Jonny Clayton storms to Glasgow win and tops early Premier League table

Jonny Clayton beat Gian van Veen 6-2 in Glasgow to become the third different nightly winner of the Premier League Darts season, a victory that moves him to the top of the early standings.

Clayton demolished top rivals en route to the title

The Welshman ended a near three-year, 10-match losing run against compatriot Gerwyn Price earlier in the night, then demolished world number one Luke Littler 6-1 in the semi-finals. Clayton averaged 99. 88 in the Price match and 101. 33 against Littler, and his finishing stood out with checkout rates of 60% and 66. 67% in those two wins.

Final spark: a 156 checkout to finish Gian van Veen

In the final Clayton broke Gian van Veen in the opening leg and again in the seventh, sealing the win with a stunning 156 checkout as he closed out a 6-2 victory. His average in the final rose to 104. 35 even though his checkout percentage dropped to 42. 86% for that match.

Night shifts in the table and the semis that set it up

The win puts Clayton ahead of Michael van Gerwen and Van Veen in the early table; Van Gerwen missed the night through illness. Luke Littler received a bye to the semi-finals after Van Gerwen's withdrawal and therefore banked two points, but Littler's average in his outing was 97. 84 and he took out only one checkout from six attempts. Luke Humphries was edged out 6-5 by Van Veen in the other semi-final after Humphries had beaten Josh Rock in the quarter-finals.

Clayton, who won the Premier League in 2021 and was a beaten semi-finalist in 2022 and 2023, said his darts were working and that he was enjoying himself; he added that he knows what he has to do to get to finals night.

The Premier League now moves on with Clayton atop the early standings after night three in Glasgow; his title-winning night included the 6-2 final, the 6-1 semi-final over Littler and the earlier win over Price that ended a long losing streak.