Darts results: Jonny Clayton defeats Michael van Gerwen to win the Premier League night in Glasgow

By Sporting Life

07:52 · FRI May 06, 2022

Jonny Clayton won his fourth Cazoo Premier League night of the season in Glasgow to surge clear at the top of the table.

The Ferret has been in imperious form this year, and increased his lead to six points over Michael van Gerwen by defeating the Dutchman 6-3 in front of over 9,000 fans at the OVO Hydro.

Clayton's triumph - coupled with fifth-placed Joe Cullen losing to MVG in the quarter-finals - means his play-off spot is now secured with three regular season weeks to spare.

“It means a lot to see that Q next to my name,” said Clayton, who averaged 99.81 against van Gerwen in the final. “That was my aim to make the top four. I played well tonight and I am really happy with my game.

"I would love to finish top, but the top four is what I wanted to be in. Hopefully I carry on winning games and can finish top. Part one is done, but part two is to try and win the Premier League again."

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🙌 Jonny Clayton is flying high at the top of the Premier League after winning his fourth night of the season in Glasgow!pic.twitter.com/vOYh7GjA5x
— Sporting Life 🎯🔴🎾⛳️🥊🏏🏉 🏈 (@SportingLifeFC) May 5, 2022

The defending champion capitalised on four missed darts from Van Gerwen to break throw for the first time in the final and move 5-3 ahead before sealing victory with a cool 68 checkout in the next leg.

His run to a sixth final of the year started with a 6-2 win over James Wade, who defeated in last Thursday’s final in Dublin.

He then defied three 100+ checkouts to end the hopes home favourite Gary Anderson with a 6-4 win just like he did in Aberdeen last month.

The Flying Scotsman had earlier seen off a lacklustre Peter Wright in the opening game of the night while Van Gerwen’s run to the title started with a narrow 6-5 victory over Cullen.

He then backed it up with another 6-5 victory over Michael Smith in arguably the game of the night and Bully Boy still remains the only player yet to win a night.

Smith, who averaged 100, was looking the likelier of the two to reach the final as he lead 4-2, but Van Gerwen recovered well with a 108 checkout to close the gap.

He then sealed his spot in the deciding leg with a 104 finish to break throw.

His run to the final puts him 13 points ahead of Cullen in fifth, with a maximum of 15 points left to play for over the next three league nights - meaning his Play-Off place is all but secured.

Premier League: Night 13 results and averages

Quarter-Finals

Peter Wright (87.1) 2-6 (97.21) Gary Anderson
Jonny Clayton (95.55) 6-2 (93.1) James Wade
Gerwyn Price (94.5) 3-6 (99.19) Michael Smith
Michael van Gerwen (98.36) 6-5 (90.59) Joe Cullen

Semi-Finals

Gary Anderson (89.15) 4-6 (98.53) Jonny Clayton
Michael Smith (100.01) 5-6 (99.04) Michael van Gerwen

Final

Jonny Clayton (99.81) 6-3 (96.41) Michael van Gerwen

CLICK HERE FOR SEASON RESULTS, FIXTURES & TABLE

Premier League Table & Format

NW = Nights won, RU = Runner-up, SF = Semi-final defeats, MW = Matches won

Clayton NW 4 RU 2 SF 4 MW 20 LegD +26 Pts 34
MVG NW 3 RU 3 SF 2 MW 17 LegD +39 Pts 28
Wade NW 2 RU 3 SF 3 MW 15 LegD +2 Pts 25
Wright NW 1 RU 1 SF 7 MW 11 LegD -6 Pts 20
Cullen NW 1 RU 2 SF 2 MW 9 LegD -8 Pts 15
Price NW 1 RU 0 SF 4 MW 7 LegD -14 Pts 13
Smith NW 0 RU 2 SF 3 MW 7 LegD -10 Pts 12
Anderson NW 1 RU 0 SF 2 MW 5 LegD -17 Pts 9

Each night will see quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final played over the best of 11 legs (first to six). Each player will meet the other seven players twice over the course of the season in a quarter-final game, plus two further nights (Night Eight and Night 16) will feature additional fixtures in the same format. Those fixtures will be a draw bracket based on how the league table looks at the time. So, whoever is top will face the eighth-placed player in the first round.