"He's one of the greatest players that's ever thrown a dart" - Jonny Clayton impressively dismantles Gary Anderson to reach last 32 at 2025 UK Open

Jonny Clayton was incredibly impressive in his opening match at the 2025 UK Open. 'The Ferret' convincingly defeated former winner Gary Anderson 10-3. In the last 32, he will now face another Scot in the form of Alan Soutar. The 50-year-old Welshman has never advanced beyond the semifinals at the UK Open, but hopes to change that this weekend.

Clayton showed signs of a return to his best by reaching the Winmau World Masters final earlier this year, however, he knew he faced a tough assignment against Anderson, who managed to win the 2018 UK Open. "I think I got out the blocks pretty quick. Things went good for me in the first definitely five legs and then I came out again and started well again," reflects the former Premier League Darts winner to the assembled media post-match. "I kept the pressure on Gary."
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Clearly though, there is a hell of a lot of mutual respect between Clayton and Anderson. "He's one of the greatest players that's ever thrown a dart," says 'The Ferret' warmly. "But when you're under pressure, unless you're hitting two or three trebles, the game gets difficult. It was just my day today."

One of the highlights of every UK Open is the open draw system, meaning anyone can be drawn against anyone at any stage. Whilst undoubtedly adding to the excitement for the fans, Clayton admits it can make things uncertain for the players. "Put it like this, when they said my name and ball number six comes out, I was thinking: 'Please be kind, please be kind.' Then it's Gary Anderson..." Clayton laughs. "But no, I think it's exciting for players, it's exciting for the fans."

As mentioned, Clayton reached the final at the 2025 PDC Winmau World Masters earlier this year sparking dreams of a return to his major winning form of years gone by. "I'm going back to Johnny Clayton who just turns up and plays darts," he concludes. "If I'm not good enough in this tournament, maybe I will be in the next tournament. So I'm going to try and get back to that, not overthinking."