Jonny Be Good . . . Clayton Summons All His Motivation For Unwell Dad, Ahead Of First World Matchplay Final

By David Williams

Jonny Clayton is hopeful he can again be inspired to perform well for his unwell father as he takes on Nathan Aspinall in the final of the World Matchplay Darts on Sunday night.

Welsh star Clayton has spoken of feeling extra motivation at the tournament this week in order to give a a boost to his ill father.

“I’m doing this for my dad. He’s not very well at all,” revealed the 48-year-old. “It would mean everything for me to win this title.

“It means a lot to me for a lot of different reasons. My dad’s my biggest fan and he’s wishing me on, so I want to do this for him.

“I’m fighting until the end – it would mean everything to win; for my family, my friends and obviously my dad, so hopefully it’s going to be my year.”

The Ferret came through an epic encounter against Luke Humphries to seal his spot in Sunday’s showpiece, recovering from 10-7 down to triumph 17-15 at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.

“This means a lot to me,” reflected the Carmathenshire thrower.

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“To get over the line against one of the best players in the world is an amazing feeling. Luke Humphries is going to go on and pick up majors time after time!

“I had to dig deep but you’ve got to take your chances and that’s what I did, and I really hope I can pick this trophy.”

Clayton has won six major titles in his career, but becoming World Matchplay champion would be the biggest victory of his career.

Aspinall, meanwhile, ran out a convincing 17-9 winner against Joe Cullen in Saturday’s opener.

Clayton, who had landed nine ton-plus checkouts during wins over Dimitri Van den Bergh and Ryan Searle, was indebted to another devastating display of doubling.

Humphries kept Clayton at arm’s length in the opening exchanges with a run of three consecutive legs.

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The 28-year-old squandered two darts for a 9-5 advantage, although he made amends by following up a 78 combination with a 14-darter to regain his three-leg cushion at 10-7.

Clayton responded to break throw in 12 darts, which he followed with a 13-dart hold to trail 10-9.

Humphries hit back with an 80 checkout in leg 20 but Clayton continued to plug away and eventually got his reward, reeling off three straight legs to hit the front.

Sixth seed Humphries stopped the rot to restore parity at 13-13 and he was afforded a reprieve in the closing stages when Clayton uncharacteristically missed two darts at doubles to move 16-14 ahead.

Nevertheless, Clayton regained his poise to move to the brink of victory with a 14-dart hold, before sealing his progress with a nerveless 80 after Humphries had missed a single 18 to deny himself a possible 118 finish.

Aspinall reached a third televised final in the space of nine months with victory against Cullen, who was left to rue 28 missed darts at double.

He was the aggressor in the opening exchanges, defying a superb 148 checkout from Cullen in leg seven to establish a three-leg buffer at 7-4.

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Aspinall stretched his lead during a decisive spell midway through the match, punishing a host of missed opportunities from Cullen to extend his cushion to 13-6.

Cullen threatened to rally in making it 13-8, though a revival was shortlived as Aspinall won back-to-back legs to cement his advantage.

The 32-year-old then made a sprint for the finish in the latter stages, successive legs of 11 and 14 darts sealing his spot in Sunday’s showpiece.

“We’ve got such a great opportunity to win one of the biggest tournaments in the sport and I think it told in our performance,” conceded Aspinall.

“Joe didn’t play well and I was nowhere near my best, but I think I was just a little bit more clinical and that’s why I got over the line.”