The former plasterer lighting up the Premier League

Jonny Clayton is a two-time World Cup of Darts winner [Getty Images] For many darts players, a key question needs to be answered at a crunch period of their careers. Job or full-time arrows? Jonny Clayton was no different.

The Welshman spent many years switching between competing against the darting elite and working as a plasterer for Carmarthenshire County Council. It was a work-life balance like no other but one that laid the foundations for his incredible rise to the pinnacle of the sport. A wildcard for this year's Premier League of Darts, the 51-year-old was expected by many to finish bottom, let alone qualify for the finals at the 02 Arena on 28 May.

However, with four nightly wins - including back-to-back successes in the past two weeks - Clayton leads the way after 11 of the 16 pre-finals rounds. Having previously won the event five years ago, BBC Sport considers how he got here - and whether the former decorator can be decorated again. Premier League love the catalyst for change Clayton regularly cited his concerns over putting too much pressure on his darts if he was to permanently ditch the trowel for his arrows.

"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," he said in 2022. But his debut showing in the 2021 Premier League was arguably the biggest catalyst for change in his career. It's easy to see why the former council worker has such an affection for the competition.