Nathan Aspinall has a new beard. (Image: Getty)
might be through to the last 16 of the for the first time since 2020 but not everyone is happy with him. Despite not being at his best against Andrew Gilding on Saturday, The Asp was on point with his finishing to cruise through 4-0.
That has set-up a clash with German player Ricardo Pietreczko, which promises to be a feisty affair after and vowed to try and “smash him” with his scoring.
But it’s not just Aspinall’s charisma that has harboured attention at Ally Pally, but his appearance too.
The 33-year-old has been sporting a new beard at the oche, but it is not with his partner’s approval. “Kirsty is raging about it, but I’m keeping it until I’ve won another major,” he said.
“I won’t let it grow until I look like Santa Claus, and I’ll trim it if I have to. But I started growing the beard since before the Players Championship finals at Minehead and it stays until I’ve won big again.”
Aspinall currently has two major TV titles to his name. He won the 2019 UK Open before prevailing in the World Matchplay tournament last year, beating Jonny Clayton in the final.
Aspinall will now face Ricardo Pietreczko. (Image: Getty)
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The world No.12 is envisaging a raucous Ally Pally atmosphere when he takes on Pietreczko. The 30-year-old also hit the headlines after his third-round win over Scott Williams, .
But Aspinall appears to be relishing the prospect. And despite in the final leg of his win over Gilding, he insisted he wouldn’t be fazed by fan antics.
“It will be electric in there, more of a football vibe than darts,” said Aspinall. “But once you have played in Rotterdam or Gezzy (Gerwyn Price) in Cardiff on a night, everything else is a piece of cake.”
The Stockport man has twice previously been to the semi-finals at the sport’s most prestigious tournament. In both 2019 and 2020 he played in the final four, beaten firstly by and then Michael van Gerwen 12 months later.
Pietreczko, however, has never played a last-16 match at Ally Pally. Pikachu came under fire in March this year for his behaviour during a match with Luke Littler, squaring up to the teenager on stage before later taking to social media to apologise.