World number nine Jonny Clayton came from behind to begin his World Darts Championship campaign with a 3-1 win against Steve Lennon.

Lennon edged the opening set 3-2 to take an early lead, but two 140s helped Clayton draw level in the second set.

Another tight set followed in the third, where the ‘Ferret’ managed to clinch the fifth leg with a double five to take the lead and Lennon was left to rue his missed doubles as Clayton saw the match out with a clean sweep in the final set.

Daryl Gurney fended off a late comeback from Steve Beaton to win 3-1.

Gurney won the opening set in three straight legs, averaging 104 before taking the second, but an incredible third set saw Beaton fight back and throw back-to-back 180s to help him claw a set back.

The ‘Bronzed Adonis’ looked set to level but Gurney wrapped up victory with a 136 checkout.

Ricardo Pietreczko reached the third round on his Alexandra Palace debut after beating Callan Rydz 3-2 in a tight battle.

A shaky start saw Rydz fall behind in the opening set, but fought back in the second to draw level.

Rydz fell just short of a nine-darter in the third, allowing Pietreczko to swoop in to snatch the set and the Englishman threw 128 to take the contest to a decider, but ‘Pikachu’ earned a clean sweep in the fifth to earn his spot in the next round.

Richard Veenstra won his clash against Kim Huybrechts in style completing a whitewash over the Belgian.

Veenstra ran away with the contest, winning all nine legs with an average of 99.46 to cruise into the next round, where he will meet world number 2 Michael van Gerwen.

Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton sealed a second World Cup of Darts trophy for Wales with a clinical performance in their 10-2 victory over Scotland’s Gary Anderson and Peter Wright in Frankfurt.

The 2020 champions had beaten Belgium in a nervy 8-7 thriller to reach the title decider against the Scots, who had eliminated German hosts Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler to set up the all-British final.

Price and Clayton quickly cruised to a 3-0 lead before Wright took out 93 to hold and secure the Scots’ first winning leg.

Victories in five successive legs for Price and Clayton, however, gave the Scottish duo a mountain to climb but they clawed back another leg win through Anderson’s 12-darter to make it 8-2.

That was the end of the celebrations for ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson and PDC world number two ‘Snakebite’ Wright, however, as Wales soon found themselves one away thanks to Clayton equalling his match-highest 116  checkout in the 11th.

Price was off-target in the 12th, missing three darts at double 18 before Clayton stepped up to seal the result.

The Iceman Price credited his team-mate for the win, telling Sky Sports: “Honestly I think I struggled a little bit in that game. Jonny was the one to pick our trophy up. He won it for us tonight.

“He was fantastic at scoring, checking out. I was there in between but he was clinical. Fair play to Jonny. What a player, absolute gentleman as well.

“It’s a difficult sport against the best players in the world week-in and week-out and to win by that margin is a little bit flattering. We’re thrilled to win and Jonny carried me tonight, so happy days.”

The Scots were still in good spirits as Anderson lavished praise on his opponents, though joked he might not feel so festive come the end of the year.

He said: “The Welsh have got a cracking darts team. We tried, and we’re not getting any younger bit we’ll still try.

“You’ve got Gerwyn, what he’s done in darts over the last few years and you’ve got the Ferret (Clayton) – I ain’t sending him no Christmas card this year.”

The final was a much smoother affair for the 2023 champions than their semi-final, which saw them narrowly evade a Belgian comeback.

Dimitri van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts had already ensured there would be a new winner in the revamped tournament after ousting defending champions Australia to reach the last eight.

Price and Clayton, who lost to the Aussies in last year’s final, looked to have put the contest in cruise control when they were two legs from advancing at 6-3 but the Belgians rallied to force a deciding leg.

Scotland, meanwhile, dashed Clemens and Schindler’s dreams of reaching a fairy-tale final in front of the home support after the Germans had shocked England’s top-seeded Rob Cross and Michael Smith to advance with an 8-3 victory in the quarter-final.

Clemens and Schindler won three successive legs to make it 7-2 and it ultimately proved too significant a deficit for Cross and Smith to overcome.