Last Sunday’s World Cup of Darts final saw Wales lift the trophy for the first time after beating England. It was clear that Gerwyn Price was the player of the weekend, but what about his partner, Jonny Clayton? James Dodd takes looks at the journey made by “The Ferret” and examines whether he, too, can become one of the world’s best.
He may have triumphed at the World Cup of Darts and ensured Wales are the new world champions, but it hasn’t always been the happiest of times for Jonny Clayton on the biggest stages.
The World Championships have seen the Llanelli-born player reach a modest high point of the third round in his last four years.
His first ever win at the Alexandra Palace, ironically, was recorded against fellow Welshman Gerwyn Price, where he won 3-1 in sets against the partner who would later help him conquer the world.
In terms of the World Matchplay, the world number 16 has failed to win a game in three attempts.
In the Grand Slam of Darts, he has only made it out of the group stage once.
Delilah
On top of this, the stage was set for Clayton to be a genuine challenger in the 2020 Premier League.
There is no doubt that playing in a packed Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff and walking out to thousands of Welsh fans singing “Deliah” should have been an incredible experience, but, unfortunately, the end result was a 7-1 hammering at the hands of Michael Smith.
However, despite these poor performances in big tournaments, Clayton has certainly found some good runs.
He reached the final of the 2017 Players Championship Finals, where he faced Michael van Gerwen. The Dutchman won that contest 11-2.
World Cup triumph
However, the Welsh victory last week in the World Cup of Darts in Austria definitely showed how healthy a position Welsh darts is currently in.
Price may be the in-form and most feared player in the world right now, but Clayton proved a perfect wing man and together they became only the fifth different pairing to win the competition.
Thanks to you all for having faith in me 🥇🏴🏴💪 https://t.co/DV1pj39qEA
— Jonny Clayton (@JonnyClay9) November 9, 2020
There is an age difference of 11 years between the two men – Clayton is 46 and Price is 35 – but both were able to offer the other the benefit of experience and reassurance in the moments that mattered.
That weekend in Salzburg really showed Clayton’s courage and quality in abundance. Despite losing his first two singles against Robert Thornton (Scotland) and Damon Heta (Australia), Clayton was able to bounce back in the pairs decider in each tie and perform well with Price to get over the line.
In the semi-final against Max Hopp, Clayton averaged an impressive 104.40 to beat the German 4-2.
That included a 121 finish on the bullseye which booked the Welsh pair their place in the final.
An even more impressive stat was when he averaged 105 and hit 66% of his doubles to beat Rob Cross, 4-2, meaning Wales were only one point away from history.
In total, the pair averaged 98.16 over 70 legs, showing the consistency both players possessed over the three days.
Why he can be one of the best
Clayton has emphasised over several interviews in the last week about how much the World Cup success meant to him.
The fact that he has won a big TV tournament – albeit a team one – will certainly give him the confidence to deliver some big individual prizes.
It should also take a significant amount of pressure off him and allow him to enjoy his darts a lot more.
In addition, Clayton has shown his worth against big players plenty of times in individual one-off matches.
Firstly, he managed to take the scalp of van Gerwen at the start of 2020 and he has beaten Price numerous times, including in the final of the Austrian Open on the European Tour back in 2018.
If the Pontyberem-based player can keep building from this, he will certainly be picking up majors in the coming months.