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Players Championship 22: Jonny Clayton wins his maiden PDC darts title
Jonny Clayton won his maiden PDC title as he clinched the Players Championship 22 tournament in Barnsley on Wednesday, defeating James Wilson 6-1 in the final.
Following Rob Cross' fourth triumph of the season on Tuesday, the double-header at the Barnsley Metrodome saw a field of PDC Tour Card Holders and PDPA Associate Members competing in the year's final Players Championship event.
Welsh ace Clayton battled through the field to reach his first PDC final, before seeing off Wilson with the aid of some classy finishing to pick up the £10,000 first prize and become the 15th different winner in 22 Players Championship events this year.
The top 64 players from the final Players Championship Order of Merit will now proceed to compete in the Players Championship Finals in Minehead next month.
Clayton began his day with a 6-3 win over Canada's John Norman Jnr before seeing off nine-time TV finalist Terry Jenkins, Tuesday's Players Championship winner Rob Cross and Darren Webster to reach the quarter-finals.
There, he claimed a third successive 6-5 win as he edged past Antonio Alcinas, while he saw off Dutch prospect Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-4 in the semi-finals after the youngster hit back from 5-1 down.
The final, though, proved to be Clayton's biggest win of the day as he raced past Wilson for the title.
The opening two legs were shared as Clayton's opening double eight, following an earlier maximum, was cancelled out by an 84 finish for an 11-darter by Wilson as the pair traded 180s.
However, the Welshman claimed leg three on tops, broke with a 120 finish in leg four and then took out 102 for a 4-1 lead as Wilson missed three darts to break back.
He then fired in a 180 to leave 84 as a two-dart finish left him 5-1 up, before checking out 121 on the bull in leg seven - after the pair again traded maximums - to complete a superb performance.
"It's fantastic," said Clayton. "I had nerves but I don't think I was as nervous in the final as I was in the semis because it was just one more step and you've got to try and relax in the final and let them go.
"Hopefully this is a step in the right direction. It's all down to practice and we all aim for the same thing, to be with the best and to try and beat the best.
"The World Championship is around the corner and I wouldn't mind winning that!"
Wilson was also seeking to claim his maiden PDC title and overcame Berry van Peer, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Andy Hamilton, Andy Jenkins, Ron Meulenkamp and Jamie Caven on the way to his second ProTour final.
Caven had needed to reach the semi-finals to force his way into the reckoning for a place in November's Players Championship Finals and did just that with his best run on the circuit for almost 18 months.
De Zwaan, a winner on the PDC Unicorn Development Tour this year, enjoyed his best finish on the ProTour, whitewashing John Bowles and then seeing off Stephen Bunting, Joe Murnan, Michael Smith and Richard North to reach the semi-finals as he also claimed a Players Championship Finals spot.
Last week's Unibet World Grand Prix semi-finalist John Henderson was joined in the last eight by Dutchman Ron Meulenkamp, emerging star Richard North and resurgent Spanish ace Antonio Alcinas, who reached a Players Championship semi-final recently.
Chris Dobey and Jan Dekker also secured Players Championship Finals spots on Wednesday as they reached the last 16 of the year's final Players Championship event.
Hamilton had earlier knocked out top seed Peter Wright - the new world number two - in the second round as he continued to show signs of a return to form, while World Grand Prix finalist Simon Whitlock and Premier League aces Jelle Klaasen and Kim Huybrechts were first round victims.
Players Championship 22 results
Last 128
Peter Wright BYE
Andy Hamilton 6-3 Mark Barilli
James Wilson 6-3 Berry van Peer
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Ted Evetts
Jim Brown 6-4 Steve Beaton
Devon Petersen 6-3 Kirk Shepherd
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Ross Twell
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Alan Tabern
Ron Meulenkamp 6-3 Alan Norris
Mike De Decker 6-5 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Justin Pipe 6-3 Robbie Green
Steve Lennon 6-2 Warrick Scheffer
Diogo Portela 6-3 Jelle Klaasen
Aden Kirk 6-2 Chris Quantock
Vincent van der Voort 6-0 Harry Robinson
Peter Hudson 6-5 Zoran Lerchbacher
Matt Clark 6-5 Simon Whitlock
Paul Rowley 6-5 Kevin Painter
Chris Dobey 6-3 Ronny Huybrechts
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Mervyn King 6-1 Robert Owen
Harry Ward 6-4 Steve Hine
John Henderson 6-2 Ritchie Edhouse
Wayne Jones 6-4 Ryan Palmer
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Ricky Evans
Jamie Caven 6-3 Callum Loose
Steve West 6-5 Terry Temple
Jimmy Hendriks 6-4 Adam Hunt
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Andy Boulton 6-2 Simon Stevenson
Adrian Lewis 6-1 William O'Connor
Ryan Searle 6-1 Mickey Mansell
Michael Smith 6-3 Matthew Dennant
Madars Razma 6-4 David Pallett
Mark Webster 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3 Mick McGowan
Kyle Anderson 6-3 Paul Nicholson
Joe Murnan 6-4 Terry Roach
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Stuart Kellett
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-0 John Bowles
Wes Newton 6-5 Joe Cullen
James Richardson 6-5 Josh Payne
Richard North 6-4 Bernd Roith
Sven Groen 6-1 Jim Walker
Ian White 6-1 Martin Schindler
Darren Johnson 6-3 Barrie Bates
Peter Jacques 6-5 Christian Kist
Vincent Kamphuis 6-4 Jamie Bain
Dave Chisnall 6-4 John Michael
Max Hopp 6-5 Scott Taylor
Robert Thornton 6-4 Jamie Lewis
Jan Dekker 6-5 Tony Newell
Benito van de Pas 6-5 Stephen Burton
Craig Gilchrist 6-1 Ryan Meikle
Richie Burnett 6-1 James Wade
Antonio Alcinas 6-4 Richie Corner
Rob Cross 6-1 Brian Woods
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Jonathan Worsley
Jonny Clayton 6-3 John Norman Jnr
Terry Jenkins 6-5 Keegan Brown
Mick Todd 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Ryan Harrington 6-4 Michael Barnard
Darren Webster 6-0 John Part
Callan Rydz 6-2 Yordi Meeuwisse
Last 64
Andy Hamilton 6-5 Peter Wright
James Wilson 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Devon Petersen 6-1 Jim Brown
Andy Jenkins 6-1 Cristo Reyes
Ron Meulenkamp 6-1 Mike De Decker
Justin Pipe 6-5 Steve Lennon
Diogo Portela 6-1 Aden Kirk
Vincent van der Voort 6-0 Peter Hudson
Matt Clark 6-4 Paul Rowley
Chris Dobey 6-3 Brendan Dolan
Mervyn King 6-3 Harry Ward
John Henderson 6-4 Wayne Jones
Jamie Caven 6-3 Daryl Gurney
Jimmy Hendriks 6-3 Steve West
Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 Andy Boulton
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Ryan Searle
Michael Smith 6-1 Madars Razma
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-5 Mark Webster
Joe Murnan 6-3 Kyle Anderson
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-2 Stephen Bunting
Wes Newton 6-2 James Richardson
Richard North 6-2 Sven Groen
Ian White 6-4 Darren Johnson
Peter Jacques 6-2 Vincent Kamphuis
Max Hopp 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Jan Dekker 6-5 Robert Thornton
Benito van de Pas 6-1 Craig Gilchrist
Antonio Alcinas 6-3 Richie Burnett
Rob Cross 6-2 Nathan Aspinall
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Terry Jenkins
Ryan Harrington 6-3 Mick Todd
Darren Webster 6-3 Callan Rydz
Last 32
James Wilson 6-3 Andy Hamilton
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Devon Petersen
Ron Meulenkamp 6-3 Justin Pipe
Diogo Portela 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Chris Dobey 6-4 Matt Clark
John Henderson 6-5 Mervyn King
Jamie Caven 6-3 Jimmy Hendriks
Adrian Lewis 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena
Michael Smith 6-5 Jeffrey de Graaf
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-3 Joe Murnan
Richard North 6-3 Wes Newton
Ian White 6-0 Peter Jacques
Jan Dekker 6-5 Max Hopp
Antonio Alcinas 6-2 Benito van de Pas
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Rob Cross
Darren Webster 6-2 Ryan Harrington
Last 16
James Wilson 6-2 Andy Jenkins
Ron Meulenkamp 6-3 Diogo Portela
John Henderson 6-4 Chris Dobey
Jamie Caven 6-3 Adrian Lewis
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-5 Michael Smith
Richard North 6-2 Ian White
Antonio Alcinas 6-4 Jan Dekker
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Darren Webster
Last Eight
James Wilson 6-5 Ron Meulenkamp
Jamie Caven 6-5 John Henderson
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-1 Richard North
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Antonio Alcinas
Last Four
James Wilson 6-3 Jamie Caven
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Final
Jonny Clayton 6-1 James Wilson