SENSATIONAL CLAYTON STEALS THE SHOW ON DAY TWO AT WINMAU WORLD MASTERS
Jonny Clayton produced a breathtaking display to move through to the Winmau World Masters second round on Friday evening, as Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen also celebrated opening round wins in Milton Keynes.
Day Two of the revamped World Masters saw the remaining eight first round ties take place at Arena MK, as Clayton registered his highest televised average to defeat Martin Schindler.
The Welshman averaged 112.77 to deny German number one Schindler in an astonishing contest, landing five 180s and converting 66% of his attempts at double in the process.
Clayton produced winning legs of 11, 16, 12, 10, 12 and 17 darts to cap off a majestic display, converting a brace of 121 combinations to defy a 105 average from Schindler.
“Everything clicked tonight,” reflected the world number seven, who won the Masters back in 2021.
“I had to produce my best against a player like Martin, and thankfully I did, so I’ve got a big smile on my face!
“I want to get back to my best, and I’m going to push hard. Hopefully I can repeat that performance tomorrow.”
World Champion Littler also impressed on a high-quality night of action, breezing past Belgium’s Andy Baetens in under 11 minutes of play to make a winning start in Milton Keynes.
Littler and Baetens exchanged holds in the opening set before the teenage sensation took control, reeling off five consecutive legs to triumph with a 104 average.
“I knew there would be a great pace to the game,” reflected Littler, who will now take on ten-time TV title winner James Wade for a place in the quarter-finals.
“My finishing was very good tonight and it needed to be, because Andy is a dangerous player.
“I would love to win another major title, and obviously this would be a new major to add to the list, but it’s a very strong field, so I’m just going to focus on tomorrow night.”
Dutch superstar Van Gerwen ran out a 3-1 winner against former World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks in his opener, winning seven out of nine legs to cap off a dominant display.
“I felt really comfortable tonight,” declared Van Gerwen, who won the Masters on five consecutive occasions between 2015 and 2019.
“I played some really good darts in patches. I had a couple of 11, 12 and 13-darters, but at some points I still made it incredibly hard for myself.
“I could have easily averaged over 100, but you have to live with it and move on, and I have to make sure I’m even sharper in the next round.”
Van Gerwen’s reward is a last 16 showdown against Dimitri Van den Bergh, who reeled off six consecutive legs to account for two-time World Champion Gary Anderson in the evening’s finale.
Anderson claimed the opening set in convincing style, only for Van den Bergh to respond with a quartet of 14-darters, followed by legs of 15 and 13 darts to complete the job.
Nathan Aspinall also won through a high-quality affair against Andrew Gilding, averaging 103 and landing six of his eight attempts at double to prevail in a battle of the former UK Open champions.
The Stockport star kicked off the contest with a sublime 161 finish, and he maintained that cutting edge on the outer ring to set up a second round showdown against Cameron Menzies.
“Everyone knows that I’m a good player, but I’ve been lacking so much confidence,” revealed Aspinall, a semi-finalist in Milton Keynes 12 months ago.
“The whole package was there tonight, and I have walked off stage probably the happiest and most confident I’ve been in three years!”
Menzies booked his place in round two at the expense of sixth seed Dave Chisnall, pinning six of his 12 attempts at double to complete a 3-1victory.
Ryan Searle defeated 2023 Masters champion Chris Dobey by the same scoreline to set up a showdown against Clayton, after the Bedlington star missed a dart at tops to force a fifth and decisive set.
Elsewhere, Wade won through a topsy-turvy five-set battle against World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker in Friday’s curtain-raiser, wrapping up proceedings with a clean sweep in set five.
Following the conclusion of the first round, the last 16 will take place across two sessions on Saturday, as World Champion Littler takes on ten-time TV title winner Wade.
Van Gerwen and Van den Bergh also lock horns in a blockbuster clash, with world number one Luke Humphries up against Northern Ireland’s premier player Josh Rock.
Stephen Bunting and Peter Wright go head-to-head in a repeat of their last eight clash at Alexandra Palace, while Australian number one Damon Heta meets 2021 World Champion Gerwyn Price.
The Winmau World Masters is being broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, and through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, with coverage also available on PDCTV (excluding subscribers in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland).
2025 Winmau World Masters
Friday January 31
First Round x8
James Wade 3-2 Mike De Decker (2-0, 0-2, 2-0, 1-2, 2-0)
Cameron Menzies 3-1 Dave Chisnall (2-1, 2-0, 0-2, 2-0)
Jonny Clayton 3-1 Martin Schindler (2-1, 2-0, 0-2, 2-0)
Nathan Aspinall 3-0 Andrew Gilding (2-0, 2-0, 2-1)
Ryan Searle 3-1 Chris Dobey (2-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-1)
Luke Littler 3-0 Andy Baetens (2-1, 2-0, 2-0)
Michael van Gerwen 3-1 Bradley Brooks (2-0, 1-2, 2-0, 2-0)
Dimitri Van den Bergh 3-1 Gary Anderson (0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0)
Saturday February 1
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)
4x Second Round
William O’Connor v Danny Noppert
Damon Heta v Gerwyn Price
Stephen Bunting v Peter Wright
Luke Humphries v Josh Rock
Saturday February 1
Afternoon Session (1900 GMT)
4x Second Round
Jonny Clayton v Ryan Searle
Cameron Menzies v Nathan Aspinall
Luke Littler v James Wade
Michael van Gerwen v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Best of seven sets, best of three legs per set.
