"I lost interest in darts. Just didn't want to play it, didn't enjoy it" but after re-finding the fire Jonny Clayton targeting a career best run at Ally Pally

For Jonny Clayton, the 2025 World Darts Championship gets underway on Monday the 23rd of December against either Mickey Mansell or Tomoya Goto. After a somewhat quieter season for 'The Ferret' in 2024, can he spark into life just in time for Ally Pally?

Despite only reaching the quarter-finals at one ranking major this year, the World Grand Prix, Clayton has broken new ground by overtaking Gerwyn Price in the PDC Order of Merit and becoming Welsh number one for the first time in his career. "You can look at it in two different ways. It is literally just a number, but I'm proud to be Welsh number one, as Gezzy was when he was," Clayton tells Polly James at a recent MODUS exhibition in Cardiff. "It's a nice thing to have on your name, but we're there to play darts. Obviously being Welsh number one is a great honour and I take that every day."

Both Price and Clayton have been the spearhead figures of Welsh darts in recent years, taking multiple World Cup of Darts titles together, fired on by a close friendship away from the oche. "We just click," Clayton says of his compatriot. ''I'm the one that messes about, Gezzy is more serious, but we have great banter and he's a good friend."

As mentioned though, the next focus of Clayton is the Alexandra Palace, a place where he's never had the best record, even when in his pomp, only having reached the quarter-finals on one occasion. Given the fact Clayton didn't even qualify for the recent Grand Slam of Darts though, he's had plenty of time to prepare and get focused this time around.

"I'm lazy, I never practice. But, I'm back on the board so that means I want to do well,'' Clayton says determinedly. "I'd like to go further than the quarters, I'd like to make the semis, I'd love to pick up that trophy. So it's going to be hard work but if I can't be bothered, they're not just going to give you a semi-final. I'm just so lazy, I get bored of things so easy. If I play to much in practice, I don't want to play on the weekend, so it's about finding that balance of what I used to do before, when I was playing well."

"I'll be honest, last year after losing my dad, I lost interest in darts. Just didn't want to play it, didn't enjoy it," he admits in conclusion. "But the fire is back now."