Jonny Clayton defeated James Wade 8-1 in a brilliant performance. He also defeated Joe Cullen and Michael Smith his route to the championship.
In Wollongong, Clayton was in excellent form as a sold-out crowd cheered him to victory. (PDC/Sylvia Liber)
Jonny Clayton defeated James Wade in front of a record-breaking Wollongong crowd to win the PalmerBet New South Wales Darts Masters and win his first World Series championship in Australia.
4,000 spectators packed the WIN Entertainment Center to watch Clayton win his first championship of 2022 after defeating Wade handily 8-1 in the championship match on Saturday.
Both of the former World Series Finals champions were battling for their first World Series circuit victories when Clayton seized an early march and established a 3-0 lead.
Wade opened his account after his first maximum with a signature ton-plus finish, but Clayton quickly restored his three-leg advantage with a 14-darter, which he then followed with a 120 checkout to take the lead at 5-1.
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The Welshman persisted, increasing his lead to 7-1, and finally clinched the deal and won the top prize of £20,000 with a magnificent 160 finish.
After giving up just six legs on Finals Day, Clayton, who had previously won the World Series, revealed his sentiments. “I’m so appreciative of this.
James showed a lot of promise, so I knew I had to put him to the test. Fortunately, I was successful in doing that.
“Perhaps this will help me feel more energized for the remainder of the year. Since I lost against a much better opponent last week, I am eager to play this week.
2022 PalmerBet New South Wales Darts Masters
| Quarter Finals | James Wade 6-0 Dimitri Van den Bergh |
|---|---|
| Gerwyn Price 6-0 Fallon Sherrock | |
| Joe Cullen 6-2 Simon Whitlock | |
| Jonny Clayton 6-4 Michael Smith | |
| Semi Finals | James Wade 7-3 Gerwyn Price |
| Jonny Clayton 7-1 Joe Cullen | |
| Final | Jonny Clayton 8-1 James Wade |
Clayton advanced to the semifinals earlier in the day with a valiant 6-4 triumph over third seed Michael Smith, finishing with a superb 136 to guarantee his advancement.
The Welshman then easily defeated Joe Cullen 7-1 to advance to Saturday’s championship match, exacting revenge for his loss to the Yorkshireman in the Cazoo Premier League semifinals in June.
Wade, who had not won a PDC championship since March 2021, put up some excellent performances in the final rounds of the tournament on Saturday, thrashing first seed Dimitri Van den Bergh.
The 10-time TV champion punished the Belgian’s careless performance by hitting four 180s and taking out 127 and 104 checkouts to secure his place in the semifinals.
In the semifinals, the left-hander eliminated world number one Gerwyn Price with a brutal display of combo finishing.
Wade started the match with a magnificent 140 outshot before winning the following three legs to secure a 7-3 victory.
Wade admitted after the game, “I basically got pounded to pieces by Jonny.
Although Jonny is one of the few opponents I don’t mind losing to, I am quite unhappy in how I performed in the championship game.
“Jonny played at a much higher level than I did, and he took the necessary action. He just made one mistake—he lost a leg!
In other matches, Price defeated Fallon Sherrock in the quarterfinals with his second-highest broadcast average, averaging 109.98, hitting four 180s, and making six of his nine double attempts.
Cullen, meanwhile, dashed Australia’s World Cup star Simon Whitlock’s aspirations by winning 6-2 and advancing to back-to-back semi-finals Down Under despite defying a partisan crowd.
The TAB New Zealand Darts Masters, which will be held in Hamilton’s Globox Arena on August 26 and 27, will be the World Series of Darts roadshow’s grand finale as Michael van Gerwen attempts to retain his title.
