Jonny Clayton delivered a pointed message to Luke Littler after seizing top spot in the Premier League standings on a night that perfectly illustrated the world champion’s current predicament — beaten, booed, and now being chased rather than doing the chasing.
The 51-year-old Welshman produced one of the great Premier League comebacks at the Brighton Centre, fighting back from 5-2 down against Michael van Gerwen in the final to win 6-5 — and was not shy in letting the sport’s biggest name know about it. “I’m back on top of the table — Luke Littler can start chasing me again,” Clayton told Sky Sports after the win. “I know what it’s like to be here, I’ve got the experience, I know what it takes to get to Finals Night. You’ve got to play darts, take your chances, and if you play half-decent you’ve got a chance of playing on Night 17.”
It was a pointed remark with real substance behind it. Clayton has moved onto 24 points at the top of the table, with Littler second on 21.
While Clayton was making his comeback, Littler was enduring one of the worst nights of his career. The 19-year-old managed just 59 from his opening three darts and 41 from the next three en route to losing his throw in the opening leg, as many in attendance delighted in his struggles. He shook Bunting’s hand and exited the stage meekly after averaging only 83.94 and failing to hit a single maximum — the lowest average in a televised PDC match of his career.
Three-time world champion John Part was damning in his assessment: “Stephen did what he had to do. He really should have won 6-0. The first two legs Luke won, he had no business winning. He didn’t look interested.”
The elephant in the room was the absence of any interaction between Littler and Gian van Veen before proceedings. The pair, still not on speaking terms following last week’s Manchester flashpoint, prepared in entirely different corners of the Brighton Centre. Clayton, asked about it after his win, was diplomatically matter-of-fact: “They’re always in separate practice rooms really. Myself, Mike [Van Gerwen] and Luke Humphries were in one and usually Gian comes into that. I don’t think there’s anything of it, it’s just the way it happens. Gian was in with us and Luke was in the other one. There’s nothing in that at all.”
Whether or not the practice room split meant anything, the feud’s shadow lingered over Littler’s evening. Wayne Mardle said it would be “more of a coincidence” if the Brighton performance had nothing to do with the Manchester week. The rematch between the two players that many had anticipated never even arrived — Littler was out before he could face Van Veen in the semi-finals.
As for Clayton, the comeback against Van Gerwen was a masterclass in patience. Van Gerwen held a commanding 5-2 advantage but missed multiple match darts — and Clayton punished every single one, culminating in an 84 finish on the bullseye to level at 5-5, before firing in back-to-back 180s to seal the deciding leg on double 16. “I thought the game was over at 5-2 up for Michael,” Clayton admitted. “He missed, he gave me a chance. You’ve got to take chances.”
The veteran, who enters every Premier League as a wildcard pick rather than an automatic qualifier, is now ahead of the reigning world champion with six nights remaining. Rotterdam is next on Night 11.
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