Jonny Clayton claimed his fourth nightly win of this year’s Premier League, defeating Luke Littler 6-4 in the final.
The Welshman’s victory in Rotterdam extends his lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Clayton’s Route to Victory
Clayton beat home favourite Michael van Gerwen in the quarter-finals and then battled past Josh Rock in the semi-finals. He kept his cool during an early blitz from Littler in the final.
Littler hit four of his seven 180s to race into a 2-0 lead, but Clayton clawed his way back. Clayton’s average of 92.92 did not tell the full story as he produced in the key moments, showing ruthless efficiency on the doubles for a 60% checkout rate.
Littler only managed to hit four of his 15 darts at double.
Littler’s Rotterdam Reception
Littler was booed throughout the night following his exchange with Gian van Veen in Manchester two weeks ago. Despite the hostile reception, Littler reached the final, beating Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals and Luke Humphries in a thrilling semi-final 6-5.
Van Gerwen and Van Veen Fall Short
Dutch duo Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen were unable to deliver in front of their home crowd in Rotterdam. Van Veen was out of sorts against a much-improved Humphries, who claimed a comfortable 6-2 win.
Clayton swept aside Van Gerwen 6-2, leaving the Dutch fans stunned and keeping the race for the top four in the balance. That took the defending champion Humphries above Van Veen into fifth and to within three points of Van Gerwen in the final play-off place.
Clayton’s Determination
Clayton is now five points clear of second-placed Littler. Both men are all-but assured of a place at the O2 Arena for finals night on 28 May.
“I don’t watch many games back but I watched last week’s game against Michael [van Gerwen] back and it hurt a little bit when someone said I was favourite to finish bottom – that really hurt and annoyed me,” Clayton told Sky Sports.
“That really hurt. I’ve been here three times before and I’ve done finals night so hopefully I can prove them wrong.
“Definitely [it has given him some fuel]. They might be looking at some other people. They’ve got the wrong person.”
Stephen Bunting still has hope of qualifying despite a 6-1 loss to Rock, in which he found himself 4-0 down despite averaging 114.