FORMER Cardigan Darts League ace Jonny Clayton resumes action in the Unibet Premier League next week, having topped the board and made headlines with a perfect nine-dart finish on day three.

Playing in just his third match as part of the full-time Premier League line-up, Clayton produced perfection in the eighth leg of a high-quality 7-3 win against fellow debutant Jose de Sousa.

Having landed just the 11th nine-darter in Premier League history, the Welshman went on to take the last two legs in 11 and 12 darts each to wrap up victory, ending the night with a 105.26 average.

“It was a great game, Jose is a brilliant player,” said Clayton, who is from Pontyberem, and works for Carmarthenshire County Council.

“We’ve played each other a few times on tour and I knew I’d have to play my best to win, and thankfully that’s just what I did.

“It’s all going well for me at the moment, the darts are flowing nicely, my confidence is high and I’m enjoying it, but I won’t get ahead of myself, my aim is to make sure I’m still in the competition.”

The recently-crowned Masters champion maintained momentum, also notching wins over Glenn Durrant and Garry Anderson, and drawing with Peter Wright, with his only defeat being against Rob Cross.

Clayton leads the table at the midway stage by one point from Dimitri Van Der Burgh, Nathan Aspinall, Michael Van Between and Peter Wright - all with just one defeat from five matches.

“You dream of having a start like this for a first attempt in such a big tournament, I’m one very happy Welshman,” said a delighted Clayton after the fifth night of action in Milton Keynes.

“Gary (Anderson) has always been one of my favourite players, I love the way he plays, so to beat him on a stage like this is a dream come true – that game was really played at some pace.”

The tournament will resume from April 19-22, with the bottom two players bring eliminated on Judgement Night - with the remaining eight players left to battle it out for the Play-Off spots.