Jonny Clayton ruthlessly defeated Gian van Veen to become the third different night champion of the Glasgow Premiership darts season.
The Welshman returned to action after two years and continued his impressive start to the year with a 6-2 victory over the world number three.
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That night, he ended a nearly three-year, 10-match losing streak against compatriot Gwen Price, before defeating world number one Luke Littler 6-1 in the semifinals.
The 2021 champion averaged 99.88 and 101.33 in those two games, but what really stood out were his 60% and 66.67% checkout rates.
While that dropped to 42.86% in the final, his average rose to 104.35 as he followed Price and Michael van Gerwen as this season’s winner of the night.
He broke Van Veen in the first and seventh rounds before sealing the victory with a stunning 156 checkout.
The victory moved him to the top of the early standings, ahead of Van Gerwen, who missed the night due to illness, and Van Veen, who has now been beaten in two finals.
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“I’m feeling good and my darts are on. Tonight was my night,” Clayton told Sky Sports.
“I’m enjoying myself and when you enjoy what you’re doing, things seem to happen to you.
“I’ve got some experience from this tournament, it’s my favorite tournament and I know what I have to do to get to finals night.”
The fight continues for Littler & Humphries
World champion Littler and reigning Premier League champion Luke Humphries were expected to dominate the season again, but that was not the case in previous weeks.
Littler had a bye in the semi-finals in Glasgow after van Gerwen’s withdrawal and so picked up two more points, but he has won just one game this year.
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His average dropped to 97.84, but he was well below his mesmerizing best in checkouts, completing just one in six attempts.
According to Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mader, Humphries looks to be the best and most consistent player on the tour at the moment, but his Premier League results don’t bear that out.
After calmly defeating Josh Locke in the quarter-finals, he was eliminated by Van Veen 6-5 in the semi-finals.
Both Littler and Humphreys have failed to finish in the top four in the early stages, but it would still be a huge shock if they fail to reach the play-offs at London’s O2 Arena on May 28.
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Rock and Stephen Bunting (whom Van Veen defeated in the quarter-finals) are still winless three weeks into the tournament.
Bunting didn’t score his first point last year until Week 9.
Northern Ireland’s Rockies are competing in the competition for the first time and will have home advantage when they play in Belfast next Thursday.
Premier League Darts League Night Three Match Results
Thursday 19th February – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
quarterfinals
Stephen Bunting 3-6 Gian van Veen
Luke Humphreys 6-2 Josh Locke
Michael van Gerwen v Luke Littler (bye) – Van Gerwen withdraws due to health issues
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Gervin Price
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semifinals
Van Veen 6-5 Humphreys
Littler 1-6 Clayton
final
Van Veen 2-6 Clayton
Premier League Darts League Table 2026
Premier League Darts League Format and Points System
The Premier League Darts League takes place over the first 16 weeks of the league stage, with quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals each night.
Each of the eight players will face seven other players in the quarterfinals from weeks one to seven and weeks nine to fifteen, with games in weeks eight and sixteen not taking place. That means we’ll end up fourth v fifth in Sheffield on the final night of the league, with a play-off spot potentially in jeopardy.
Players are awarded two points for each quarter-final win, an additional point for winning the semi-final, and five points for winning the night’s game.
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After the group stage, the top four players will advance to the play-offs on May 23 at the O2 Arena in London. In a best-of-19 round, the first place will play against the fourth place and the second place will play against the third place. What follows is the best of 21 finals.
If players are tied on points after 16 weeks, placement will be determined based on the number of nights won and games won.
Premier League Darts Night Four Round Order of Play
Thursday 26th February – SSE Arena, Belfast
quarterfinals
Luke Littler v Jonny Clayton
Stephen Bunting v Luke Humphreys
Michael van Gerwen v Gervin Price
Gian van Veen v Josh Locke