie tore up the script with a blistering five-leg burst that brought the winning post firmly into view.
Trailing 2-1, the Perthite (yes, that is the correct term – I checked!) went berserk with an exhibition of clinical finishing. After making it 6-2, Jonny – who, let’s be honest, isn’t the greatest counter in the world – briefly forgot that his opponent needed to reach seven legs. Once someone reminded him, he did manage to chalk one more on the board, but that was his final act in what’s been a brilliant couple of Euro Tour weekends for the Welsh maestro.
So, after a few days of tungsten-tossing brilliance, we were left with two men standing. In the red corner, a fella with an injury list as long as most people’s shopping lists – but with the courage of a lion and the accuracy of a sniper. And in the green and gold corner, the finest player currently flying the flag from below the equator – a smooth operator with a trademark handlebar moustache and a plethora of PDC titles to his name.
Unsurprisingly, it was a slugfest that didn’t disappoint. Aspinall led the way in power scoring, while the judges had Heta ahead in finishing. After sharing the opening four rounds, the pair continued trading blows right through to the twelfth. The Aussie was lethal on the checkouts, landing monstrous ton-plus finishes. Meanwhile, the Mancunian punished the treble twenty like it had chatted up his missus.
At 6-6, with the climax approaching, Aspinall delivered a crucial knock-out blow – a break of throw that sent the Antipodean to the canvas. And once Heta bravely got back to his feet, The Asp landed the decisive punch to end a dramatic, high-quality contest and have his hand raised in triumph.
2025 is the Chinese Year of the Snake – and on the European Tour, it’s proving to be a good omen. It took Nathan a decade to finally pick up one of these bad boys, and now he’s been to Germany twice this year and returned with the trophy both times.
Heta can take plenty of positives – I know, because that’s what he texted me a few hours ago. With the World Cup coming up, he’ll be keen to reunite with his bearded compatriot, Simon Whitlock, and try to win it for Australia once again.
But as for Nathan Aspinall – he continues to defy physics and remains as much a medical marvel as he is a world-class darts player. Congrats to him. With half a dozen European Tour events remaining this year and the big one – currently sitting on Ritchie Edhouse’s mantelpiece – still to come, The Asp will be eagerly eyeing a hat-trick.
It is no insult to the missing superstar names, including: Humphries, Littler and Van Gerwen to say that the European Darts Open was entertaining and produced some very high level action in their absence.
The game of darts will be stronger if its top echelons are strong enough to have an informal rotation system where players are allowed to rest, recover and enjoy the fruits of their labour.
Quarter-Finals
Damon Heta 6–5 Matt Campbell
Jonny Clayton 6–3 Cameron Menzies
Nathan Aspinall 6–5 Chris Dobey
Wessel Nijman 6–5 Stephen Bunting
Semi-Finals
Damon Heta 7–3 Jonny Clayton
Nathan Aspinall 7–6 Wessel Nijman
Final
Nathan Aspinall 8–6 Damon Heta
—-ENDS—-
Images: Dejan Romic/PDC Europe
