Clayton beats Littler in Rotterdam to extend lead

Clayton beats Littler in Rotterdam to extend leadImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Jonny Clayton claimed his fourth nightly win of this year's Premier LeagueBySam DruryBBC Sport journalistPublished8 minutes agoJonny Clayton delighted the Rotterdam crowd as he beat Luke Littler 6-4 to extend his lead at the top of the Premier League table.The Welshman kept his cool during an early blitz from Littler in the final and came through to claim back-to-back nightly wins and his fourth of the year.Littler was booed throughout the night following his exchange with Dutch favourite Gian van Veen in Manchester two weeks ago but shrugged it off to reach the final.But having beaten Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals and held off a fight back from world number two Luke Humphries to win a thrilling semi-final 6-5, Clayton proved a challenge too far.Clayton is now five points clear of second-placed Littler but the world champion has an 11-point buffer to fifth and both men are all-but assured of a place at the O2 Arena for finals night.Dutch duo fall in quarter-finalsIn contrast to the hostile reception for Littler, Dutch duo Van Veen and Michael van Gerwen were roared on to the stage by the fans in Rotterdam.However, the pair were unable to deliver in front of their home crowd with Van Veen out of sorts against a much-improved Humphries as the Englishman claimed a comfortable 6-2 win.That took the defending champion above Van Veen into fifth and to within three points of Van Gerwen in the final play-off place.Van Gerwen had the chance to extend that gap to five but he was swept aside by Clayton, a 6-2 triumph for the Welshman leaving the Dutch fans stunned and keeping the race for the top four in the balance.Had Humphries completed his comeback against Littler in the semis, it could have been even tighter.Stephen Bunting still has hope of qualifying despite a 6-1 loss to Rock, in which he found himself 4-0 down despite averaging 114 as a result of the Northern Irishman s...