Nathan Aspinall won the second edition of the PDC's Darts at Home as four top stars defied the coronavirus lockdown to battle it out from the comfort of their respective living rooms.
There was no lack of bonhomie as Aspinall and a trio of former BDO world champions in Jelle Klaasen, Stephen Bunting and Steve Beaton duked it out in a round robin format broadcast on the PDC's Facebook and YouTube channels.
Aspinall, a semi-finalist in each of the last two PDC World Championships, flew out of the blocks by racing into a 4-0 lead against Beaton and although he lost the next three legs, he held his nerve to claim a 5-3 win.
In a nip-and-tuck game against Bunting where both players struggled on the doubles, Aspinall took out 170 en route to a 5-4 victory.
ASPINALL LOVES A 170!!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 8, 2020
Nathan Aspinall finds the big fish to level things up against Stephen Bunting! pic.twitter.com/S1LzpAYQPW
Klaasen himself proved a dab hand with his finishing. A 149 finish saw him topple Beaton in their deciding leg while he took out 150 to beat Aspinall by the same 5-4 scoreline.
However, because Klaasen had lost 5-2 to Bunting earlier in the evening, Aspinall topped the standings on leg difference.
The first edition last week was won by Devon Petersen in a mini-league with Chris Dobey, Luke Humphries, Matthew Edgar and Ted Evetts.
Elsewhere, the MODUS Icons of Darts Live League is another initiative to give players valuable match practice and keep fans entertained
in a time with no traditional competitive action.
Raymond van Barneveld heads an initial field of six players, who will all play each other in a round-robin format six days a week until the start of May from the comforts of their own homes using webcams.
The live league, also featuring Sporting Life columnist Paul Nicholson, will be streamed over DartConnect so darts fans can follow the scores while Sky Bet are offering match odds and in-play betting.
Also involved in the tournament, which runs from Monday April 6 to Saturday May 2, are former Lakeside champion Mark Webster, Andy Jenkins, BDO star David Evans and Dutch youngster Wessel Nijman.
PDC Darts At Home Results and Standings: Wednesday April 8
- Nathan Aspinall 5-3 Steve Beaton
- Stephen Bunting 5-2 Jelle Klaasen
- Nathan Aspinall 5-4 Stephen Bunting
- Jelle Klaasen 5-4 Steve Beaton
- Jelle Klaasen 5-4 Nathan Aspinall
- Steve Beaton 5-2 Stephen Bunting
🐍🏆ASPINALL IS THE CHAMPION!🏆🐍@NathanAspi wins the second 'Darts At Home' league night!🎯🏡
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 8, 2020
'The Asp' won two of his three matches, edging out Jelle Klaasen on leg-difference. pic.twitter.com/Rq0LpCiqDA
