Jonny Clayton (Picture: PDC)

Darts results: Jonny Clayton regains top spot in Premier League table with victory over Michael van Gerwen

By Sporting Life

Darts

Fri April 10, 2026 · 1h ago

Jonny Clayton claimed Night Ten glory in Brighton to recapture top spot in the 2026 BetMGM Premier League standings on Thursday.

Clayton scooped his third nightly victory of the campaign thanks to a trio of hard-fought wins over Luke Humphries, Josh Rock and Michael van Gerwen in the final to reinstate his position at the summit of the standings.

The Welsh number one pipped defending champion Humphries in a last-leg decider in his opening fixture, taking a clutch 84 outshot on the bullseye after surviving a match dart to sink the world number two.

Clayton then overturned his recent form against Rock to down the Northern Irishman 6-4, confirming his position in top spot and setting up a final against Van Gerwen.

The 2021 Premier League champion struck a majestic 140 checkout to take a 1-0 lead in the contest, but found himself trailing 3-1 and then 5-2 after a fantastic surge by Van Gerwen, who was averaging over 105 as he closed in on a second nightly win.

However, Clayton rallied in a remarkable comeback, surviving two match darts at 5-2 down and another pair of match darts at 5-4 down before levelling the contest with another 84 kill on the bullseye to make it 5-5.

The 51-year-old then saw out the last-leg decider with a composed 12-darter to complete the comeback and seal nightly victory on the south coast in style.

“I’m back on top of the table, and it’s time for Luke Littler to start chasing me again!” declared Clayton, who now possesses a three-point gap over second-placed Luke Littler in the standings.

“I thought the game was over at 5-2 against Michael, but you have to take your chances, and that last leg was probably my best leg of the game.

“Obviously I lost to Josh [Rock] in the last couple of weeks, and it puts you under pressure.

“Coming into tonight I was just hoping for two points. Anything after that was a bonus, so to win the night is great.

“It’s another trophy for the cabinet and I’m back on top, so I’m happy!”

Van Gerwen reached his fourth nightly final of the campaign after battling through tight contests against Dutch compatriot Gian van Veen and two-time World Championship semi-finalist Stephen Bunting.

The seven-time Premier League champion pipped Van Veen to a 6-4 win, capitalising on poor doubling from the world number three to move into the semi-finals.

The Dutch number two then edged past Bunting in a last-leg decider, increasing his buffer in the Play-Off places to four points.

In the other quarter-finals, Rock bagged his third consecutive opening-round win with a 6-3 success against Gerwyn Price, climbing up to six points and halting the Welshman’s push for top spot.

Bunting put out an off-colour Littler 6-4 to move up to sixth in the standings, as the World Champion recorded the lowest televised PDC average of his career.