Gary Anderson vs. Jonny Clayton: Can the 2021 champion defend his title?

The quarterfinal of the Darts Premier League will be played between Gary Anderson and Jonny Clayton on 17 March, Thursday at the Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham.

The Premier League is a great tournament to showcase your talents as eight top players play a total of sixteen matches. The game format means that every player meets the other players twice, giving enough chances for redemption.

The upcoming match will surely be an exciting watch for the darts enthusiasts as Anderson and Clayton have always had polarizing results whenever they come face to face.

Anderson and Clayton have come face to face four times in the past. And two of those instances, Clayton has crowned the winner, while Anderson was able to reign supreme in the other two! In other words, it can be hard to predict which way the match will go, just from their previous clashes.

The last time the two competed against one another was in the last Premier League, on 24 May 2021. Clayton, also known as The Ferret, thrashed Gary ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson by a brutal 8-1. The same was also true for the previous match, where he won by 7-4.

However, in the Players Championship of 2018, Anderson had won significantly, with an ending score of 10-4.

Currently, Jonny Clayton ranks third on the Premier League standing, with a total of ten points to his name. He has won two and lost three of the last five matches played. On the other hand, Gary Anderson ranks at number eight, with a total of two points. He has lost all five of the recent matches he has played.

However, this does not mean that Gary Anderson isn’t a threat to be considered. After all, as of 2020, he has won a total of 31 PDC Pro Tour matches and currently ranks third on the all-time player list!

2021 was hands-down the year of Jonny Clayton in the world of darts. He achieved various milestones in the year.

For starters, he became the first Welsh champion of the Premier League not long after winning the Players Championship. This had not happened in the 17 years of the tournament. Also, he managed to win it all, despite being placed fourth in the standings – this too was a first in the contest!

In the 2021 series, Clayton managed to beat strong contenders like Milton Keynes, de Sousa, and Micheal Van Gerwen on his way to lifting the trophy. He also participated in the World Grand Prix, where he beat Callan Rydz, Danny Noppert, and de Sousa to win his third major tournament of the year.

He ended 2021 with his fourth title by a resounding 11-6 victory against Dimitri Van den Berge for the World Series of Darts Championship.

While Gary Anderson is a strong player, with various accolades and achievements under his belt, Jonny Clayton defended his trophy. His current performance, along with the boost of confidence he got from 2021, signifies that Thursday’s match will go in his favor.