Will Clayton give the underdog a chance?
Will Gabriel Clemens crown a German day in London? The German Giant challenges one of the best players of 2021 at the World Championships on Monday night and will be looking to spring a surprise against Jonny Clayton. Earlier in the afternoon, fans in black-red-gold will be hoping debutant Florian Hempel overcomes the hurdle of Raymond Smith to reach the last 16.
If Clemens could follow him, two players from the German camp would be in the last 16 at the World Championships for the first time. However, the task for the nation’s number 1 could hardly be bigger. “The Ferret” is quite rightly favoured by the bookmakers and at the latest after his performance in Round 1, the No. 8 ranked player has to be named as one of the top favourites for the title.
In the run-up to the Jonny Clayton vs. Gabriel Clemens clash, the odds for a bet on the Welshman are peaking at 1.22, while the stake can be more than quadrupled with successful bets on the man from Saarwellingen. The two opponents will step onto the oche at around 22:30 German time on Monday evening.
Jonny Clayton – Statistics & current form
Jonny Clayton is a prime example of how quickly you can climb to the top of the world in darts. He has established himself on the tour for a number of years but has never really been a contender for the late rounds of the major tournaments. At the beginning of 2021 he won his first singles title on a TV stage at the Masters after he had already been successful a few weeks before together with Gerwyn Price in the World Cup of Darts for his home country Wales.
First World Championship round of 16 for “The Ferret”?
As a reward, he received a nomination for the Premier League, where he even ended up winning the title. On the third match day he managed a 9-darter. At the World Grand Prix Clayton secured his first ranking Major title and snatched at the World Series of Darts Finals his already fourth TV title of the year. The 37-year-old confirmed his good form in the run-up to the World Championship by reaching the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts and the semi-finals of the Players Championship Finals.
There he could celebrate an opening win against Keane Barry. However, it was a hard-fought match and at 3:2 the world number 8 already had his back to the wall. But a sensational average of 114 and 113 points respectively in the last two rounds made it clear how well the “ferret” can really play when everything is at stake.
Clayton hints at his potential in Round 1
With that level of performance, he should have a good chance of reaching the World Cup last 16 for the first time in his career, and the Welshman should not be underestimated in the battle for the crown at Alexandra Palace. Between Jonny Clayton and Gabriel Clemens, it’s safe to predict that the favourite won’t want it to be that close again and Clayton will be highly focused at the oche from the start this time around.
Last matches of Jonny Clayton:
World Darts Championship
12/19 2021 – Jonny Clayton 3 – 2 Keane Barry
Players Championship Finals
11/28 2021 – Peter Wright 11 – 6 Jonny Clayton
11/28 2021 – Jonny Clayton 10 – 3 Vincent van der Voort
11/27 2021 – Jonny Clayton 10 – 9 Luke Humphries
11/27 2021 – Jonny Clayton 6 – 0 Scott Mitchell
Gabriel Clemens – Statistics & current form
Gabriel Clemens returns to the place where he suffered his bitterest defeat to date just under a year ago. After making German World Championship history shortly before and becoming the first player to reach the last 16, he failed in dramatic fashion against Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski after missing seven match darts. Nevertheless, as number 25 in the world ranking he has established himself in the scene by now and can shine with good results again and again.
Will Gaga repeat last year’s success?
Gaga has already reached the semi-finals of the World Cup of Darts alongside Max Hopp and numerous last 16’s in major tournaments (World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts, UK Open, Players Championship Final). As much as this great consistency is to be admired, he would like to finally hit the big time.
If this is to happen at the World Championship in London, a very clear improvement in performance compared to the first round match against the young Welshman Lewis Williams is needed. An average of 86 points was only enough because the checkout rate was over 50 % and his opponent could only pocket three of 19 attempts at the double. In the end, the 3:0 score reads much clearer than the match actually turned out to be.
Can the German Giant get to grips with the scoring problems?
The 38-year-old especially had big problems with his first dart and it kept slipping into the 5-segment for him. Clemens often shook his head even after winning legs and his body language was not optimal. Now the question is whether he could collect himself over the holidays and raise his level of play. Otherwise, even with German glasses on between Jonny Clayton and Gabriel Clemens, the German Giant will have to pack his bags on Monday evening.
Last matches of Gabriel Clemens:
World Darts Championship
12/23 2021 – Gabriel Clemens 3 – 0 Lewy Williams
Players Championship Finals
11/27 2021 – Damon Heta 6 – 2 Gabriel Clemens
11/26 2021 – Gabriel Clemens 6 – 5 Steve Beaton
Grand Slam of Darts Group E
11/16 2021 – Gabriel Clemens 3 – 5 Fallon Sherrock
11/14 2021 – Peter Wright 4 – 5 Gabriel Clemens
Jonny Clayton – Gabriel Clemens Direct comparison / H2H record
The direct comparison speaks a clear language when it comes to which way to predict between Jonny Clayton and Gabriel Clemens. The Welshman has prevailed in all seven duels between the two players so far. In some duels on the European Tour as well as in Players Championship matches “The Ferret” has always been the winner.
In 2021 there was only one meeting in the semi-finals of such an event and in Bolton the number 8 of the world won 7:5. Gaga could hardly choose a better venue for a premiere success than Alexandra Palace on Monday.
Jonny Clayton – Gabriel Clemens Tip
The very clear starting position in the odds comparison is absolutely understandable when looking at the first matches of the two opponents. The difference in the average is almost 20 points and the only question is on which handicap between Jonny Clayton and Gabriel Clemens a bet should be placed. In fact, the German Giant would have to show a real explosion of performance, which, however, has not been indicated in the last few weeks.
Even the direct comparison does not give the man from Saarwellingen much hope and none of the seven duels with “The Ferret” so far ended with a successful result for the German. The most profitable odds for the match Jonny Clayton vs. Gabriel Clemens are therefore for an outright success of the Welshman and the handicap (-2.5 sets) is played with a stake of seven units. Gaga is unlikely to win more than one set on Monday evening
