CLAYTON BREAKS INTO TOP FOUR AT WORLDS

JONNY CLAYTON acknowledged that the pressure of breaking into the world’s top four impacted his performance at Ally Pally.

‘The Ferret’, who averaged 92.79 and hit five 180s in his 4-2 win over Andreas Harryson, admitted that the mental strain of achieving a career-high ranking contributed to his below-par display.

The Welsh thrower has been in exceptional form this year, reaching a major final and clinching two ProTour titles.

Clayton has also improved his chances of securing qualification for next year’s Premier League by leapfrogging Stephen Bunting in the Order of Merit.

He said: “There’s a lot of things on my mind. Obviously moving to World No. 4 was one of them.

“But to be fair to Andreas, every time I looked up he was hitting doubles.

“That was tough. Okay, I didn’t play my best, there were a lot of loose darts, but that’s what pressure does to you.

“And that’s what Andreas did, kept me under pressure the whole time.

“But thank God I have done alright today.”

The 51-year-old has now set up a mouthwatering quarter-final clash with Ryan Searle on New years day.

Clayton is eager to end a frustrating streak, having fallen short of the semi-finals in his last nine World Championship appearances.

Image by Taylor Lanning.