Clayton overcomes gout to crush Humphries in final

ByPaul Higham

BBC Sport Journalist

Jonny Clayton thrashed Luke Humphries 6-1 in the final to claim his second Premier League night of the season and take a commanding lead at the top of the table after six weeks.

The Welshman struggled with gout in his ankle all night in Nottingham, but while his walking was hampered his throw certainly was not.

The 2021 Premier League champion averaged more than 99 and was a brilliant 67% on his doubles to become the first man to win two league nights this season after five different victors in the first five weeks.

Clayton saved his best for the final after being steady if unspectacular when beating both Michael van Gerwen and Stephen Bunting 6-3 with an almost identical average that was just above 95.

Humphries had earlier ended Luke Littler's bid for back-to-back victories in a thrilling 6-5 semi-final victory, but his wait for a first league win of the season goes on after disappointing in the final.

Clayton said he "wasn't expecting much" in Nottingham because of his gout, but said "my arm was OK by the look of it and that's all that counts" as he showed few suggestions his ailment might slow his scoring as it has his walking.

The three walk-ons and climbing up steep steps onto the stage did not help his condition and his limp got progressively worse throughout the evening.

However, as his gait got worse, his darts got even better - and it seems possible that his way of dealing with the pain in his ankle backstage ended up being an advantage.

"I kept practising because it gets worse when I sit down," he told Sky Sports after his win. "So I thought 'I'm going to have to practise' - it's the most I have ever done!"

After five different winners in five weeks it was apt that Clayton became the first man to double up as he has been comfortably the most consistent player so far - winning 11 matches overall, five more than anyone else, and also leading the way in 180s hit.

After winning week three in Glasgow, Clayton also made last week's final in Cardiff and victory in his third showpiece puts him eight points clear already - a huge margin in Premier League Darts after just six weeks.

"Everybody is nicking points off everybody, I wasn't expecting to be top, eight points [clear], so I'm over the moon with that," Clayton added.

'Beware the injured darts player' might now be a saying.

Defending champion Humphries had only won three matches heading to Nottingham, but finally got something going as he made his first final of the season.

The world number two got one over on his arch nemesis Littler after a long wait as he claimed a first victory over the 19-year-old since last year's Premier League final in May.

It took a 105.71 average, two ton-plus finishes and four 180s to do the job though, and Humphries had to hold off a big fightback as Littler levelled at 5-5 having been 5-2 down.

After missing three match darts, Humphries eventually finished the job to win a thriller in some style with a 128 checkout.

Humphries' struggles on the doubles resurfaced in the final, though, with just a 12.5% checkout success leading to him being dismantled by a clinical Clayton.

Littler followed up last week's win in Cardiff by successfully defending his UK Open title at the weekend, and it looked like a three-win week was on the cards after he edged out Gerwyn Price 6-5 in another cracker.

The two-time world champion still averaged more than 101 and hit 55% of his doubles to almost pull off a huge comeback, but that big Humphries finish ended The Nuke's chances of winning back-to-back weeks.

It was another tough occasion for Northern Ireland tournament debutant Josh Rock, who was beaten 6-1 by Stephen Bunting in the opening match of the night to leave him still winless after six weeks.

Thursday, 12 March - Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham

Quarter-finals

Josh Rock 1-6 Stephen Bunting

Jonny Clayton 6-3 Michael van Gerwen

Luke Humphries 6-4 Gian van Veen

Gerwyn Price 5-6 Luke Littler

Semi-finals

Bunting 3-6 Clayton

Humphries 6-5 Littler

Final

Clayton 6-1 Humphries

Thursday, 19 March - 3Arena, Dublin

Quarter-finals

Gian van Veen v Michael van Gerwen

Stephen Bunting v Luke Littler

Josh Rock v Gerwyn Price

Jonny Clayton v Luke Humphries

Semi-finals

Van Veen/Van Gerwen v Bunting/Littler

Rock/Price v Clayton/Humphries

Final

Van Veen/Van Gerwen/Bunting/Littler v Rock/Price/Clayton/Humphries

Premier League Darts is played across 16 initial weeks in the league stage with quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final each night.

Each of the eight players is guaranteed to face the other seven in the quarter-finals in weeks one to seven and 9-15, with week eight and week 16 fixtures done off the table. It means we will get fourth v fifth in Sheffield on the final league-stage night, with the play-off spots potentially on the line.

Players earn two points per quarter-final win, an additional point if they win their semi-final and five for winning the night.

The top four players after the group stage progress to the play-off night at London's O2 Arena on 23 May, with first facing fourth and second against third in a best-of-19-leg match. The final, which is the best of 21 legs, follows.

If players are level on points after the 16 weeks then places are decided by nights won and then matches won.