World No.5 Jonny Clayton had to use his experience to beat Niels Zonneveld on Saturday to reach the last-16 of the World Darts Championship in a thrilling seven-set contest.

High-level darts were on display as Clayton returned to the oche after a 12-day layoff following a bye to the third round. The Llanelli man had to be on form as he opposed the determined Zonneveld, who matched Clayton’s pace for the majority of the match.

It was a fiery start as seven 180’s occurred in the first set but Clayton won the deciding leg to gain the early advantage.

Zonneveld seemed more fueled than phased when going a set down, as he got himself back level every single time, forcing resilience from Clayton and efficiency on the board.

Clayton’s responses were equally as strong, winning every leg in the third set. If Zonneveld missed his own chances to finish and gave Clayton the opportunity to revisit, ‘The Ferret’ would usually capitalise.

The Dutchman did not let up though, and with improved finishing in the fourth set, he scored a match-high 126 checkout en route to his own whitewash set.

This exciting back and forth saw both men require high-standards of each other, with the Welshman averaging 108 over a set and Zonneveld producing 11-dart legs to demand a decider.

Clayton was not to be denied though, he stayed calm and regained his momentum to go two legs up in the seventh set.

In an emphatic final sequence, both men scored 140 in consecutive visits leaving Clayton with an 86 checkout which he wrapped up with a triple 18 and double 16 to advance to the fourth round.

Clayton faces Andreas Harrysson in tomorrow’s afternoon session and addressed his performance after the enthralling round three match:

“I’m going to prove myself, I’ve had a few down years. Hopefully I’m going the right way. I’m looking forward to every time I walk on this stage and I feel good.

“There’s a lot of loose darts, low scores. I need to get rid of them. You need those two treble visits and the more I get used to that and keep doing that then it gives me a little bit more of a chance.”

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