Jonny Clayton: Welshman wins second European Tour title in Austria
- Published
Jonny Clayton averaged over 101 to win the £30,000 top prize and the green jacket awarded to each year's champion in Austria
Jonny Clayton has won his second European Tour title, beating Josh Rock to repeat his 2018 Austrian Open success.
Welshman Clayton beat Damon Heta and Joe Cullen, before surviving two match darts to deny Daryl Gurney in a dramatic semi-final.
He then beat Rock 8-6 in a high-quality final, five years after victory over Gerwyn Price at the same venue.
"I think Graz is very kind to me. I love this place," said Clayton.
"The crowd have been fantastic. They've been behind me all tournament and now I've got another green jacket. What more can I ask for?
"The support is unreal. I was a working man playing darts as a hobby. Now it's my profession and with a crowd like this behind me, I can't ask for anything more - it is absolutely fantastic."
Clayton, 48, needed a deciding leg to beat Dutchman Jelle Klaasen 6-5 in the second round on Saturday, before hitting his top form on Sunday.
He averaged 105.89 in his last 16 match with Australian World Cup winner Heta, including a sensational 161 checkout in the tenth leg to win 6-4.
Clayton then saw off Cullen 6-3 with a 94.91 average in the quarter-final.
Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney proved a tougher task, but after falling 3-0 and 6-3 behind to Gurney, 'The Ferret' reeled off four straight legs to win 7-6 and reach the final.
Rock, also from Northern Ireland, was on sensational form, eliminating home favourite Mensur Suljovic in the quarter-final before dismantling Michael van Gerwen 7-0 in the semi-final.
Rock won the opening leg of the final with a 14-dart hold before Clayton established control with a four-leg burst, following up a 121 checkout in leg three with a 12-dart break in the fifth.
The Northern Irishman responded to maintain pressure on Clayton throughout a breathless final, but the Welshman followed a fifth 180 by pinning double 13 to seal his first PDC ranking title since October 2021.