The Welsh wizard rises to World No.4 in the provisional rankings and knocks a popular star out of the automatic PL places
Photos taken during the 2026 Paddy Power World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, London.
Jonny Clayton sealed a vital double success as he progressed in the Paddy Power World Championship.
The Welsh star won a tense struggle against Andreas Harrysson to move into the last-eight. But, as well as booking his place in the quarter-finals for a second time on New Year’s Day, the win was also hugely significant as it has moved Clayton up to provisional World No.4.
And that looks almost certain to secure The Ferret a cherished place in next year’s 17-week Premier League spectacular.
Of course, a tournament win for one of the lower-ranked stars left in the competition such as Ryan Searle, whom he meets in the last eight, would move the goalposts.
But, at this stage, Clayton now holds the last PL ticket with the top four in the rankings at the end of the Ally Pally guaranteed a place.
He’s ready having stated following his last 16 win over Niels Zonnerveld: “I’d be a liar to say I don’t want to be back in the Premier League. I love it. It’s the best tournament of all. But I’ve got to prove myself. I’ve had a few down years and my darts have to prove it. So, hopefully, I am going the right way and my name might be in the hat.”
Clayton is now right where he needs to be and, although it was not his most polished performance, it is enough to climb the ladder as he leaps over Stephen Bunting in the rankings, with The Bullet now needing a pick from the PDC or Sky to make the PL.
Conversely, it was ranking anguish for the Swede who needed a win in the game to fulfill his dream of moving into the Top 64 in the world to secure his Tour Card on the PDC circuit for the next two years.
Photos taken during the 2026 Paddy Power World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, London.
Harrysson had his chances and played well, but key missed shots at crucial times proved the undoing of the window-frame maker from Malilla.
Clayton could only concentrate on getting his own job done and said: “There was a lot of things on my mind. Obviously, moving to World No.4 was one of them, To be fair to Andreas, every time I looked up, he was hitting doubles. So I was thinking, just keep my head down. That was tough.
“So, okay, I didn’t play my best, getting a lot of loose darts, but that’s what pressure does to you and that’s what Andreas done, he kept me under pressure all the time. I broke in the last but set and that made the difference, I think.
“He was 2-0 up [in legs], but darts is cruel. We all go up there, we all miss doubles, we all miss big numbers, but thank God I’ve done alright today.”
