Jonny Clayton produced a stunning comeback from 5-2 down to defeat Michael van Gerwen 6-5 in the final, claiming his third nightly win of the Premier League season and moving to the top of the table. Van Gerwen missed four match darts in total as the Welshman reeled off four straight legs to snatch victory at the Brighton Centre. The win lifts Clayton, who began the evening in third, three points above Luke Littler after the world champion was beaten in the quarter-finals and failed to add to his points tally.
Despite Van Gerwen holding the edge in average and checkout percentage in the final, Clayton made the seven-time champion pay for failing to close out the match at 5-2 and 5-4, forcing a decider. Clayton then sealed it in style, hitting two 180s in the leg before finishing on double 16. "I thought the game was over at 5-2 up for Michael," Clayton told Sky Sports. "He missed, he gave me a chance. You've got to take chances. That last leg was probably my best of the game. I'm back on top of the table, Luke Littler can start chasing me again."
Van Gerwen's run to the final helped him shore up his play-off place and open up a four-point gap to fellow Dutchman Gian van Veen in fifth, though he fell just short of a first nightly win since the opening week in Newcastle. Luke Littler suffered back-to-back quarter-final exits, falling 6-4 to Stephen Bunting while averaging just 83.94 and being booed by the crowd on his way to the stage after his spat with Van Veen last week. Bunting's slack finishing ultimately cost him as he was beaten 6-5 by Van Gerwen in the semi-finals.
Defending champion Luke Humphries also suffered a damaging 6-5 defeat to Clayton in the quarter-finals, missing a match dart with the darts in the deciding leg before Clayton secured the win on the bull. Humphries remains without a nightly win and is now seventh in the table, five points off fourth. In-form Welshman Gerwyn Price fell 6-3 to Northern Ireland's Josh Rock in the quarter-finals, but Rock's wait for a first final continues after a 6-4 semi-final loss to Clayton.
The quarter-final results were: Luke Humphries 5-6 Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price 3-6 Josh Rock, Luke Littler 4-6 Stephen Bunting, and Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Gian van Veen. The semi-finals saw Clayton beat Rock 6-4 and Van Gerwen edge Bunting 6-5. The next round of Premier League Darts is set for Thursday, 16 April at Rotterdam Ahoy, with quarter-finals featuring Luke Littler v Gerwyn Price, Gian van Veen v Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen v Jonny Clayton, and Stephen Bunting v Josh Rock.
