Nathan Aspinall was so broke he had to borrow a single penny before his life was transformed by a fairytale run at Alexandra Palace.
And the ‘Asp’ – once a goalkeeper scouted by Manchester United as a schoolboy – admits the transfer of 1p into his bank account to rescue him from the breadline was the greatest save of his life.
Aspinall’s football career ended abruptly, after a last-gasp FA Cup defeat, with him chucking his gloves in the bin.
But his run to the last four to the William Hill PDC darts world championship earned him a bumper £100,000 payday - and nightclub celebrity status in his home town of Stockport – as the underdog for whom the penny dropped at Chucking’em Palace.
Aspinall, now in the financial comfort zone after adding the UK Open title to his semi-final run at Ally Pally, admitted: “It’s no secret that I was struggling financially 12 months ago.
“Going into the world championship, I would have settled for winning a couple of games and giving a good account of myself.
“To reach the semi-final was beyond my wildest dreams – and now I don’t have to worry now about where the next meal is coming from.
“Last year, I was down to my last £20. That’s all I had to my name, and I’m not going to lie: It was a big worry.
“I have two daughters, aged eight and two, and I was going into games thinking, ‘If I hit this double, I win £1,000 and that pays a month’s rent.’ That’s how bad it was.
“I had quit my job as a trainee accountant but I wasn’t performing well, I wasn’t getting results – and when you are effectively playing for the survival of your family there’s so much pressure.
“I remember it clearly: I had £21.98 in the bank and I wanted to use a cash machine in a Holiday Inn hotel which charged £1.99 to make a cash withdrawal.
“A mate transferred a penny into my account so I could withdraw £20 – I went to the tournament and won £10,000.
“But my life really changed at Ally Pally last year when I was 2-0 down against ‘Gezzy’ Price in the second round, and 2-0 down in the third set, on the brink of being knocked out.
“Somehow I nicked that set and the crowd started getting on Gezzy’s back and singing my name.
“All of a sudden I had the crowd on my side, playing in front of millions on telly, and when I went on to win, I knew this was what I want to do.”
Aspinall only realised the scale of public acclaim for his feats when he returned home to a hero’s reception.
The No.12 seed said: “I went out in Stockport on New Year’s Eve – as you do – and the DJ in one of the clubs stopped the music and announced, ‘We’ve got a special guest in tonight’ and played my walk-on song (Mr Brightside by the Killers).
“Everyone was jumping on me and it was like, wow – I’m not just another kid from Stockport any more. Then winning the UK Open a couple of months later was another dream.”
Aspinall’s dreams of making it big in football never materialised – despite being scouted by United’s cademy and being offered a deal by Rangers, which he rejected because the family did not want to move to Scotland.
“I was also offered trials by Stockport and I joined their academy until I was released at 15 before I went on to play semi-pro at Cheadle Town for two years.
“I stopped playing football after an FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie, one step away from the first round proper after I gave a penalty away at 3-3 in the 90th minute. I didn’t save the penalty, we lost 4-3 and the players smashed up the dressing room in frustration afterwards.
“I got a lot of stick for not saving the pen, so I ripped off my goalkeeping gloves, chucked them in the bin and told them to stick the £70 a week up their a*** because it wasn’t worth the hassle.
“In hindsight, jacking it in as a keeper, throwing away the gloves and taking up darts was one of the best things I ever did.
“Life’s a gamble, I like taking chances and risks. Luckily that one paid off, although it took me close to the edge financially.”
