Nathan Aspinall couldn’t have envisaged feeling this confident at the World Darts Championship after breaking down in tears at KFC contemplating walking away from darts. The Stockport ace reckons his self-belief has never been stronger at Alexandra palace following a scorching season.

Aspinall is convinced he can enjoy a “deep one” after Christmas and acknowledged that it is difficult to fathom, given where he found himself just over a year ago in a fast-food outlet, questioning his very future in the sport. Evaluating his current levels of confidence, he explained: “There’s always a story with me. We went to KFC, me, Kirsty and the girls last week, Denton Rock, near Manchester. And I said: ‘Do you remember the last time we was in here, Kirst?’

“We came back from a darts tournament, that was when I played (Madars) Razma on the stream and that was when I sat in there and I went: ‘I’m quitting darts’. That was, what, probably 13 months ago? I was in tears, I can’t do this anymore, I didn’t play darts for this and I rang Chris O’Connor up, who does my hypnotherapy and that guy saved me. So, did I think I’d be sat here as confident thinking I could win the World Championship? No.

“But I’ve fought for everything that I’m at now and, you know, I don’t often blow smoke up my a**e, but I’ve done pretty well. I do a lot of work away from the oche, I’ve got a fantastic family, I’ve just got everything that you need to be a successful sportsman. I’m a lucky guy. I’ve got everything that I need at my fingertips and it’s down to you to use them and to take advantage of what you’ve got and not do stupid things.

“I’ve done stupid things in the past, but now I’m like, there’s a lot of money, there’s a lot of tournaments, there’s a lot of trophies to be won. I’ve been given a gift, an opportunity to be very successful in life and don’t eff it up and just try and do anything you can to be the best version of yourself.

“When you’ve been to the bottom, which I have with my injuries and my dartitis and everything, when you’re winning and you’re playing well, I think you should take every opportunity that is given to you and I enjoy it.”

Heading into his third-round encounter with Kevin Doets, Aspinall is brimming with confidence and added: “It’s the highest it’s ever been. By an absolute country mile. There’s not even any comparison. This is the first time since I can remember I said it. My last game when I won, I’ve got no injuries. I’ve got no dartitis. I love to moan and I can’t moan about anything. I just feel great. Everything’s fantastic.

“I feel like I’ve saved a lot of mental energy over these first two games and I think I’ll need that after Christmas. I’m confident that I can have a deep one.

“There’s not many people in the world of darts that have had a better season than me. I think I’ve won three, maybe four titles, I can’t remember. But I’ve had a great season and, obviously, when you’re winning, There’s no better feeling in the world.”