Jonny Clayton

Jonny Clayton (born 4 October 1974) is a Welsh professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed The Ferret, he was half of the Welsh team that won the 2020 PDC World Cup of Darts before winning his first televised singles title, the 2021 Masters.

Jonny Clayton
Clayton in 2019
Personal information
Nickname"The Ferret"
Born (1974-10-04) 4 October 1974
Llanelli, Wales
Home townPontyberem, Wales
Darts information
Playing darts since1995
Darts21 Gram Red Dragon Signature
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO2008–2015
PDC2015–
Current world ranking18 1 (3 January 2021)[1]
BDO majors – best performances
World MastersLast 272: 2012
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipLast 32: 2017, 2020, 2021
World MatchplayLast 32: 2018, 2019, 2020
World Grand PrixLast 16: 2020
Grand SlamQuarter Final: 2018
Premier LeagueLeague Stage: 2021
European Ch'shipSemi Final: 2020
UK OpenSemi Final: 2020
Players Ch'ship FinalsRunner Up: 2017
MastersWinner (1): 2021
World Series FinalsQuarter Final: 2019
Other tournament wins
PDC World Cup of Darts – (Team event) 2020
WDF Europe Cup Team 2014
Worthingtons Darts Champion of Champions 2016

Players Championships

Players Championship (BAR) 2017, 2019

European Tour Events

Austrian Darts Open 2018

Career

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]

Clayton's first appearance at the UK Open came at 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]

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]

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]

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]

At the 2021 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.

World Championship performances

PDC

Career finals

PDC major finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1] Ref.
Runner-up 1. 2017 Players Championship Finals Michael van Gerwen 2–11 (l) [16]
Winner 1. 2021 The Masters Mervyn King 11–8 (l) [17]

PDC team finals: 1 (1 title)
Outcome No. Year Championship Country Teammate Opponents in the final Score[N 1]
Winner 1. 2020 World Cup of Darts  Wales Gerwyn Price  England – Michael Smith and Rob Cross 3–0 (m)

Performance timeline
Tournament2015201620172018201920202021
PDC World Championship DNQ 2R 1R 2R 3R 3R
The Masters DNQ 1R QF W
UK Open 1R 2R 3R 4R 5R SF
World Matchplay Did not qualify 1R 1R 1R
World Grand Prix Did not qualify 1R 1R 2R
European Championship DNQ 2R 1R 2R SF
Grand Slam of Darts RR DNQ QF DNQ 2R
Players Championship Finals DNQ 1R F QF 1R 2R
Performance timeline legend
DNP Did not play in the event #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(RR = Round robin)		 QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament

References
  1. (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.
  1. "PDC Order of Merit". PDC.tv. 3 January 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  2. "PDC Qualifying School Day Four". PDC.tv. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  3. "Mighty Mike Defies Wade For Title". PDC. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  4. "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam - Monday". PDC.tv. 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. 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. 2020-02-01. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  16. Allen, Dave (26 November 2017). "Minehead Treble For Unbeatable Van Gerwen". PDC. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  17. Phillips, Josh (31 January 2020). "Clayton wins Ladbrokes Masters and final Premier League place". PDC. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
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