Jonny Clayton v Nathan Aspinall live stream | World Matchplay final 2023 preview
Jonny Clayton and Nathan Aspinall collide for the right to be crowned World Matchplay champion for the first time in Blackpool on Sunday.
The tenacious duo have battled through arguably the most open staging in the 30-year history of the event to reach their first final at the Winter Gardens, and now stand on the cusp of history.
Eleven different players have claimed this title since 1994 and a new name will be etched onto the Phil Taylor Trophy after a memorable week by the seaside.
World Cup of Darts winner for the second time last month, Clayton’s only major televised ranking title to date came at the 2021 World Grand Prix, having picked up a further three televised invitational trophies.
An emotional Clayton, whose father has been taken ill, dug deep to fend off a late rally from German number one Gabriel Clemens in his opener, before averaging 101.9 in a magnificent 11-6 victory over 2020 champion Dimitri van den Bergh.
The Ferret then produced a masterclass of finishing to see off Ryan Searle 16-12 in the Quarter-Finals with the aid of six ton-plus checkouts, before edging out sixth seed Luke Humphries 17-15 with a 99 average and 60 per cent on the doubles.
The 48-year-old had never been beyond the Second Round stage in five previous World Matchplay appearances but now has a dream chance to become the first Welshman to capture this title, with Richie Burnett (2001) and Gerwyn Price (2022) having previously finished runner-up.
Aspinall had suffered back-to-back Quarter-Final exits at the hands of Michael van Gerwen on this stage but has enjoyed a change of fortunes to break new ground in Blackpool.
Twice a major finalist last year, ‘The Asp’ came through tough opener against Krzysztof Ratajski 10-7 before digging deep again to edge out Danny Noppert 11-9 with a second successive 98 average.
He then held off a late fightback from Chris Dobey to close out a 16-12 victory in the Quarter-Finals with ten 180s and a 99.3 average, before closing out a dominant 17-9 win over Joe Cullen on Saturday night with 11 maximums to his name.
The Stockport star is making his fifth appearance in a major final, having won at the first time of asking at the 2019 UK Open, before going on to finish runner-up in his next three – the 2020 Premier League, 2022 World Grand Prix and 2022 Grand Slam.
Clayton won two of his three meetings with Aspinall in this year’s Premier League, though this will be the first time the two have collided in a major ranking competition.
The final gets under way from 8pm BST and will be contested over the best of 35 legs.
The match must be won by two clear legs, with a match being extended if necessary for a maximum of six extra legs before a sudden death leg is required. For example, if the score reaches 17-17 then the 41st leg will be the sudden death decider.
How to watch Clayton v Aspinall live stream
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3) Once registered, go to the sports homepage and select ‘Darts’ from the left-hand menu
4) Select the play icon next to the match in progress and the live stream window will appear
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