Jonny Clayton battled through a painful bout of gout in his ankle to claim victory on night six of the Premier League in Nottingham. The Welshman, who could barely walk as he limped around the stage, delivered a virtuoso display to defeat Luke Humphries 6-1 in the final.
Clayton had earlier seen off Michael van Gerwen and Stephen Bunting to secure his second nightly win of the season. The result moves him eight points clear at the top of the table, strengthening his bid for a play-off spot at the O2 in London.
“I wasn’t expecting much tonight, I have got to be honest, I am suffering with gout, it’s in my ankles,” Clayton said on stage. “Tonight was a little bit difficult because every time I sat down, my foot was kind of stiffening up. So it was getting worse. I am in pain, it is hard to walk, luckily it is not in my arm and the darts were going in OK. I am a happy man.”
Humphries was denied his first nightly win of the year but ended a losing streak against Luke Littler, beating the teenager in a last-leg decider in the semi-final. Littler had earlier won the match of the night against Gerwyn Price, claiming an 11th win in their last 12 meetings, but his night ended in defeat.
Josh Rock’s miserable debut campaign continued as he was hammered 6-1 by fellow struggler Bunting, meaning he has lost all six of his matches.
