As Nathan Aspinall tried in vain on New Year’s Day to halt the darts juggernaut that is Luke Littler, a different battle was again on show. As he repeatedly has throughout the World Darts Championship, it was noticeable that Aspinall paused before throwing or even sometimes abandoned the attempt completely before regrouping and going again.

It happened even in the third set, when both players were flirting with a nine-darter and, while Aspinall was also playing up to the crowd, it has been clear throughout the tournament that he is still trying to overcome an affliction known as “dartitis”.

The world No 12 first noticed the issue while playing in the Premier League of Darts in Brighton in 2023 and ha been using a psychologist, and now a hypnotherapist in an attempt to alleviate the issue.

Given the circumstances, to reach even the quarter-finals of the current tournament has been a major achievement for one of the circuit’s most popular players.

What is dartitis?

It is a problem that occurs when, seemingly out of nowhere, a player goes to throw but then cannot release their dart. It first happens suddenly and unexpectedly but, once it begins, is very difficult to overcome. Darts, after all, is a sport that relies heavily on technique, rhythm and aligning your brain and arm under intense pressure. It is also a sport that is played out to the finest of margins, with multiple moments of high jeopardy at the end of legs and sets.

The exact nature of dartitis differs between players but the consequences are often devastating. In Game of Throws, a Sky Sports documentary, Aspinall revealed the impact of first struggling with the issue: “All of a sudden out of nowhere I couldn’t throw my effing dart. It ended up getting worse and worse and worse to the point where I was in tears.

“I knew what it was. The dreaded D-word that no darts player ever wants to hear or get. It’s basically the fear of missing. There’s somewhere deep in the back of your head saying, ‘You’re going to miss this’, so you stop. I lost the game 6-5 [that he led 3-0], I went upstairs after the game and I was in the toilet and I was absolutely smashing 10 lumps of s--- out of the hand dryer. I lost my head.”

Credit: Sky Sports

Who else has suffered it?

It is something that has affected even arguably the most famous darts player of them all at the peak of his powers – the legendary Eric Bristow. “The Crafty Cockney” dominated darts in the Eighties but won the last of his five world titles in 1986. That was the year when he first experienced dartitis, aged only 29, and although Bristow did go on to reach a further four world finals and two semi-finals, he never again reached the summit of the sport.

Kevin Painter, who lost in the 2004 world final to Phil Taylor also suffered a televised bout of a problem, likened to the “yips” in golf, on the seniors tour last year. He has struggled with the issue at different times for the past 17 years. “You’re in shock, I stood there for ages,” said Painter. “I just couldn’t get my arm up to let go of the dart.”

Kirk Shepherd, who reached the world final aged 21 in 2008, is among numerous other professional and amateur darts players to experience the issue. “I don’t know where it came from,” he said. “I was just stood there on the oche one day, I went to throw a dart and my arm simply wouldn’t go forward. I knew straight away what it was.”

How do they deal with it?

Aspinall has been open about his use of professional psychological help, and believes that he is learning to deal with the issue. “It’s still there in my game in little bits – not as bad as it used to be – but I’ve got it under control. I’ve played a lot of golf, a decent level of football, but there is no other sport that has the pressure that dart players have. It’s very hard – a very lonely place.”

Painter is also using a hypnotherapist for an issue he experiences only on a tournament stage. He finds it particularly difficult to aim for the top of the board and so sometimes instead goes for treble 19 rather than the 20 bed. Other players have tried to overcome it by having an extra dart in their hand, looking to the floor before throwing or by simply taking a long break from the sport. “You just try not to panic but the brain is not in control of what you are doing,” Painter says. “I’m determined to get through it.”

The Dutch player Berry van Peer believes that he found a solution through visualising what he would do next. “Once it started, it was hard to tell my brain it was nothing,” he said. “Getting over dartitis was mostly just practising, keeping all the positive thoughts, like results from years ago, and removing the negative thoughts. I found a way of visualising what I’m going to hit.”