Jonny Clayton has bagged himself a first ranking title of 2024. 'The Ferret' defeated Wesley Plaisier 8-5 in the final of the fourteenth Players Championship tournament of the year on Wednesday.
Clayton and Plaisier both made it a top quality final, with averages over the 100 mark from both players. "Fair play to Wesley. How he hasn’t got a Tour Card I’ll never know, because he can seriously play darts," Clayton reflected in his post-match interview, full of praise for his Dutch rival.
For Clayton, it has been a while since the Welshman played this well, not having captured another ranking title since last year. "Confidence is low when you’re not picking up results, but I’ve got my mojo back," he laughed. "I’ve got a smile on my face, and winning always helps. I was way off at the start of the year, but something has clicked. I played well yesterday and I played well today, so my consistency is there, and fingers crossed I can keep it going."
World Matchplay
The next big tournament is the World Matchplay, which starts at the end of next week in Blackpool. A tournament which Clayton starred in twelve months ago, despite ultimately missing out on the title to Nathan Aspinall. "It’s a great time to get your form back with the World Matchplay coming up," Clayton admits, optimistic about his chances at the iconic Winter Gardens. "Hopefully I can go one step further this year.”
Clayton, who is seeded 8th at the World Matchplay, won't have too long to wait to find out his first round opponent. The draw for the 2024 edition of the World Matchplay will be conducted on Thursday afternoon, July 4th. A few days later, the PDC will announce the playing schedule for the prestigious major tournament held annually in Blackpool.
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