Ryan Searle continued his winning ways at the World Darts Championship in London. The conqueror of Germany’s number one Martin Schindler also presented himself confidently against Jonny Clayton on Thursday and won 5-2 in sets.
“Heavy Metal” Searle had to accept his first set losses in the tournament, but Searle should be able to get over that given his advance to the semi-finals. The Englishman’s best World Cup result so far was the round of 16, which he reached in 2019, 2021 and 2022. In the third round of the current tournament, Searle clearly eliminated Martin Schindler from Germany 4-0.
In the semi-finals, Searle will face the winner of the duel between World Cup favorite Luke Littler (England) and Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski, which will be played in the evening.
Strong scoring – but only Searle hits the double
Both Searle and Clayton had already shown an extremely high level in the first set. Both played three-dart averages of over 100, but because Searle hit the doubles extremely well, as he had throughout the tournament, he secured set one 3-1.
While Searle kept his game consistently at a good level, Clayton’s problem from the first set continued: the doubles rate remained weak. While the Welshman struggled with missed opportunities, Searle remained cool as usual and confidently took the second round.
Annoyed Clayton takes the fourth set
The course of the match visibly unnerved Clayton, who was seeded fifth. The Welshman was unable to maintain his strong scoring from the early stages and continued to have huge problems with the checkout. Searle, on the other hand, played calmly and took the third set 3-1 after legs.
Clayton was now challenged and had his back to the wall when the score was 0:3. And now “the Ferret” fought back successfully: Clayton broke two of Searle’s throw-off legs and secured his first set – equivalent to Searle’s first set loss in the entire tournament.
The comeback doesn’t work: Clayton in a duel with Searle
Searle stumbles briefly but doesn’t fall
Compared to the spectacular first set, the level has now leveled off, and both of them no longer came close to the 100 average. Clayton also no longer scored as consistently, so Searle stayed in the game, even though his scoring was anything but top level. However, the Englishman was still able to rely on his double odds, which ultimately gave him the decisive advantage to win the set.
Clayton came back to 2:4 after sets, but Searle couldn’t be stopped. The 38-year-old played an outstanding seventh set: In addition to consistently good finishing, “Heavy Metal” also increased his scoring again, so that Clayton couldn’t even come close to winning the set.