Jonny Clayton hit top spot in the Cazoo Premier League table with a third victory of the season in Aberdeen on Thursday, denying Michael van Gerwen in a deciding leg in the final.
Clayton averaged 103.40 and survived one match dart from Van Gerwen to rack up a third Premier League win of the season at P&J Live, backing up his previous successes in Liverpool and Birmingham.
He also ended Scottish hopes in Aberdeen by defeating Gary Anderson and Peter Wright on the night, before producing a comeback victory in the final against Van Gerwen.
The win sees the reigning Premier League champion move a step closer to securing a Play-Off place with just five league phase nights left to play.
“By Night 16 I don’t care where I am as long as I’m in the top four,” said Clayton.
“The crowd were on my back all night as you’d expect with playing two Scottish guys but I got on with it.
“I did my job in the last leg and pulled through to win it. To beat Michael puts a smile on my face.
“Every time Michael and I play it’s a good game. There have been a lot of times when I’ve stood behind Michael and lost 6-0 or 6-1 but you pick little things up off him to improve your game.”
Clayton came back from 4-2 down in the final, winning four of the last five legs in five or fewer visits to the board.
The Welshman overcame Anderson 6-2 in the quarter-finals before coming through a last-leg decider against Wright in the semi-finals.
Van Gerwen picked up three league points thanks to victories over Gerwyn Price and James Wade to maintain his position in the top four, but missed out narrowly on a fourth nightly win of the season.
Losing semi-finalists Wright and Wade leave Aberdeen with two points each thanks to quarter-final wins over Joe Cullen and Michael Smith respectively.
The Cazoo Premier League roadshow heads to Dublin’s 3Arena on Thursday April 28 for Night 12 of the league phase, as Clayton takes on Wright in a key match in the Play-Off race.
The night’s other quarter-finals will see Wade face Van Gerwen, while Price takes on Cullen and Smith plays Anderson.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK TICKETS FOR NIGHT 12 IN DUBLIN
The Cazoo Premier League is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers (excluding UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland).
2022 Cazoo Premier League
Night 11 – P&J Live, AberdeenThursday April 21
Quarter-Finals
Jonny Clayton 6-2 Gary Anderson
Peter Wright 6-5 Joe Cullen
James Wade 6-5 Michael Smith
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Gerwyn Price
Semi-Finals
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Peter Wright
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 James Wade
Final
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Click here to view match stats from all Night 11 matches.
Night 12 – 3Arena, DublinThursday April 28
Quarter-Finals
James Wade v Michael van Gerwen
Gerwyn Price v Joe Cullen
Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
Jonny Clayton v Peter Wright
—–ENDS—-
Images: Steve Welsh/PDC
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