Plasterer Jonny Clayton has finally resolved to say goodbye to sweet home alabaster and give up his day job to become a full-time darts professional.
The 'Ferret' defends his Cazoo Premier League title on Monday night at the play-offs in Berlin's Mercedes-Benz Arena, where he meets Joe Cullen in the semi-finals. At 47, Clayton revealed he has agreed with his employers at Carmarthenshire county council to hang up his hawk and gypsum at the end of this year.
Although the world No.8 banked £500,000 in prize money after winning four televised majors in 2021, he still couldn't bear to throw in the trowel. But as he prepared to fly to the German capital, the popular Welshman from Pontyberem told Mirror Sport he was finally ready to take the plunge.
Already guaranteed at least another £125,000 of Premier League loot this season, Clayton said: “I've basically taken five months off work already this year, and as the Premier League season comes to an end, my time as a plasterer is probably coming to an end, too. My bosses at Carmarthenshire county council have been incredibly fair to me, allowing me to fit the day job around playing darts, but now it's time for me to return to their kindness.
“I can't keep going to them to ask for time off, and they can't keep bending over backwards to accommodate one employee. The plan is for me to carry on until December, but from the end of the year I'm going to try and be a professional darts player full-time. After that, the tools will be staying in the van. It will be hard to stay goodbye to a trade that has sustained me all my working life, but I've reached the stage now where it's become too hard to maintain a balance between darts and a nine-to-five job.”
They reserve a special welcome in the valleys for champions, and Clayton hopes to turn the euphoria of Wales' footballers qualifying for their first World Cup since 1958 into a double celebration. He said: “As a nation, the Welsh are very proud of their sporting achievers and I'm going to fly the flag in Berlin as best as I can.
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“It will feel a bit strange to have the world No.1 and world No.2 (Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright) not involved in the play-offs, but I like the new Premier League format (with a £10,000 bonus for the winner of each of 16 mini-knockout tournaments) because it rewards winners. You can be down near the bottom of the table but winning one night can put you right back in contention – that's what happened with Joe. He's a very good friend of mine away from the board and only my very best will be good enough to beat him.”
In the other semi-final, five-times Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen faces James Wade. When they met in the Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen on Saturday, Wade won 10-4. But Clayton warned: “You never write off Michael van Gerwen – there's a reason why he is the only player, apart from Phil Taylor, to retain the Premier League title and that's because he is a special player. I know he's going to have an operation (to release pressure on a compressed nerve in his wrist) next week, but he's managed to play through the injury. He is always a dangerous customer whenever he steps up to the oche.”
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