Jonny Clayton overcame a painful gout flare-up in his ankle to thrash Luke Humphries 6-1 in the final and claim his second Premier League night victory of the season in Nottingham. The Welshman, who struggled with walking and limped progressively worse throughout the evening, averaged over 99 and hit 67% of his doubles to dismantle Humphries, who managed just a 12.5% checkout success in the final. This win makes Clayton the first player to win two league nights this season, following five different victors in the first five weeks, and extends his lead at the top of the table to eight points after six weeks.
Clayton revealed he "wasn't expecting much" due to the gout but said "my arm was OK by the look of it and that's all that counts." He attributed part of his success to continuous practice backstage, noting, "I kept practising because it gets worse when I sit down... it's the most I have ever done!" Earlier in the night, he defeated Michael van Gerwen and Stephen Bunting both 6-3 with averages just above 95, saving his best performance for the final. With 11 match wins overall—five more than anyone else—and leading in 180s hit, Clayton has been the most consistent player so far, also reaching last week's final in Cardiff after winning week three in Glasgow.
Humphries reached his first final of the season by ending Luke Littler's bid for back-to-back victories in a thrilling 6-5 semi-final. The world number two averaged 105.71, hit two ton-plus finishes and four 180s, and sealed the win with a 128 checkout after missing three match darts and overcoming a comeback from Littler, who had leveled at 5-5 after being 5-2 down. This marked Humphries' first victory over Littler since last May's Premier League final. Littler had earlier edged out Gerwyn Price 6-5 in the quarter-finals, with Price averaging over 101 and hitting 55% of his doubles in a near-comeback.
In other matches, Stephen Bunting beat Josh Rock 6-1 in the opening quarter-final, leaving Rock winless after six weeks. The results set up next week's fixtures in Dublin, including a quarter-final rematch between Clayton and Humphries. The Premier League Darts format includes 16 initial weeks with quarter-finals, semi-finals, and a final each night, where players earn two points for a quarter-final win, an additional point for a semi-final win, and five for winning the night. The top four after the group stage advance to the play-off night at London's O2 Arena on 23 May, with ties decided by points, nights won, and matches won if level.
