Jonny Clayton secured a dramatic victory on Night Ten of the Premier League Darts, edging Michael van Gerwen 6-5 in the Brighton final. It marks his third nightly win of the 2026 season. Clayton found himself trailing 5-2, admitting afterwards, "I didn't think I was going to win tonight. Mike was playing well, hitting good shots and taking out his doubles, so I was thinking my night was over." However, a stunning turnaround saw him claw back, crediting his bullseye checkouts: "I think the bullseye tonight was my best mate. It just kept me in the game." He added, "You have to believe that you can win... Then you just take it leg by leg, and at 5-5, my darts... I had a dream leg. That's all that counts. Tonight was mine."
The win came after a tough period where Clayton failed to pick up points and saw Luke Littler take over the league lead. Reflecting on a prior defeat, he said, "Josh, to be fair, hammered me two weeks ago. Last week I thought it was a great game. My confidence was still high, but being four points down hurts." His goal remained simple: "From the beginning I'm searching for two points. Anything more than two points is a bonus. Tonight I found five, so that's all that counts." The victory propelled Clayton back to the top of the table, but he stayed focused on the playoffs: "It's obviously a nice feeling being on top. But at the end of the day, we're all chasing week 17. I just want to be anywhere in that top four. If I'm in London, that's all that matters. Who cares if I'm number one? I want to be in that top four and I'm going to be happy."
After the match, Clayton addressed rumors about practice room tensions between Littler and Gian van Veen, firmly dismissing them: "They're always in separate practice rooms really. If there's two rooms, myself, Mike and Luke Humphries are in one and usually Gian comes into that. Tonight Gian was with us and Luke was in the other one, so there's nothing in that." He emphasized mental resilience as key, noting that seeing Littler knocked out early gave him motivation: "I saw Luke going out, so that gives me a chance then to try and get back level. Then it was my night." Clayton also revealed that criticism fuels him, saying, "Yeah, obviously it does." A notable moment came when Van Gerwen attempted a tops-tops checkout, which Clayton described as "more like an exhibition shot," adding, "I was just glad he didn't."
