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Nathan Aspinall managed to get a playful reaction out of a largely serious crowd at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters on Tuesday evening. The Asp faced Man Lok Leung at the Global Theatre in a best of six legs for his spot in the semi-finals.

However, the two were met with a far tamer crowd when compared to the World Championships at Alexandra Palace earlier this month. Onlooking fans in Riyadh have been incredibly reserved at the Saudi Masters, only breaking their silence during the walk-ons, after 180s, and in the aftermath of each match. However, Aspinall managed to probe a reaction from fans as he looked to secure a maximum in the final leg of his match.

Sitting 5-4 up in total at the time and having landed two treble twenties, Aspinall gestured his hands toward spectators to try to build tension. As the crowd started to let out 'oos', the 34-year-old cracked a smile before ultimately squandering his chance for a 180.

It didn't prevent him from securing the leg, however, as he clinched a 6-4 win over Leung to advance to the semi-finals, where he will face Michael van Gerwen later on Tuesday evening. Speaking to ITV after the match, Aspinall said: "You know what, he played really well.

"I expected him to, I watched his game last night against Danny [Noppert] and he started like a train. And he started like that tonight against me. First leg I was like, 'Oh my god...'

"I played really well, my finishing's been great this week. Obviously, it's got to continue if I'm going to win the tournament, but I feel good. I've had good rest days."

Meanwhile, speaking about the atmosphere and the crowd inside the Global Theatre, Aspinall added: "That crowd there were really good. They got involved at the end there and I think that every game that comes on stage, they're learning. That was fun and can't wait to get back up there."

When asked about his confidence, Aspinall continued: "I've been confident for the last six months in my game. I thought I played well last week in Bahrain, this week I've played really well. I can't really grumble. Got to continue, got to perform like that if I've got any chance of beating Michael next game, but I'm confident I will."

It comes after Aspinall was critical of the atmosphere in the Middle East after his opening day win over Lourence Ilagan earlier this week, explaining: "I don't know. There is definitely a long way to go. It's certainly different. I am not stupid, I feel like they were not all there of their own accord, shall we say. It was quite a small venue but you've got to start somewhere.

"Everything needs to start somewhere and as long as people walk away from this week and say, 'we really enjoyed the darts' and the Saudi Arabian press really enjoy the darts, there is no reason why not. I've enjoyed my time out here so far, there is worse places to be. I could be sat in Glossop in the snow, so hopefully we can be back again."

Responding to Aspinall's comments, the PDC put out a statement, as reported by the Telegraph, which read: "Nathan was reflecting on the fact that this was a first-of-its-kind darts event in the region, with many attendees experiencing live darts for the first time.

"As with any new market, the atmosphere and crowd make-up can differ from long-established darts events such as those in the UK and Europe. All spectators attended as ticket holders or guests, and we were delighted to see such strong interest in the PDC's debut in Saudi Arabia."