Clayton said he “wasn’t expecting much” in Nottingham because of his gout, but said “my arm was OK by the look of it and that’s all that counts” as he showed few suggestions his ailment might slow his scoring as it has his walking.
The three walk-ons and climbing up steep steps onto the stage did not help his condition and his limp got progressively worse throughout the evening.
However, as his gait got worse, his darts got even better – and it seems possible that his way of dealing with the pain in his ankle backstage ended up being an advantage.
“I kept practising because it gets worse when I sit down,” he told Sky Sports after his win. “So I thought ‘I’m going to have to practise’ – it’s the most I have ever done!”
After five different winners in five weeks it was apt that Clayton became the first man to double up as he has been comfortably the most consistent player so far – winning 11 matches overall, five more than anyone else, and also leading the way in 180s hit.
After winning week three in Glasgow, Clayton also made last week’s final in Cardiff and victory in his third showpiece puts him eight points clear already – a huge margin in Premier League Darts after just six weeks.
“Everybody is nicking points off everybody, I wasn’t expecting to be top, eight points [clear], so I’m over the moon with that,” Clayton added.
‘Beware the injured darts player’ might now be a saying.