"Oh my God. That’s life-changing" - Jonny Clayton motivated for illustrious world title while disclosing absence from World Series

Family comes over darts for Jonny Clayton, which explains why he has missed a majority of the World Series events this year, despite his positive upturn in form.

With five consecutive majors set to be contested, the Welshman has his heart set on silverware as he ramps up preparations for the World Grand Prix, in which he will play his opening round match tonight against Andrew Gilding. Amongst this preparation, he had travelled to Wrexham for an exhibition to compete with some fellow superstars.

"Every bit of practice helps because I’m a lazy practiser back home, so every bit of practice against top-class, world-class players is a massive bonus," Clayton said in an interview with Online Darts. "Like you just said, it’s a busy part of the year with the biggest tournaments coming through — starting off with the Grand Prix, the double-in, double-out format. So obviously I’m focusing on that, and then it’s all leading up to the big one — the million-pound prize at Christmas. I love it. I love this end part of the year, and I can’t wait."

It has been a positive year for The Ferret. He has risen to a previous high of fifth in the world, and has made two major finals, along with a brace of semi-finals. A title on the European Tour and Pro Tour shows that he still has that killer instinct, with the Welshman very upbeat about his game.

"Well, I’ve got a smile on my face, so I’m doing all right," he said. "The darts are going the right way, definitely. I’m still looking for a little bit more consistency, but my darts are going the right way — and for me, that’s all that counts.

"Like you just said, I’m smiling again — and I’m dangerous when I smile. I’ve gone back to thinking: if you lose, you try harder next time. You’ll always get a second chance. I’m not overthinking wins or losses anymore. I’m just there to play darts — something I’m pretty good at. Hopefully I’ll be lifting some silverware again soon. Hopefully it starts with the Grand Prix."

Now currently ranked sixth, Clayton has his eyes on the top four, breaking new ground. It is a key position, giving you automatic entry into the Premier League, in which Clayton won in 2021.

"That’d be amazing. I do look at the rankings, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t look too far ahead," he said. "I want to win everything I play in, but obviously with the class of darts at the moment, that doesn’t always happen. You win some, you lose some. But when I lose, I try to come back stronger. It makes me work harder and pushes me. So hopefully at the Grand Prix I can get that trophy again for the second time — and hopefully Jonny Clayton will be ready for Christmas.

"Obviously, you know what happens if you’re in the top four — it’s great in the world of darts because you’re in everything that goes. But to be announced as world number one, two, three, or four — that’s a proud moment, isn’t it? I’ve never been announced as any of those, so hopefully this year, like you said, I could break into it. Maybe Jonny Clayton will be world number four, number three, or maybe even number two or one. I’m looking forward to it."

Despite this return to form, Clayton has only turned up to a duo of World Series events this year, in Denmark and Poland. With the darting calendar as packed as it currently is, Clayton is prioritising his family over every event, with painful sacrifices being made.

When asked if it was a hard decision to miss these events, he said: "Oh, 100%. You have to have family time. I don’t know how to say this the right way, but I understand that no player is bigger than the PDC — but the PDC will never be bigger than my family. That’s my personal view. I was gutted that I wasn’t in Australia and New Zealand, but I have to have family time as well. I’d booked a holiday, and unfortunately it clashed with those events. One had to give, and like I say, I don’t see my kids and my wife enough."

In 2021 dubbed 'the year of The Ferret,' Clayton collected four major titles, propelling himself into the spotlight. Only one of those titles were ranked, which was the World Grand Prix triumph over his good friend Gerwyn Price. Renowned as a solid double hitter, Clayton will go into the event with the confidence that he can reproduce the goods.

"It definitely gives you confidence because I’ve won it before," Clayton said. "But it’s all about getting that first double, isn’t it? We’re all chasing that first double. It’s a great tournament — a real leveller. Everyone’s on the same playing field. It’s not about hitting the first 180; it’s about hitting the first double. It’s a tough one, but the rankings and everything go out the window — it’s basically who hits that first double."

With £1 million on offer at the upcoming World Darts Championships, many players are ready to give it their all for the increased prize sum that has come into effect due to the rise in popularity darts has recently been through. For the players, it is more motivation to play their best game, with Clayton labelling it as 'life-changing', but would still prefer to be named as World Champion over the money.

"That’s all everybody’s talking about. Every player," he said. "Every tournament is important, obviously, but one million pounds for the winner of the World Championship? Oh my God. That’s life-changing. I’m not saying the others aren’t, but a million quid to win one tournament in darts — wow. The PDC have done something fantastic there. Every player in the world is thinking, 'I want to win it this year.'

"Obviously the title — getting your name on that trophy would be fantastic. But the money is a very close second."