The Masters

The ninth edition of The Masters was held in Milton Keynes from 29 to 31 January. For the first time, the top 24 in the world (instead of the top 16 in the world) were invited to the first television tournament of the year. Welshman Jonny Clayton took the title and won his first individual title at a television tournament.

With the addition of eight more players, the battle for the Masters title is bigger than ever. In addition, there is also one ticket to earn for the Premier League of 2021. Partly because of this, we immediately see a number of surprises in the first round. Only Daryl Gurney (against Jeffrey de Zwaan) and Joe Cullen (against Stephen Bunting) manage to win their first match as a higher placed player. Jonny Clayton beats Jose de Sousa in a deciding 11th leg, while Adrian Lewis also beats Michael Smith in a decisive leg.

In the second round, the top 8 in the world also come into action. Michael van Gerwen plays in this, just like last year against Jonny Clayton, but again it is Clayton who takes the victory. Just like in the first round, he manages to win a decisive leg: 10-9. Nathan Aspinall and Dave Chisnall also advance to the quarterfinals after a 10-9 victory. Besides Van Gerwen, Rob Cross and Gary Anderson also lose their first match: Cross loses 10-5 against Mervyn King and Anderson has to bow to Adrian Lewis (10-8) after an exciting game.

Three of the four quarter-finals will be easy victories: Mervyn King, Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright all throw an average of over 100 and book big victories over Nathan Aspinall, Adrian Lewis and Dave Chisnall. The last quarterfinal match is the most exciting one: Jonny Clayton is 9-6 behind in his match against James Wade, but once again manages to force a decisive leg. Because the Welshman is almost clear on the doubles throughout the match, he goes through to the semi-finals. Clayton hits 10 of the 11 attempts on a double: a staggering average of 91%. That is a record for a match in the format best of 21 legs.

The final evening in Milton Keynes is a wonderful one: both semi-finals go to a decisive 21st leg. First of all, it is Mervyn King who manages to reach the final, because he throws a 121 and a 127 finish in the last two legs against Gerwyn Price. In the second semifinal it is Jonny Clayton who is the best. "The Ferret" manages to win a decisive leg for the fourth time in this tournament, beating title holder Peter Wright 11-10.

With that, the final between Mervyn King and Jonny Clayton will be a fascinating fight: both players entered the tournament as players who are outside the top sixteen in the world, but they now have the chance to win their first individual TV title at the PDC and the last Premier League ticket to be won. It is Mervyn King who is the better player in the beginning of the game: "The King" takes a 5-3 lead and looks well on his way to the title. But Clayton fights back nicely and even takes a 9-5 lead. King can no longer close this gap, leaving Clayton an 11-8 victory. So Clayton is the crowned winner of the Masters in 2021.