So, I thought I'd write about a few thoughts and things I noticed during Stage 1 of Q School.
First thing I notice, is that it can be a lottery. It's the same for every player, so no advantage is gained, however by players helping out, by beating players in close contention, or by getting a draw with lower averages, means chances of progressing to Stage 2 become better. However, I guess that can be said of a lot of tournaments, depending on seedings or whether it is totally random, such as the UK Open format.
'Averages do not play a significant role'. This appears to be a pure match-play process. Beat your opponent and get the point. It happened several times, where players with a high overall average, have not progressed. Q School is definitely about hitting the right shot at the right time. A player that can finish well, is more likely to progress than a 180 specialist. It's the old adage 'doubles for dough'. This was very much the mantra in Stage 1.
'Win, but win well'. I believe this was the most significant part of progressing to Stage 2. Aside from eight qualifiers per day, there are then around 80-90 places available in the Order of Merit. Whilst watching the live qualifying table (www.dartsrankings.com), it was very noticeable how advantageous it was to be winning 5-0 or 5-1. This large leg difference can be as important as an extra point. Players were soon overtaken by players due to their leg average, even if they had the same amount of wins. This will be key in Stage 2. Yes, get the win, that is obvious, but by winning well, the pressure goes to the players who won 5-4 and 5-3.
'Reputation counts for nothing'. This tournament is brutal and takes no notice of previous form or historical reputation. Stage 1 is about playing your very best for 3 days. If you can do that, it doesn't matter how you performed on the Challenge Tour or World Championship, or any tournament. The hunger for the Pro Tour is such that players will not think twice about the other player - it's all about each win.
In both the UK and Euro Q Schools, each had 'names' that made it to Stage 2, but equally some that did not.
Examples include:
Qualified Stage 2 UK Didn't Qualify for Stage 2 UK
Mark McGeeney Scott Taylor
Cam Crabtree Scott Waites
Bradley Brooks Mark Dudbridge
Ted Evetts Robert Thornton
Shane McGuirk Steve West
Qualified Stage 2 EU Didn't Qualify for Stage 2 EU
Max Hopp Arjan Konterman
Kai Gotthardt Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Brian Raman Marko Kantele
Jose Justicia Rene Eidams
Michael Unterbuchner Dragutin Horvat
So, Stage 2 begins and I very much suspect the same observations will be made. Just play well and win well for 4 days!
I will add a more statistical analysis tomorrow.
