The Year Of The Ferret

The remarkable year of Jonny Clayton continued last weekend with his fourth TV title of the year, the Jack’s World Series of Darts Finals, defeating Dimitri Van den Bergh in the final on Sunday in Amsterdam.

A winner of the World Grand Prix earlier in October, Clayton sealed his second TV title of the month in style, averaging 101.63 in an 11-6 victory over Van den Bergh. His 2021 foursome also includes The Masters and The Premier League

That was the Welshman’s second ton-plus average of the day, having posted a 101.47 in an 11-6 semi-final win over Dutch number one Michael van Gerwen, who received vociferous support from the AFAS Live crowd.

Clayton also claimed the scalp of reigning champion, world number one and Welsh World Cup teammate Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals on another memorable day for the 47-year-old:

“I’m enjoying every second of what I’m doing right now,” Clayton reflected. “I want to thank everyone who supports me and gives me the chance to do this.
“I feel brilliant, my confidence is sky-high at the moment. I’m one very happy man.

“There are no easy games, everyone in this competition is fantastic but it’s my weekend so I’m going to smile tonight.

“It was a class game in the final, fair play to Dimitri. I could not get away from him until the last quarter of the game.”

Jonny Clayton on his World Series of Darts triumph

A captivating final saw Clayton go 2-0 up before the lead changed hands four times across the next nine legs as both players wrestled to take hold of the contest.

The 14th leg proved pivotal, as Clayton broke the Van den Bergh throw to go 8-6 in front before taking out 103 to give himself a three-leg buffer.
Clayton pressed home his advantage, winning the last two legs with finishes of 121 and 96 to lift his first World Series title and pocket the £70k top prize.

Despite coming up short in the final, Van den Bergh enjoyed a return to form across the weekend as he bounced back from a disappointing first-round exit at the World Grand Prix.

The world number five claimed a gutsy 11-8 win over Krzysztof Ratajski in the semi-finals, having got the better of his Belgian World Cup teammate Kim Huybrechts in the quarter-finals.

“It wasn’t the result I wanted but Jonny and I played a fantastic final, what a star he is,” said Van den Bergh.

“I felt a lot better in my game this weekend than I have in the last few weeks. I’ve sorted something out and now I feel free to enjoy my darts again.
“I want to say a massive thank you to the fans, it was a joy playing in front of this crowd. I will be back.”

Runner-Up, Dimitri Van den Bergh

Sunday also saw the quarter-finals take place in the afternoon, as Clayton and Van den Bergh defeated their World Cup partners Price and Huybrechts in thrilling contests.

Dutch youngster Niels Zonneveld saw his run ended by Ratajski, while Van Gerwen delighted the Dutch crowd with a 10-5 win over Mervyn King.

The next PDC televised event is the Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts, which will take place in Wolverhampton from November 13-21 – click here for ticket information.
2021 Jack’s World Series of Darts Finals.

Sunday, October 31
Quarter-Finals
Krzysztof Ratajski 10-6 Niels Zonneveld
Dimitri Van den Bergh 10-8 Kim Huybrechts
Jonny Clayton 10-9 Gerwyn Price
Michael van Gerwen 10-5 Mervyn King

Semi-Finals
Dimitri Van den Bergh 11-8 Krzysztof Ratajski
Jonny Clayton 11-6 Michael van Gerwen

Final
Jonny Clayton 11-6 Dimitri Van den Bergh

—–ENDS—–
Lead Image: Kelly Deckers/PDC