Nathan Aspinall roared into the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix thanks to a hugely convincing win over Luke Woodhouse.
Aspinall won 3-0 in a dominant performance over an opponent who had disposed of defending champion Luke Littler on the opening night. Aspinall posted an average of above 96 as he fired in eight maximums.
He told Sky Sports afterwards: “My scoring is unreal – but I am losing games I shouldn’t, missing doubles. If it all comes together, I am one of the best in the world. Everybody knows that but I have to prove it.
“As long as I can handle the pressure, which I think I have shown in these two games in the key moments, I am going to be tough to beat.”
Aspinall will now face Ryan Joyce after the Newcastle thrower breezed past what looked like a tough assignment against Danny Noppert.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Welsh pair Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price booked their spots in the quarter-finals. Clayton beat Wessel Nijman 3-1 in the night’s final game, as he racked up no fewer than four ton-plus checkouts. One of those was a remarkable 125, with an outer bull and two bulls.
Price posted a 3-0 win over Ross Smith and although he admitted that “he didn’t play brilliantly” he did enough to seal a comfortable win.
He’ll now face his good friend Clayton. On that prospect, Price said: “I know he [Clayton] is chasing a Grand Slam spot, so the pressure is on him. I think he got lucky first round – hopefully he doesn’t get lucky in the next round!”
Thursday’s action sees the other half of the draw take place with two former champions – James Wade and Luke Humphries – in action.
Thursday matches:
Niels Zonneveld v Gary Anderson
James Wade v Stephen Bunting
Luke Humphries v Jermaine Wattimena
Gian van Veen v Ryan Searle
