Premier League darts champion Jonny Clayton has finally decided to give up his day job.
The Welshman, who has emerged as one of the best players in the world over the last 18 months, had continued in his role as a plasterer for Carmarthenshire County Council, insisting the job took his mind off darts. However, the exhaustive schedule that comes with being one of the sport’s top stars means Clayton has finally decided to call time on his plastering work.
Already this year, Clayton has travelled across the UK, to Ireland and the Netherlands for the Premier League and will be in Berlin for the play-offs on Monday as he looks to defend the title he won in 2021. He has also competed in European Tour events around the continent and last week was in New York for the US Darts Masters.
The Ferret had been taking unpaid leave to be able to attend those events but now admits he must give up plastering entirely.
"It's looking more like I'm becoming a full-time dart player," said the world number eight, report BBC Sport. "I don't think there is much time left in work. In all fairness to them they can't keep giving me time off because they need workforce to carry out their work.”
He added: "At the moment I'm off on unpaid leave so it's a break basically because of the Premier League – it's so hectic. So I think my time is coming to an end with Carmarthenshire County Council and, you know, I'll become a full-time pro dart player."
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Clayton hopes the big decision will help his game rather than hinder it.
He said: "I find when you're working your mind is completely off darts so then you've got a work-balance of you think of work and then you think of darts when you play darts so I don't know. So far it's kind of working so hopefully it carries on."
After the Premier League play-offs, Clayton will partner Gerwyn Price in the Wales team at the World Cup of Darts in Germany, which begins next week. The pair won the title in 2020.
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