“Gezzy is one of the best dart players that has ever lived” – Jonny Clayton hits back at Gerwyn Price critics

Jonny Clayton could provide one of the loudest moments of the 2026 Premier League Darts season when the roadshow arrives in Cardiff in a few weeks. The Welshman is weighing up a potential change to his walk-on music for home night, but his biggest statement ahead of the visit to Wales may already have come in defence of Gerwyn Price.

Clayton has experimented before, and speaking to talkSPORT, he admitted his last Cardiff switch did not land the same way twice. “I tried Delilah the first time I was there, and it came off good. But it didn’t go as well the second time.”

That leaves him open to another change this time around, without committing to anything too early. “I might not go the Delilah route, but maybe there might be something up my sleeve.”

When Sex Bomb was put to him as a potential alternative, Clayton’s reaction was immediate and playful. “Definitely! I’ve not really thought of it. But being a part of Cardiff, being Welsh, it is the best one for us.”

The idea clearly appeals, not least because of the atmosphere it could generate. He even recalled Joe Cullen’s reaction during a previous Cardiff night: “I remember I played Joe Cullen in his first year in the Premier League, and it was in Cardiff. He said, ‘This is my favourite of all.’ He loved it.”

With two Welshmen in this year’s field, Clayton believes the occasion will carry extra edge. “The banter and the atmosphere are going to be crazy. To have two Welshmen in the Premier League, it will be a good night there.”

Clayton did not hesitate when asked about Gerwyn Price’s standing in the sport, calling his fellow Welshman one of the best to ever do it. “Gezzy is one of the best dart players that has ever lived. He has won nearly everything.”

He also pointed to the balance in Price’s game, and the feeling that his best level is returning. “He has got everything — his power scoring and finishing. He is definitely coming back to where he was three years ago at the Worlds.”

Clayton even linked that edge to Price’s sporting background, referencing a line he had heard from him away from darts. “He is just a powerhouse. I think it has something to do with the rugby background where, like he said the other day, ‘On the rugby field I want to rip somebody’s head off.’”

For Clayton, the intensity is simply part of elite competition, and he believes that should be understood rather than criticised. “There are no friends on the oche. I get that, and that is what you see out of Gezzy Price.”

He is also baffled by the reception Price sometimes gets in arenas, and made his feelings clear. “I don’t get how people boo him. He just goes out and plays the game as hard as he can.”

Clayton went further, framing it as a strange response to a player performing at the highest level, and one he does not recognise from within the Welsh camp. “I can’t see why people dislike him. He is very good. I am proud to be a part of the Welsh World Cup team with him.”

At 51, Clayton has also started to think about how long he wants to keep going, and he made it clear he does not want rankings to make that decision for him. “I don’t know, as in time-wise. Hopefully, as long as I want, and not to be knocked out of it by going down the rankings and falling out of the top 64.”

He is equally clear about what he does not want to repeat, after already going through the grind of Q School once. “I don’t want to go back to Q-School, and I’ve done it once.”

For Clayton, it is about leaving on his own terms, not being forced out by a dip in form or a lost Tour Card. “So hopefully it will be my decision to quit darts rather than fail in the game and lose my Tour Card.”

As for when that might be, he has at least sketched out a rough window, as long as the competitiveness and enjoyment remain. “Hopefully, I have another five or six years in the game. I’m looking at maybe the 57 or 58 mark, then I will seriously start thinking about it.”

Whether Clayton ends up walking out to Sex Bomb or something else entirely in Cardiff, he has already made one thing clear: he wants it to feel like a proper Welsh night, and he wants the choices to be his.