Jonny Clayton (born 4 October 1974) is a Welsh professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is ranked world number five. Nicknamed "the Ferret", he won four PDC major singles titles in 2021: the Masters, Premier League, World Series Finals, and World Grand Prix. He has also won the PDC World Cup of Darts on two occasions in 2020 and 2023, representing Wales alongside Gerwyn Price; he has won a total of 17 PDC titles in his professional career, including three European Tour titles.
He has reached the quarter-finals in the 2023 and 2026 editions of the PDC World Darts Championship.
Clayton joined the PDC Pro Tour in 2015 after winning a Tour Card on the final day of Qualifying School. His first quarter-final came at the sixth Players Championship event and he lost 6âÂÂ1 to Benito van de Pas. Clayton qualified for the Grand Slam of Darts later that year, but despite winning his opening match against Terry Jenkins, he went on to finish bottom of his group.
Clayton's first appearance at the UK Open came in the 2016 edition, but he was defeated 6âÂÂ3 by James Wilson in the second round. Clayton recorded a quarter-final showing at the eighth Players Championship and reached his first semi-final at the 12th event, but was whitewashed 6âÂÂ0 by Gary Anderson. A 2âÂÂ0 victory over Tony Darlow saw Clayton claim the non-ranking Worthingtons Darts Champion of Champions title. He lost 6âÂÂ3 to Darren Webster in round one of the Players Championship Finals.
Clayton made his PDC World Championship debut in the 2017 event, and came from a set down to beat fellow Welshman Gerwyn Price 3âÂÂ1 in the first round. He lost 4âÂÂ1 to Ian White in the second round.
Clayton won his first PDC ranking title with Players Championship 22 after beating James Wilson 6âÂÂ1 in the final.
Clayton got to his first PDC major final at the 2017 Players Championship Finals. He beat Jeffrey de Graaf, Price, Stephen Bunting, Steve Beaton and number 1 seed Rob Cross, before losing out to Michael van Gerwen.
His run to the final saw him break into the top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit, meaning that he was a seed at the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship, where he was eliminated by fellow countryman Jamie Lewis.
He went on to win the 2018 Austrian Darts Open by defeating Gerwyn Price 8âÂÂ5 in the final. This meant that he was the first Welsh winner on the PDC European Tour.
Clayton won Players Championship 10 by defeating Gabriel Clemens 8âÂÂ4 in the final. This was Jonny's 3rd ranking title.
At this point a three-time PDC ranking title winner, Clayton was selected as a 'challenger' for the 2020 Premier League night in Cardiff, but lost 7âÂÂ1 to an inspired Michael Smith.
Clayton kicked off his 2020 season by defeating world number one Michael van Gerwen 10âÂÂ6 in the opening round of the 2020 Masters.
He went on to win the 2020 PDC World Cup of Darts for Wales with Gerwyn Price as his teammate, defeating the English side of Rob Cross and Michael Smith 3âÂÂ0.
At the Masters Clayton beat José de Sousa, Michael van Gerwen, James Wade and Peter Wright en route to the final where he faced Mervyn King. Clayton won the match 11âÂÂ8 to win his first major individual televised title. In his match against Wade, he was successful in checking out 10 times out of 11 for a success rate of 91%, which the PDC claimed to be a possible world record.
He won two Players Championship events, PC4 and PC7 early in 2021.
Upon winning the Masters tournament, Clayton was invited to participate in the 2021 Premier League Darts, where on the third night of his debut season he hit a nine-dart finish on the way to beating José de Sousa.
After the fifth evening of league action, Clayton was placed at the top of the league. He slipped to as low as 8th, before going into 4th position for night 16. He had to achieve at least a draw to secure his place in the playoffs. He managed to do so and won his game against Dimitri Van den Bergh winning 8âÂÂ6.
In the playoffs he beat Michael van Gerwen 10âÂÂ8 in their semi-final. He went on to defeat José de Sousa 11âÂÂ5 in the final. In doing so he became the first Welsh winner of the Premier League and the first player to finish 4th in the league phase and win the title.
Clayton participated in the World Grand Prix in which he reached the final after beating Callan Rydz, José de Sousa, Krzysztof Ratajski and Danny Noppert along the way. In the final Clayton prevailed over World No. 1 Gerwyn Price with a 5âÂÂ1 victory winning him his third major tournament of the year. Three weeks later, Clayton picked up his fourth TV title of the year with an 11âÂÂ6 victory over Dimitri Van den Bergh in the final of the World Series of Darts Finals.
At the 2022 World Championship, Clayton reached the fourth round where he lost to eventual finalist Michael Smith 4âÂÂ3. He reached the semi-finals of the Masters but was unable to defend his title, losing 11âÂÂ6 to runner-up Dave Chisnall.
Clayton entered the 2022 Premier League as defending champion and secured qualification for the play-offs following his night 13 win in Glasgow. He finished first in the league phase with four nightly wins. He faced fourth-placed Joe Cullen in the play-off semi-finals and lost 10âÂÂ4.
The Welsh team of Clayton and Gerwyn Price reached the final of the World Cup of Darts but were defeated 3âÂÂ1 by Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock of Australia. Clayton won his first World Series of Darts title at the New South Wales Darts Masters in Wollongong, beating James Wade 8âÂÂ1 in the final.
At the 2023 World Championship, Clayton whitewashed Danny van Trijp 3âÂÂ0 in his second-round tie, then defeated Brendan Dolan 4âÂÂ1 in the third round before beating Josh Rock 4âÂÂ3 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in his career. He lost his quarter-final match to Dimitri Van den Bergh 5âÂÂ3.
Clayton was selected for the Premier League following his world championship campaign. He achieved back-to-back nightly wins on night nine and night ten, defeating reigning world champion Michael Smith in the final of night nine before adding another final win over Peter Wright the next week. He qualified for the play-offs by finishing in fourth place in the league phase. This meant he faced league leader Gerwyn Price in the play-off semi-finals, who defeated Clayton 10âÂÂ2.
In June, Clayton teamed with Price at the World Cup of Darts, with the Welsh pair winning their second World Cup title after a 10âÂÂ2 victory over Scotland (Peter Wright and Gary Anderson) in the final. The next month, Clayton reached the final of the World Matchplay but suffered a 18âÂÂ6 defeat to Nathan Aspinall.
At the 2024 World Championship, Clayton won his second-round match 3âÂÂ1 against Steve Lennon, then defeated Krzysztof Ratajski before being whitewashed 4âÂÂ0 by Rob Cross in the fourth round. He reached the final of the Dutch Darts Championship in May, but lost 8âÂÂ4 to Josh Rock. In July, he won his only title of the year at Players Championship 14 by defeating Wesley Plaisier 8âÂÂ5 in the final.
Clayton reached the fourth round of the 2025 World Championship, where he was defeated by Gerwyn Price 4âÂÂ2. Clayton produced his highest televised three-dart average in his first-round match against Martin Schindler at the World Masters, averaging 112.77 to beat Schindler 3âÂÂ1 in sets. He reached the final of the tournament, where he faced Luke Humphries. Clayton recovered from 5âÂÂ2 down to level the match at 5âÂÂ5, but ultimately lost 6âÂÂ5 in a deciding leg. He defeated Gary Anderson and Michael Smith en route to the semi-finals of the UK Open, where he lost 11âÂÂ6 to Luke Littler. This run saw him rise to world number five on the PDC Order of Merit.
Clayton earned his sole Players Championship title of the year at Players Championship 14 by winning the final 8âÂÂ2 against Dominik Grüllich. In May, he won his third European Tour title at the Dutch Darts Championship, earning wins over Danny Noppert in the quarter-finals and Luke Humphries in the semi-finals before defeating Niko Springer 8âÂÂ6 in the final. He represented Wales at the World Cup of Darts alongside Gerwyn Price and the duo reached the final, but they were narrowly defeated in the final 10âÂÂ9 by Northern Ireland. He subsequently reached the semi-finals of the World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix, being denied a second 2025 major final by James Wade and Luke Littler.
At the 2026 World Championship, Clayton reached his second World Championship quarter-final by defeating Andreas Harrysson 4âÂÂ2. He was beaten 5âÂÂ2 by Ryan Searle. On 5 January 2026, Clayton was selected to compete in the Premier League for the first time since 2023.
Clayton has a wife, Ellen, and two children. Before becoming a professional darts player, Clayton worked as a plasterer for Carmarthenshire County Council. He continued to work his plastering job for several years into his darts career. In 2022, he quit plastering to focus on darts full-time.
Clayton was a scrum-half and captain of amateur rugby union club Pontyberem RFC. A lounge named "The Ferret Lounge" has been established at the club in ClaytonâÂÂs honour. He is a supporter of English football club Liverpool. He has the number 97 under the back of his collar on his shirt, as a mark of respect for the people who died in the Hillsborough disaster.
Clayton's father, John, died in July 2023. He considered quitting darts as a result. During a post-match press conference in December 2024, Clayton said, "It was over, I wonâÂÂt lie to you. I had no interest, I didnâÂÂt want to play the game, I didnâÂÂt want to travel. It meant nothing to me⦠When I lost my dad, it hurt. He was my inspiration to keep playing. I said, 'That is it â I donâÂÂt want to do it any more.'"
PDC European Tour
PDC Players Championships
PDC World Series of Darts