Jonny Clayton wins the bear: darts “ferret” eats the three alphas

10,000 pounds in prize money for petty cash, 5 points for the table, a Berlin bear for the trophy cabinet: Welshman Jonny Clayton triumphed in the Premier League Darts game in Berlin, defeating the three best players in the world.

The penultimate player in the table wins against the top three players in the world, one after the other. The Premier League darts makes the curious feat possible, more specifically Jonny Clayton. The Welshman, nicknamed “Ferret”, snatched victory on Thursday evening in the ninth day of the elite league of arrow sports in Berlin. The nearly 10,000 darts maniacs in the Mercedes-Benz Arena literally screamed surprise. Clayton, a crowd favorite on all darts stages in the world, had the majority of the spectators on his side early in the evening in his opening game against Michael van Gerwen.

Against the Dutch superstar of all places, Clayton ended his dry spell after four weeks without a single win. With 6: 5, the Welshman sends the clear table leader to the hotel early. In the semifinals, Clayton created the next big surprise: Clayton prevailed 6:4 against compatriot Gerwyn Price, who had won the last two match days. And to crown it all, the reigning world champion Michael Smith has to believe it in the final.

Clayton win out of nowhere

Not many players have managed to defeat the three darts alpha animals van Gerwen, Price and Smith within three hours on one evening.

Clayton’s success is also impressive because it’s a win against every trend that has been spotted in the darts world in recent weeks: Michael Smith, the new world champion, has a few problems, but none in a real one to slip crisis. Michael van Gerwen, the defending Premier League champion and absolute superstar of the scene, is currently playing outstandingly, even when he loses. Gerwyn Price, by far the player in the strongest form, who has won two days in a row and also won the European Tour event in Leverkusen last weekend. They all set themselves apart from the rest in terms of performance, especially players like two-time world champion Peter Wright. But the three world-class players have also made the Premier League winner of 2021, Jonny Clayton, look old several times.

This Thursday night, it’s Clayton who bounces back out of nowhere to win their first weekly mini-tournament on Matchday 9, moving up from second-bottom to fifth in the standings. “It’s a great feeling. I definitely want to finish in the top four and the first step towards that has now been taken,” said a relieved Clayton at the press conference shortly after midnight. “Tonight I beat the three best players in the world at the moment. Gerwyn Price has destroyed me for the last few weeks, so I was particularly happy to beat him again.”

10,000 pounds in prize money for the day’s win, 5 points for the table and a Berlin bear as a trophy. The evening could definitely have gone worse for the 48-year-old. “Fantastic, the bear gets a special place in my trophy cabinet. This is the most colorful trophy I have ever received.”

In the heat of the emotions, Clayton praised the audience in the Arena am Ostbahnhof for the support almost effusively. “The German fans are the best. They follow every dart. They never boo other players.” At least the last sentence should surprise some of Clayton’s fellow players, as there had been discussions about the German fans in Leverkusen just the weekend before. Germany’s darts surprise Ricardo Pietreczko even appealed to the audience on stage to deal more fairly with all players.

Anyway, Clayton’s memories of Leverkusen seem to have faded a lot that Thursday evening in Berlin. Such an increase in performance within a few days could hardly have been explained otherwise. In the Rhineland, the “ferret” had delivered one of his worst games in recent years on Saturday, five days later Clayton suddenly played as if he had been changed in Berlin.

van Gerwen? “Currently at 90 to 95 percent”

There is still a long way to go for Clayton & Co. to the playoffs – for the final tournament in London at the end of May the four players with the best points qualify after 16 match days – but the table is certainly meaningful after 9 of 16 match days. Michael van Gerwen is enthroned with three stage wins and two more finals at the top. “I’m currently at 90 to 95 percent of my top level, I can still play a bit better, in some games I’m missing too many doubles at the moment. But that’ll be fine, it’s still a few weeks until the playoffs,” says Michael van Gerwen in an interview with ntv.de.

The playoffs should also work for Gerwyn Price. The “Iceman” has also won three Premier League nights. “Gezzy is in really good form, but he often thrives on the chances his opponents give him. He doesn’t dominate games that often, but he reacts extremely well to mistakes made by others. That’s of course a great strength,” he says van Gerwen about his competitor.

World champion Michael Smith, on the other hand, has to tremble now, but he at least overtakes Nathan Aspinall in third place by participating in the final in Berlin and only fails by a millimeter on the nine-darter after he felt the load and had to contend with minor injuries. “I had pain in both hands, in my foot, didn’t know what it was. Maybe it’s related to the stress of traveling. But I’ve started to live healthier now, I don’t drink soft drinks anymore, only water. like rinsing out my body, that’s good,” Smith revealed to ntv.de.

Next week it should finally work for the Englishman with the first day win after seven untitled weeks in the Premier League. Chances are good if the shape curve continues to climb higher. Especially since Smith meets bottom-of-the-table Peter Wright in Birmingham’s first game.

Peter Wright in crisis

The two-time world champion was eliminated in the first round on eight of the nine match days, and Wright was only able to win one game. “The Premier League has ruined a lot of players, but it won’t ruin me,” Wright said combatively on the night of his next loss, this time against Price. “I’m in the process of training a new style of throwing. I no longer put my foot across the oche, but stand in the center in front of it. It’s like learning to play darts again, but I’m sure it’ll be in will pay off in the future because it takes the strain off your shoulders and back.”

Wright has the next chance for improvement this weekend, when the professional dart organization PDC and almost all of their top players are guests in Riesa. The third tournament on the European Tour is coming up, the travel stress is not decreasing.

But nobody really wants to complain. Neither does Wright, despite constant defeats. Above all, not Jonny Clayton, who will start the journey to Saxony with self-confidence and the Berlin Bear in his luggage. “I’m really looking forward to the 2,000 fans in Riesa, they’ll also create a great atmosphere. We can’t play in front of 10,000 people every day.”