“He should respect his elders and give it back to me” – Jonny Clayton takes a playful jab at Gerwyn Price after Price moves one place above him in the Order of Merit

Jonny Clayton beat Gerwyn Price 8-4 in Auckland to win the 2026 New Zealand Darts Masters, reversing the result of their 2022 final and claiming the second World Series title of his career.

Clayton had been outstanding on the doubles throughout the deciding session and carried that form into the final, racing into a 7-1 lead before Price cut the deficit to 7-4. Three missed match darts from Clayton allowed Price to stay alive, before an unusual decision on 110 handed the 2022 champion another chance to close the gap.

The Ferret eventually settled matters with a 124 checkout on the bull, having opened the deciding leg with five perfect darts.

“It’s a great feeling,” Clayton told the PDC afterwards. “Second time back, obviously New Zealand, I’m grateful to be back and to win. It’s a fantastic feeling.”

The victory carried an extra layer of satisfaction for Clayton after his defeat to Price in the 2022 final, when he had been forced to settle for second place in Hamilton. “Yeah, well, I’ve got the runners-up trophy at home, now we’ve got a champions trophy,” he said. “We’re rugby boys in the home of rugby, so love it.”

His finishing had been a major feature of the entire evening. Clayton converted six of seven doubles in his quarter-final victory over Gian van Veen, then hit seven from ten in a dominant 7-2 semi-final win over James Wade.

That continued into the final. Clayton took out 55 in the opening leg, broke immediately afterwards and then produced a 158 checkout to move 3-0 ahead. By the interval he led 5-1 and had still not missed a dart at double. “I played okay up there tonight, so my finishing helped me out,” he admitted.

Price eventually dragged the score back from 7-1 to 7-4, helped by a rare lapse from Clayton when the leader chose not to go for the bull after setting it up from 110. “To be fair to Gez, he was laughing,” Clayton recalled. “He was saying, ‘What are you doing on that 50?’ I wasn’t concentrating. I didn’t expect to be that far ahead.”

Clayton could laugh about it afterwards, adding: “It doesn’t matter about that 50, I pinged the right one at the end.”

The missed opportunity on 110 was part of a brief wobble after Clayton had moved to within a single leg of the title at 7-1. Price won three successive legs as five Clayton match darts went begging, and the eventual champion admitted his focus had dipped.

“I lost a bit of concentration, to be honest,” Clayton said. “I was just waiting for Gez to come back into the game. I just didn’t expect to be that far ahead against Gerwyn Price. To be fair, I lost a little bit of concentration, but in the end I came back, and thank God for that.”

Clayton closed it out by opening the 12th leg with five perfect darts before taking out 124 on the bull. A shot like this was completed by a confident Clayton who starred under pressure and embraced the occasion on the oche.

"Obviously, it's good. You know, confidence is everything in a game of darts. You know, winning is even better," he said. "So, you know, I've come out here. Yeah, last night wasn't the best of my games. You know, it was a battle against Heta. But at the end of the day, you know, I got over the line. But today I've played some decent darts and, you know, it's just building confidence again.

Every title counts, and Clayton was most certainly very proud of this triumph. "You know, it's getting back into the winning run. It's getting back to lifting the trophy at the end of it. And, you know, they all count. They all count. When you're comfortable on that stage, confident, smiling, you know your game's in a good place. And I feel that."

While their darting rivalry is a fierce and fascinating one, the two Welshmen are really good friends off the oche, and that can be shown on it as well.

After reaching the World Matchplay final, the first thing the former world champion stated was on the topic of him snatching the Welsh number one spot back off Clayton after a period just behind. Clayton responded to this jab. "Yeah, obviously. But he gave it to me first, OK? So we'll get that straight, OK?"

The tone then went serious once more. "No, all jokes aside, you know, I respect Gezzy. You know, he's a great dart player. But he should respect his elders and give it back to me. That's what he should do, like."

It is a battle that Clayton is clearly enjoying. "So, no, but all jokes aside, you know, it's good to have that battle between ourselves. Like, you know, it's good to have his health in the game of darts. So, you know, I'm going to be chasing him now big time again."

The 51-year-old has reached the final in his two attempts in New Zealand. This victory marks the first title won after Price nabbed glory away four years ago.

That meeting was most certainly on Clayton's mind. "Obviously, you know, because I thought, "All right, OK, we've played each other once before in New Zealand. Hopefully, you know, the second time we play against each other, hopefully it was my night." And luckily enough, it was."

He never panicked, keeping his calm throughout. "You know, I was so relaxed in the beginning. I just came up to the blocks good. So, you know, I kept piling the pressure on. So, yeah, it's nice to have the runners-up and now the Champions Trophy. So, yeah, there's a happy Welshman here."

Now regularly competing among the elite again, it should not be another four years before he makes the trip back Down Under. "I hope so. Obviously, I hope so, you know, but to do that, I've got to play well. I've got to keep my standards up, you know, to get that invite for next year. But I'd love to be back. Obviously, you know, I love the country. So, yeah, I hope so."

Away from the oche, he has been getting in a lot of steps while wandering around Auckland, in high praise for the city despite his sharp upward trajectory in steps. "I've got to be honest, I've done a lot of walking. My steps are up. That's all I can say," he said. "You know, I might not bring my son with me again because that's all he wants to do is walk. So, no, genuinely, yeah, it's nice to have seen, you know, I've been down the harbour. I've been for a walk and I've loved it."

New Zealand are not known for their darts, but more for their rugby. Clayton, who also comes from a well-known rugby country, is also very fond of the sport and inspired his shirt worn on stage off the iconic All Blacks.

"You know, being a rugby man myself, I spoke to the guy that designs my shirts and I said, 'We have to go something like the All Blacks. It's got to be black and white. It's got to have the fern on it.'"

A lot more people have shared their fondness for it. "So, you know, do you know what? I'm happy with the design and there's been a lot of comments on social media. So, I think there's a lot of people happy with it. So, these might be for sale now on social media soon."

The victory gives Clayton his second World Series title and sends him to the Australian Darts Masters with the chance to go back-to-back on the 2026 circuit. “I’d love to,” he said of the prospect of winning again in Wollongong. “I’d love to go back-to-back. You know, so back-to-back on this World Series, and back-to-back on the Australian for me. So, yeah, can’t wait.”

Clayton will head to Wollongong with 20 points on the World Series Order of Merit after his Auckland victory, four behind Price and 12 behind leader Michael van Gerwen.