Jonny Clayton claimed the sixth night of Premier League Darts in Nottingham on Thursday evening, sweeping past Luke Humphries 6-1 in the final to strengthen his lead at the top of the table. Remarkably, Clayton was visibly troubled by a painful gout attack throughout the night, which left him limping on stage at times. The Welshman's victory gave him his second nightly title of the Premier League Darts 2026 season.
Clayton suffers from gout, a form of arthritis that causes sudden, severe joint pain, often in the foot or ankle. During his matches in Nottingham, it appeared to be his left ankle that was giving him the most trouble. Spectators noticed he wasn't moving entirely freely, but it didn't stop him from putting together an excellent run. In the quarterfinals he beat Michael van Gerwen 6-3, before overpowering Stephen Bunting by the same score in the semifinals.
A day earlier, Clayton had spoken candidly about his health problems. "I've got gout. I suffer with gout. That just turns up as and when it wants to. It's part of life, isn't it? It is in my ankles usually. It's a painful thing when it's there, but you've just got to get on with it," he said. According to Clayton, adrenaline helps him ignore the pain during matches. "It lets you know that it's there. Don't you worry about that. You know that it's there. But adrenaline is massive. You just carry on through it."
Darts analyst Wayne Mardle noted during the broadcast that a player can sometimes keep performing with a foot issue, depending on his stance on stage. "If it's not your weight-bearing foot, you can get away with it," said Mardle. Afterwards, Clayton admitted he hadn't had high expectations for the night. "I wasn't expecting much tonight. I suffer with gout, but my arm was okay by the looks of it!" The darter also said that standing still or sitting actually made the pain worse. "I was practising to keep on it, the more I sat down, it was getting worse, I'm dreading taking my shoe off."
Despite the physical discomfort, Clayton once again showed why he is currently in top form in the Premier League. His victory in Nottingham further extended his lead at the top of the standings. For the chasing pack, the message is clear: even with a painful ankle, Clayton remains one of the toughest players to beat in the field.
