Jonny Clayton

Last updated

Jonny Clayton
2022-06-13 Play-offs (2022 Premier League Darts) by Sandro Halank-038.jpg
Clayton in 2022
Personal information
Nickname"The Ferret"
Born (1974-10-04) 4 October 1974 (age 50)
Llanelli, Wales
Home town Pontyberem, Wales
Darts information
Playing darts since1995
Darts22g Red Dragon Signature
Laterality Right-handed
Walk-on music"Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO 2008–2015
PDC 2015–
(Tour Card: 2015–)
Current world ranking 7 Steady2.svg (24 November 2024) [1]
WDF major events – best performances
World Masters Last 272: 2012
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'ship Quarter Final: 2023
World Matchplay Runner Up: 2023
World Grand Prix Winner (1): 2021
UK Open Semi Final: 2020
Grand Slam Quarter Final: 2018, 2021
European Ch'ship Semi Final: 2020
Premier League Winner (1): 2021
PC Finals Runner Up: 2017
Masters Winner (1): 2021
World Series Finals Winner (1): 2021
Other tournament wins
PDC World Cup of Darts (Team event) 2020, 2023
WDF Europe Cup Team 2014
Worthingtons Darts Champion of Champions 2016
Berlin Buddy Bear Trophy (PL Night 9 Berlin) 2023

Players Championships

Players Championship (BAR) 2017, 2019
Players Championship (BOL) 2021
Players Championship (LEI) 2023
Players Championship (MK) 2021, 2024

European Tour Events

Austrian Darts Open 2018, 2023

World Series of Darts

New South Wales Darts Masters 2022

Jonny Clayton (born 4 October 1974) is a Welsh professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently the World No. 7.

Contents

Nicknamed The Ferret, he won the PDC World Cup of Darts for Wales in 2020 and the 2023 alongside Gerwyn Price. He won his first televised singles major title at the 2021 Masters, which would lead him to qualifying for the 2021 Premier League Darts, which he would also go on to win. He subsequently won his first ranked televised major title at the 2021 World Grand Prix.

Career

2015

Clayton joined the PDC Pro Tour in 2015 after winning a Tour Card on the final day of Qualifying School. [2] His first quarter-final came at the sixth Players Championship event and he lost 6–1 to Benito van de Pas. [3] Clayton qualified for the Grand Slam of Darts later that year, but despite winning his opening match against Terry Jenkins, he went on to finish bottom of his group. [4]

2016

Clayton's first appearance at the UK Open came in the 2016 edition, but he was defeated 6–3 by James Wilson in the second round. [5] Clayton recorded a quarter-final showing at the eighth Players Championship and reached his first semi-final at the 12th event, but was whitewashed 6–0 by Gary Anderson. [6] A 2–0 victory over Tony Darlow saw Clayton claim the non-ranking Worthingtons Darts Champion of Champions title. [7] He lost 6–3 to Darren Webster in round one of the Players Championship Finals. [8]

2017

Clayton made his PDC World Championship debut in the 2017 event, and came from a set down to beat fellow Welshman Gerwyn Price 3–1 in the first round. [9] He lost 4–1 to Ian White in the second round. [10]

Clayton won his first PDC ranking title with Players Championship 22 after beating James Wilson 6–1 in the final. [11]

Clayton got to his first PDC major final at the 2017 Players Championship Finals. He beat Jeffrey de Graaf, Price, Stephen Bunting, Steve Beaton and number 1 seed Rob Cross, before losing out to Michael van Gerwen. [12]

2018

His run to the final saw him break into the top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit, meaning that he was a seed at the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship, where he was eliminated by fellow countryman Jamie Lewis. [13]

He went on to win the 2018 Austrian Darts Open by defeating Gerwyn Price 8–5 in the final. This meant that he was the first welsh winner on the PDC European tour.

2019

Clayton won Players Championship 10 by defeating Gabriel Clemens 8–4 in the final. This was Jonny's 3rd ranking title.

2020: World Cup Champion

At this point a three-time PDC ranking title winner, Clayton was selected as a 'challenger' for the 2020 Premier League night in Cardiff, but lost 7–1 to an inspired Michael Smith. [14]

Clayton kicked off his 2020 season by defeating world number one Michael van Gerwen 10–6 in the opening round of the 2020 Masters. [15]

He went on to win the 2020 PDC World Cup of Darts for Wales with Gerwyn Price as his teammate, defeating the English side of Rob Cross and Michael Smith 3–0.

2021: First individual title, Premier League and Grand Prix champion

Jonny Clayton (2022) 2022-06-13 Play-offs (2022 Premier League Darts) by Sandro Halank-044.jpg
Jonny Clayton (2022)

At the Masters Clayton beat José de Sousa, Michael van Gerwen, James Wade and Peter Wright en route to the final where he faced Mervyn King. Clayton won the match 11–8 to win his first major individual televised title. In his match against Wade, he was successful in checking out 10 times out of 11 for a success rate of 91%, which the PDC claimed to be a possible world record. [16]

He won two Players Championship events early in 2021.

Upon winning the Masters tournament, Clayton was invited to participate in the 2021 Premier League Darts, where on the third night of his debut season he hit a nine-dart finish on the way to beating José de Sousa.

After the fifth evening of league action Clayton was placed at the top of the league. He slipped to as low as 8th, before going into 4th position for night 16. He had to achieve at least a draw to secure his place in the playoffs. He managed to do so and won his game against Dimitri Van den Bergh winning 8–6.

In the playoffs he beat Michael van Gerwen 10–8 in their semi-final. He went on to defeat José de Sousa 11–5 in the final. In doing so he became the first Welsh winner of the Premier League and the first player to finish 4th in the league phase and win the title. [17]

Clayton participated in the World Grand Prix in which he reached the final after beating Callan Rydz, José de Sousa, Krzysztof Ratajski and Danny Noppert along the way. In the final Clayton prevailed over World No. 1 Gerwyn Price with a 5–1 victory winning him his third major tournament of the year. [18] Three weeks later, Clayton picked up his fourth TV title of the year with an 11–6 victory over Dimitri Van den Bergh in the final of the World Series of Darts Finals. [19]

2022

At the 2022 World Championship, Clayton defeated Keane Barry and Gabriel Clemens before losing to eventual finalist Michael Smith 4–3.

2023

At the 2023 World Championship, Clayton whitewashed Danny van Trijp 3–0 in his second round tie, then defeated Brendan Dolan 4–1 in the third round before beating Josh Rock 4–3 to reach the quarter finals for the first time in his career. He lost his quarter-final to Dimitri Van den Bergh 5–3.

2024

At the 2024 World Championship, Clayton won his second-round match 3–1 against Steve Lennon, then defeated Krzysztof Ratajski 4–2 in the third round before being whitewashed 4–0 by Rob Cross in the fourth round.

World Championship performances

PDC

Career finals

PDC major finals: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore [N 1] Ref.
Runner-up1. 2017 Players Championship Finals Flag of the Netherlands.svg Michael van Gerwen 2–11 (l) [20]
Winner1. 2021 The Masters Flag of England.svg Mervyn King 11–8 (l) [21]
Winner2. 2021 Premier League Flag of Portugal.svg José de Sousa 11–5 (l) [22]
Winner3. 2021 World Grand Prix Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Gerwyn Price 5–1 (s) [23]
Winner4. 2021 World Series of Darts Finals Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Dimitri Van den Bergh 11–6 (l) [24]
Runner-up2. 2023 World Matchplay Flag of England.svg Nathan Aspinall 6–18 (l)

PDC team finals: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipCountryTeammateOpponents in the finalScore [N 1]
Winner1. 2020 World Cup of Darts Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Wales Gerwyn Price Flag of England.svg   England – Michael Smith and Rob Cross 3–0 (m)
Runner-up1. 2022 World Cup of Darts Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Wales Gerwyn Price Flag of Australia (converted).svg   Australia – Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock 1–3 (m)
Winner2. 2023 World Cup of Darts Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Wales Gerwyn Price Flag of Scotland.svg   Scotland – Peter Wright and Gary Anderson 10–2 (l)

PDC World Series finals: 1 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Legend
World Series of Darts (1–1)
OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1. 2022 New South Wales Darts Masters Flag of England.svg   James Wade 8–1 (l)
Runner-up1. 2022 New Zealand Darts Masters Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Gerwyn Price 4–8 (l)

Career statistics

Performance Table Legend
WWon the tournamentFFinalistSFSemifinalistQFQuarterfinalist#R
RR
Prel.		Lost in # round
Round-robin
Preliminary round		DQDisqualified
DNQDid not qualifyDNPDid not participateWDWithdrewNHTournament not heldNYFNot yet founded

Performance timeline

Tournament 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Ranked televised events
PDC World Championship DNQ 2R 1R 2R 3R 3R 4R QF 4R
UK Open 1R 2R 3R 4R 5R SF 6R 6R 6R 6R
World Matchplay DNQ 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R F 2R
World Grand Prix DNQ 1R 1R 2R W 2R 1R QF
European Championship DNQ 2R 1R 2R SF DNQ 2R 1R 2R
Grand Slam of Darts RR DNQ QF DNQ 2R QF 2R RR DNQ
Players Championship Finals DNQ 1R F QF 1R 2R SF SF 2R 1R
Non-ranked televised events
The Masters DNQ 1R QF W SF QF 1R
Premier League Darts DNP C W SF SF DNP
World Cup of Darts DNP QF 1R W SF F W 2R
World Series of Darts Finals DNQ 1R DNQ QF DNQ W SF 2R 1R
Career statistics
Year-end ranking746031151617879

PDC European Tour

Season12345678910111213
2015 GDC
DNP		 GDT
DNP		 GDM
DNQ		 DDM
1R		 IDO
2R		 EDO
DNQ		 EDT
DNQ		 EDM
DNQ		 EDG
2R
2016 DDM
DNQ		 GDM
DNQ		 GDT
DNQ		 EDM
2R		 ADO
2R		 EDO
2R		 IDO
DNQ		 EDT
DNQ		 EDG
3R		 GDC
DNQ
2017 GDC
DNQ		 GDM
2R		 GDO
DNQ		 EDG
2R		 GDT
2R		 EDM
DNQ		 ADO
2R		 EDO
DNQ		 DDM
DNQ		 GDG
DNQ		 IDO
DNQ		 EDT
3R
2018 EDO
1R		 GDG
2R		 GDO
DNQ		 ADO
W		 EDG
DNQ		 DDM
1R		 GDT
QF		 DDO
2R		 EDM
2R		 GDC
2R		 DDC
2R		 IDO
3R		 EDT
3R
2019 EDO
3R		 GDC
3R		 GDG
2R		 GDO
2R		 ADO
2R		 EDG
3R		 DDM
2R		 DDO
SF		 CDO
2R		 ADC
2R		 EDM
QF		 IDO
3R		 GDT
2R
2020 BDC
1R		 GDC
F		 EDG
DNQ		 IDO
DNQ
2021 HDT
2R		 GDT
2R
2022 IDO
SF		 GDC
QF		 GDG
QF		 ADO
3R		 EDO
3R		 CDO
2R		 EDG
3R		 DDC
DNP		 EDM
2R		 HDT
2R		 GDO
3R		 BDO
SF		 GDT
3R
2023 BSD
SF		 EDO
2R		 IDO
QF		 GDG
2R		 ADO
W		 DDC
2R		 BDO
QF		 CDO
QF		 EDG
2R		 EDM
2R		 GDO
DNP		 HDT
3R		 GDC
2R
2024 BDO
QF		 GDG
2R		 IDO
2R		 EDG
3R		 ADO
3R		 BSD
2R		 DDC
F		 EDO
WD		 GDC
2R		 FDT
1R		 HDT
2R		 SDT
1R		 CDO
QF

Nine-dart finishes

Jonny Clayton's televised nine-dart finishes
DateOpponentTournamentMethod
7 March 2020 Flag of England.svg Chris Dobey UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
7 April 2021 Flag of Portugal.svg José de Sousa Premier League 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12

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References

  1. 1 2 (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.
  1. ↑ "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  2. ↑ "PDC Qualifying School Day Four". PDC.tv. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Mighty Mike Defies Wade For Title". PDC . Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam - Monday". PDC.tv. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "2016 Coral UK Open Day One". PDC . Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "Anderson Takes Title In Barnsley". PDC . Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "2016 Worthingtons Darts Champion of Champions Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "2016 Players Championship Finals Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "William Hill World Championship Day Two". PDC. Archived from the original on 16 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  10. ↑ "2017 PDC World Championship Fixtures". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  11. ↑ "Clinical Clayton's Maiden Title". Professional Darts Corporation. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  12. ↑ Allen, Dave (26 October 2017). "Minehead Treble For Unbeatable Van Gerwen". PDC . Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  13. ↑ Allen, Dave (27 November 2017). "William Hill World Darts Championship Draw". PDC. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  14. ↑ "Challengers confirmed for 2020 Unibet Premier League". PDC . Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  15. ↑ "Jonny Clayton: Welshman ends Michael van Gerwen's Masters reign". BBC Sport. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  16. ↑ BEST EVER FINISHING?!| Jonny Clayton with 91% checkout success rate at the 2021 Ladbrokes Masters!. Professional Darts Corporation – via YouTube.
  17. ↑ Banks, Jamie (28 April 2021). "Clayton caps amazing debut season with Unibet Premier League glory". Professional Darts Corporation . Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  18. ↑ "Clinical Clayton claims BoyleSports World Grand Prix glory". Professional Darts Corporation . 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  19. ↑ Phillips, Josh (31 October 2021). "Clayton lands fourth TV title of 2021 at Jack's World Series Finals". Professional Darts Corporation . Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  20. ↑ Allen, Dave (26 November 2017). "Minehead Treble For Unbeatable Van Gerwen". PDC . Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  21. ↑ Phillips, Josh (31 January 2021). "Clayton wins Ladbrokes Masters and final Premier League place". PDC . Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  22. ↑ Banks, Jamie (28 May 2021). "Clayton caps amazing debut season with Unibet Premier League glory". PDC . Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  23. ↑ Allen, Dave (9 October 2021). "Clinical Clayton claims BoyleSports World Grand Prix glory". PDC . Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  24. ↑ Phillips, Josh. "Clayton lands fourth TV title of 2021 at Jack's World Series Finals". Professional Darts Corporation . Retrieved 1 November 2021.
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