Ferret Can't Stop Shaking After Rocking the Slam!
Jonny Clayton admits he couldn’t stop shaking after rocking the Grand Slam by beating Michael van Gerwen.
The Welsh wonder was trailing 4-2 with MVG averaging 119 when somehow he fought back to nail tops for a famous win in Wolverhampton.
It now means Clayton is unbeaten in his opening two clashes but still needs to beat Gary Robson on Tuesday night to book his place in the knockout stages.
He said: “I’m obviously over the moon. When you are playing the No.1 in the world you just want to play your best and see whatever happens.
“I was just thinking I’m Welsh, I never give up. It’s a learning curve for me to play against a person like Michael who is a formidable dart player.
“In the last leg I thought to myself I’ve got a chance here. Michael missed and I just wanted to stop shaking and just try and hit that double and that’s what happened.
“I’ve still got to try and qualify. It will be difficult. I play Gary Robson and I’ve known him from the BDO and I know he can play darts.
“Listen I’ve beaten Michael so hopefully I can beat Gary too.
“I’ve got to stop shaking first and then chill out day on Monday and back to work on Tuesday night for hopefully another win.”
Pumped-up Peter Wright faces a potential win or bust Grand Slam group game clash with Josh Payne in Wolverhampton tonight (Monday). But he admits he is pacing himself for another run to the final after last year’s heartbreak at the hands of MVG. Wright believes he can go one better this time. He said: “You don’t need to show too much in the early rounds. No point wasting all your good darts too soon, it’s about saving your best for later on. “It’s important to treat it as a marathon, not a sprint. I know what I had to do last year to get to the final and I’ll do exactly the same this time. “I lost the final to Michael last year but you learn every time. You learn from what you’ve done wrong or the preparation, didn’t eat right or just lacked energy because of lack of sleep. “People say that I can’t beat Michael but I’ve beaten him three times on telly already this year. Once in front of 11,000 of his fans booing and hissing me in Rotterdam, I still put up with it and done it.” Wright, sporting a fabulous headpaint Armistice Day tribute by his wife Jo, remained unbeaten in the Slam with a 5-2 win over Max Hopp, just 24 hours after dumping Jim Williams 5-4. But he still needs to beat oche hunk Payne to make sure of his place in the knockout stages later in the week.
Gary Anderson demolished Ian White 5-1 with the fourth best performance in Grand Slam history. The Flying Scotsman was on fire hitting a 112.54 and wrapping up his place in the knockout stages in a matter of minutes. Ando now faces Steve Hine tomorrow night (Tuesday) with his place in the next round confirmed. He admitted: “It was better than last night’s game. I had a good three hours on the practice board tonight. I’ve not had too much time on the board lately. But it’s getting busy now and I need to sort myself out. “I got off to a good start going for the nine-darter, but I thought to myself ‘don’t hit it’ because it can only go downhill after that! “My 180s were going in and I was playing well and so were my doubles. “It was hard because Ian’s a good friend of mine and tomorrow we’re away fishing for the day. Ian’s been brilliant for the last couple of years so it’s nice to win. “I want to win the Slam but I’d love to win it at the Civic!”
World Champion Rob Cross admitted he was “lucky” as he became the first player to book his place in the knockout stages before his final group game against Ryan Searle tonight (Monday). Voltage beat Dimitri Van den Bergh 5-4 and said: “I've been a bit lucky in the first two games so it's great to be through. I was a bit edgy on Saturday but the second game was better. “Dimitri played some quality darts and is a fantastic player. He had me beaten and let me off the hook, and I took advantage. “It's a short format and it's anyone's game in the groups, and the first thing is to make sure you qualify. I can relax and come out and enjoy myself now. “I feel fantastic. I played better today and felt solid on my doubles, but they needed to be. I'm just happy to get through and I want to make it three wins from three when I play Ryan." World Youth Champion Van den Bergh now faces a winner-qualifies tie on Monday night against BDO number two Mark McGeeney. Welshman Gerwyn Price and former Lakeside Champion Stephen Bunting have one foot into the second round after picking up two wins from as many games. Reigning Lakeside Champion Glen Durrant still needs to defeat Andrew Gilding to secure his second round place, while Mensur Suljovic will meet Martin Schindler as he bids for qualification.
By Phil Lanning (@lannomedia)
Pumped-up Peter Wright faces a potential win or bust Grand Slam group game clash with Josh Payne in Wolverhampton tonight (Monday). But he admits he is pacing himself for another run to the final after last year’s heartbreak at the hands of MVG. Wright believes he can go one better this time. He said: “You don’t need to show too much in the early rounds. No point wasting all your good darts too soon, it’s about saving your best for later on. “It’s important to treat it as a marathon, not a sprint. I know what I had to do last year to get to the final and I’ll do exactly the same this time. “I lost the final to Michael last year but you learn every time. You learn from what you’ve done wrong or the preparation, didn’t eat right or just lacked energy because of lack of sleep. “People say that I can’t beat Michael but I’ve beaten him three times on telly already this year. Once in front of 11,000 of his fans booing and hissing me in Rotterdam, I still put up with it and done it.” Wright, sporting a fabulous headpaint Armistice Day tribute by his wife Jo, remained unbeaten in the Slam with a 5-2 win over Max Hopp, just 24 hours after dumping Jim Williams 5-4. But he still needs to beat oche hunk Payne to make sure of his place in the knockout stages later in the week.
Gary Anderson demolished Ian White 5-1 with the fourth best performance in Grand Slam history. The Flying Scotsman was on fire hitting a 112.54 and wrapping up his place in the knockout stages in a matter of minutes. Ando now faces Steve Hine tomorrow night (Tuesday) with his place in the next round confirmed. He admitted: “It was better than last night’s game. I had a good three hours on the practice board tonight. I’ve not had too much time on the board lately. But it’s getting busy now and I need to sort myself out. “I got off to a good start going for the nine-darter, but I thought to myself ‘don’t hit it’ because it can only go downhill after that! “My 180s were going in and I was playing well and so were my doubles. “It was hard because Ian’s a good friend of mine and tomorrow we’re away fishing for the day. Ian’s been brilliant for the last couple of years so it’s nice to win. “I want to win the Slam but I’d love to win it at the Civic!”
World Champion Rob Cross admitted he was “lucky” as he became the first player to book his place in the knockout stages before his final group game against Ryan Searle tonight (Monday). Voltage beat Dimitri Van den Bergh 5-4 and said: “I've been a bit lucky in the first two games so it's great to be through. I was a bit edgy on Saturday but the second game was better. “Dimitri played some quality darts and is a fantastic player. He had me beaten and let me off the hook, and I took advantage. “It's a short format and it's anyone's game in the groups, and the first thing is to make sure you qualify. I can relax and come out and enjoy myself now. “I feel fantastic. I played better today and felt solid on my doubles, but they needed to be. I'm just happy to get through and I want to make it three wins from three when I play Ryan." World Youth Champion Van den Bergh now faces a winner-qualifies tie on Monday night against BDO number two Mark McGeeney. Welshman Gerwyn Price and former Lakeside Champion Stephen Bunting have one foot into the second round after picking up two wins from as many games. Reigning Lakeside Champion Glen Durrant still needs to defeat Andrew Gilding to secure his second round place, while Mensur Suljovic will meet Martin Schindler as he bids for qualification.
By Phil Lanning (@lannomedia)