Nathan Aspinall calls for change to 'annoying' darts rule that would benefit Luke Littler
Nathan Aspinall wants a change to a darts format that would also benefit Luke Littler.
Nathan Aspinall says the World Cup of Darts should be changed to a Ryder Cup-style tournament to allow more players to compete for their countries. The darts star has been left frustrated over not making the England team for last month’s tournament.
Aspinall has comfortably sat in the top five of the PDC’s Order of Merit for the past couple of years. But the World Cup of Darts’ format has left the 32-year-old sidelined for the tournament.
The tournament sees each country represented by their two best-ranked players, meaning world No 1 Luke Humphries and No 3 Michael Smith represented England last month. The duo won the tournament, the first England triumph since 2016.
However, the format means the likes of Aspinall and Luke Littler were left to watch on from home. Aspinall wants a rule change so that a full squad of players represent each nation.
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He said: “Well, I've been number five in the world and I didn’t make the team, and this year, I'm number four in the world, and I'm still not making the team. So it's quite annoying for me, as an Englishman, that I'm number four in the world, and I'm still not playing for England.
“I believe there's scope to change that, to make it a three, four, five-man team. I'd love to see a Ryder Cup-style tournament as well, that would be class.”
The Order of Merit ranks players based on their prize money winnings over a two-year period. The quirk meant that Littler was left out of the World Cup of Darts despite reaching the World Championship final before winning the Premier League this year.
The 17-year-old has not yet had a full year on the senior tour, meaning he only ranks 25th in the world. The PDC are not expected to make any changes to the World Cup format in the coming years.
Scotland star Peter Wright insisted that Littler would enjoy the time off and that the rules should not be changed to accommodate him.
“To be honest, I think he's enjoying the time off and relaxing,” Wright told Express Sport ahead of the World Cup.
“He keeps winning tournaments. It's always picked by the rankings and if you want to be playing for your country, you need to get yourself up the rankings. You can't just get invites personally. That's the rules.”