Jonny Clayton continued his strong recent form on the European Tour this Sunday afternoon, sealing a spot in the quarter-finals of the 2025 European Darts Open in Leverkusen with a 6-0 whitewash win over Mike De Decker. Afterwards, Clayton spoke exclusively to Dartsnews.de.
Averaging 12 points more than the World Grand Prix champion, Clayton was comfortably the better player of the two, as shown by the dominant scoreline. "A 6-0... I didn't expect that from Mike," admitted 'the Ferret' in an exclusive post-match interview with Dartsnews.de. "He missed a lot of doubles, so he gave me a chance and I took my opportunities."
With Sunday's on the Euro Tour being such a long today for the eventual tournament winner, a comfortable 6-0 win is the ideal start to finals day for Clayton. "Yeah, it's a quick game at the end of the day," Clayton smiles. "Listen, I've been 6-0 down before. It's nice to have a few 6-0 wins, but I feel for Mike because he's a better player than that. I look forward to tonight."
A winner last time out on the Euro Tour in Rosmalen, Clayton has been reaping the benefits of a slight adjustment to his equipment. "I've been trying them for a while, but I’d been throwing with standard flights. In the house, where there's no pressure, everything goes great. But as soon as someone says 'game on', it's a different kettle of fish," he explains. "I’ve decided to go with the Nitro flights in a kite shape now. I've got a few sets, and yeah, they seem to be working so far."
As such, hopes are high that the multiple time major winner can secure back to back European Tour titles later this evening in Leverkusen. "It’d be amazing, do you know what I mean? But I'm not thinking that far ahead," Clayton assesses, focusing on his next opponent Cameron Menzies. "He's a brilliant player, so I've got to play well to beat him. Take it step by step, game by game, and hopefully I can pick up another trophy."
"As players, I think we’d all say the same – when things go good, your confidence is high and you look forward to your next game. If you're losing time after time, your confidence drops and you're chasing a win," concludes the Welshman. "When you get a win, you relax – and so far, my darts are going alright this season. Hopefully, that can carry on."
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