Jonny Clayton has jokingly unveiled a cunning masterplan to lock Luke Littler in the toilets ahead of their Quarter-Final clash at the World Series of Darts Finals. The Welshman booked his spot in the last eight with a hard-fought 10-8 victory over Motomu Sakai, a match he admitted was almost like stepping into the unknown.
"Yeah, obviously I'm through to the quarters. Yeah, that was tough. Both of us missed loads and loads of doubles, so I can't say that I was in charge of the game, because I wasn't," Clayton told Online Darts. "To be fair, he was giving me chances I was not taking, but that 126 made it all right to go 8-7 up. So, yeah, different. I've not played him before, so that's a lesson learnt."
Sakai has become a cult hero on social media for his dancing, and Clayton was full of praise for the Japanese star. "No, not really. To be fair, that's his thing, isn't it? Every player's got different things and, to be fair to him, that's his thing. I like his dance, to be fair. I was thinking I could do that, but no. All jokes aside, fair play, brilliant. Nice guy, good player."
Reflecting on the challenge of facing an unfamiliar opponent, Clayton said: "Yeah, I think that's without disrespect. At the end of the day, you know what you play against on tour, because you play so much against each other. So, today was the World of Unknown. I knew we could play that, I knew that obviously, but I've never played against him before. So, yeah, that's a tick in the box. We played against each other. Next time, my God, I'd better hit my doubles better."
At the time of speaking, Clayton was set to face either Luke Littler or Nathan Aspinall, and he quipped about his potential tactics. "I don't know, I might lock him in the toilet or something on the way down. Generally, all jokes aside, I've done it before on the Premier League stage, so I'm going to go out full of confidence and enjoy it. Tomorrow's going to be a tough game, whoever I play, because Nathan is on fire at the moment as well," he joked. "Pity they weren't in the other half, so I'd have been okay then. Never mind, never mind. We'll try our best."
It was in fact Littler who progressed, winning in a last leg. Asked about the fear factor and aura surrounding the teenage sensation, Clayton insisted Luke Humphries should not be forgotten. "Yeah, I can only speak as I think. I think he's a fantastic player. I think the world of darts, it's massive with him in. But this old todger, we're going to try and beat him again. But we're all there. At the end of the day, it was Phil, it was Michael, now it's Littler. To be fair, we can't forget Luke Humphries, because that guy is fantastic as well. So, all jokes aside, they're setting standards, we have to chase. If we want to be a world champion, if we want to win a tournament, we have to beat them and that's it."
