Jonny Clayton extends lead at Premier League Darts summit with Nottingham triumph

Jonny Clayton moved eight points clear at the top of the Premier League Darts table with his second weekly title of the season in Nottingham.

Former champion Clayton continued his dream start to the campaign with another hat-trick of victories at the Motorpoint Arena on Thursday.

The Welshman dispatched Michael van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting and Luke Humphries to scoop the £10,000 bonus, hammering Humphries 6-1 in the final.

Clayton opened up with a 6-3 win over seven-time champion Van Gerwen, reeling off six of the last seven legs to maintain his perfect record in Premier League quarter-finals this season.

The 2021 champion then defeated Bunting by the same scoreline in the semi-finals, pinning 55 per cent of his attempts at doubles to cap off a clinical display.

Clayton then produced another ruthless display to stretch his lead at the Premier League summit, thrashing a wasteful Humphries in a one-sided final.

Humphries defied a swift start from Clayton to halve the deficit with a 121 checkout on the bull in leg three, only for Clayton to respond with a bruising 146 checkout in leg five to race 4-1 ahead.

That proved to be the defining blow, as Clayton followed that up with a 14-dart hold to move to the cusp of victory – which he duly sealed after Humphries squandered a further four darts at doubles.

“I wasn’t expecting much to be honest. I was suffering from gout in my ankle,” revealed Clayton.

“It was a little bit difficult, but my arm was okay and that’s all that counts!

“I didn’t expect to be on top of the league after Night Six – I was expecting to have eight points in total!

“I know what it’s about, getting the points in early. It’s not a bad start, and hopefully it can carry on.

“It’s my favourite tournament, I love it. Hopefully I’m proving why I should be in it, and my darts are doing the talking.”

Humphries’ run to a first weekly final included impressive wins over Gian van Veen and Luke Littler, moving the world number two up to fifth in the league table.

The 31-year-old kicked off Thursday’s play with a hard-fought 6-4 win over Van Veen – just his second victory over the Dutch number one in nine meetings.

He then edged past his great rival Littler in a captivating semi-final between the world’s top two, averaging almost 106 and converting 130 and 128 finishes in the latter stages.

Littler moved up to second in the table following a spectacular quarter-final win over Gerwyn Price, defying consecutive 151 and 152 checkouts from the Welshman by averaging a whopping 108.6 and landing and ten 180s.

Bunting, meanwhile, ran out an emphatic 6-1 winner against a struggling Josh Rock in the evening’s opener, extending the Northern Irish debutant’s winless start to six matches.

Premier League Darts 2026 Night Six Results

Thursday March 12

Quarter-Finals
Stephen Bunting 6-1 Josh Rock
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
Luke Humphries 6-4 Gian van Veen
Luke Littler 6-5 Gerwyn Price

Semi-Finals
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Luke Humphries 6-5 Luke Littler

Final
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Luke Humphries