Darts star Nathan Aspinall was left in tears after contracting ‘dreaded D-word’ that ‘not many people come back from’

NATHAN ASPINALL was left in tears after falling prey to dartitis.

The world number 12 was first affected by the nightmare condition during a Premier League Darts clash against Peter Wright in 2023.

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Aspinall was 4-0 up and just two legs from victory when the phenomenon struck, and he completely lost his groove.

He was left unable to throw his darts as he felt he would miss with every shot, leaving him in tears.

Wright came back to win the match 6-5 and Aspinall admits he lost his head in the locker room following the defeat.

He said in Sky Sports' Game of Throws documentary: "All of a sudden out of nowhere I couldn't throw my effing dart. I just couldn't let it go. It ended up getting worse and worse and worse to the point where I was in tears.

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"Because I knew what it was. The dreaded D-word that no darts player ever wants to hear or get. Something called dartitis.

"It's horrific, no one ever wants to get it. Not many people come back from it.

"It's basically the fear of missing. There's somewhere deep in the back of your head saying 'you're going to miss this' so you stop.

"I lost the game 6-5, I went upstairs after the game and I was in the toilet and I was absolutely smashing ten lumps of s*** out of the hand dryer. I lost my head."

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Aspinall has since spoken to a sports psychologist and has come up with techniques to help him overcome dartitis, including looking at a photo of his daughters which is attached to his darts case as that brings a smile to his face.

He revealed he still suffers from the psychological condition but is now better able to deal with it, and months later he won the second major of his career, the World Matchplay.

GAME OF THROWS: INSIDE DARTS from 30 November and the PDC World Championship from 15 December on Sky and NOW