Sunday, September 20, 2026

MODUS Super Series Week 8 Preview: Robertson Leads a Field Packed With Recent Winners

 


The MODUS Super Series moves into Week 8, and once again there is a really interesting 12-player field heading to Portsmouth.

The early market has Scott Robertson at the head of the betting, followed by Reece Robinson and Jake Neale, but this is another week where I think the Q4QS database adds quite a bit of context beyond simply looking at the prices.

Robertson's position certainly isn't difficult to understand. He is comfortably the highest-ranked player in the field according to Q4QS and has produced some outstanding numbers in 2026.

But behind him there are players arriving on winning streaks, recent Vault champions and a few whose latest figures suggest they could be considerably more dangerous than their position in the market might indicate.

As always, this isn't a tipping exercise. The odds are useful because they give us another way of looking at how the field is perceived before a dart is thrown.

And this week there are a few interesting differences between that perception and the recent results.

Robertson sets the standard

Scott Robertson is the clear No.1 in this field according to the Q4QS rankings.

Robertson sits at Q4QS No.39, with an 87.80 Q4QS Average, and has won eight of his latest ten recorded matches.

The standout result is his victory at the Denmark Open & Masters, where he went 8–0 with a 92.50 tournament average. That run included a 103.58 average in beating Neil Duff and a 103.88 against Danny Jansen.

And it hasn't been a case of one exceptional tournament surrounded by ordinary results.

His recent record includes a Swedish Open quarter-final where he averaged 96.62, another Swedish Open semi-final, and a semi-final at the Welsh Open, Masters & Classic.

Robertson is the early 3.75 favourite and, unlike some of the prices I looked at in Week 7, the Q4QS data provides plenty of evidence for why he is at the top of the market.

Johnny Haines arrives 10–0

If we're looking for the strongest current winning sequence, though, we have to talk about Johnny Haines.

Haines is currently 10–0 in the Q4QS database and has won his last two recorded tournaments.

One of those victories came with an excellent 88.09 tournament average, while his individual performances include a remarkable 115.62 match average as well as scores of 92.02 and 90.18.

Go back a little further and the consistency becomes even more apparent.

Before those two victories, Haines had reached a final and two semi-finals. His last five recorded events therefore read:

Semi-final – Semi-final – Final – Winner – Winner.

At 9.50 in the early market, Haines is one of the players whose recent results particularly caught my attention.

Steve West is winning for fun

Then we come to Steve West, whose recent tournament record might be even more impressive.

West's latest five events contain three victories and a final.

He won a Vault 19 event at Fareham with an 88.30 tournament average, including a 105.44 match average against Lloyd Walker. He's now 9–1 across his latest ten recorded matches.

His previous events include tournament averages of 88.24, 85.32 and 84.43, so there is a substantial body of recent scoring form behind that winning record.

West is 9.50 in the early market alongside Haines, and both arrive with significantly stronger recent winning records than many players priced ahead of them.

Lewis Cook brings another strong Q4QS ranking

Lewis Cook is the second-highest Q4QS-ranked player in the field at No.98, with an 83.66 Q4QS Average.

He's also 8–2 recently and has been extremely busy.

Cook won a recent Vault 19 tournament at Legends Sports and Pool Bar with an 80.52 average and then reached another final there. His recent ADC Championship South appearances have also included tournament averages of 83.94 and 79.76.

The early market has Cook at 21.00.

Again, I'm not suggesting that automatically makes him a bet. But when the second-highest ranked Q4QS player in the field is that far down the market, it's certainly worth highlighting in a preview.

Winder has already beaten quality opposition

Scott Winder is another whose price and Q4QS position don't immediately line up.

Winder is Q4QS No.353 and 8–2 recently. More importantly, he has already shown he can win a strong event.

He took ADC Winmau Championship North Event 7, going 7–0, and among his victories was a 5–0 win over Daniel Ayres with a 91.65 average.

There is a caveat here: Winder currently has only five qualifying events in the database, so he doesn't yet have an official Q4QS Average.

But at an early price of 29.00, he's another interesting example of why it's worth looking beyond the headline market.

Whitehead still has a big ceiling

Conan Whitehead hasn't been collecting titles like Haines or West, but there is enough in his numbers to make him interesting.

He's Q4QS No.442 with an 80.47 average and a 7–3 recent record.

His best recent ADC Championship South run came with an 87.83 tournament average, while individual performances include 103.66, 92.49 and 89.83.

The question is consistency. His latest recorded event was much quieter, but the higher-end numbers show what he's capable of producing.

Neale knows how to win

Jake Neale is third in the early market at 7.50, and there is title-winning form in his Q4QS record.

Neale has won two of the five latest events in the database, including a Vault 17 tournament at the County Con's Club where he went 7–0 with an 80.54 average.

His two most recent Vault 18 and 19 appearances have been less successful, however, with averages dropping to 67.98 and 69.79.

That makes him an interesting player to assess this week: there is proven winning form there, but he'll be looking to rediscover the level that produced those earlier titles.

Owens could be better than his ranking suggests

One player whose overall Q4QS numbers need a little context is Jamie Owens.

He's ranked No.3120 with a 72.12 Q4QS Average, but his latest ADC Championship North performances look very different.

Owens averaged 93.53 in Event 6, 85.08 in Event 7 and then reached the quarter-finals of Event 8 with an 85.86 tournament average.

That latest run included a 95.52 average in a 5–2 win over Alan Slater.

Those recent ADC numbers are probably much more relevant to his Week 8 prospects than the overall ranking alone.

The rest of the field

There are some unknowns and smaller samples to consider.

Reece Robinson is second favourite in the early market at 5.50, but the Q4QS database currently has only one event for him. That was the UKDA National Finals, where he averaged 86.58 across two matches and beat Anthony Paul Hitchen with an 87.31 average. That's encouraging, but nowhere near enough data to make a meaningful comparison with players for whom I have dozens of results.

Francesco Basili has shown improvement in Development Tour competition, including a 75.04 event average on his best recent run, while American Chuck Puleo reached the Last 64 of the WDF World Masters, averaging 74.12 across his three recorded matches.

Scott Taylor, meanwhile, has a 7–3 recent record. His latest Vault numbers have been relatively modest, although earlier Challenge Tour performances included event averages of 83.41 and 82.21.

Do the early odds tell the whole story?

The early market has Robertson at 3.75, followed by Robinson at 5.50, Neale at 7.50, Taylor at 8.50, Haines and West at 9.50 and Owens at 10.00.

Further out are Whitehead at 19.00, Cook at 21.00, Basili at 23.00, Winder at 29.00 and Puleo at 34.00.

As with last week's preview, I think comparing those prices with the database is interesting rather than something that needs to turn into betting advice.

Robertson's position at the top is strongly supported by the Q4QS data.

After that, however, it becomes much less straightforward.

Haines is 10–0 and has won his last two. West is 9–1 with three wins and a final among his last five events. Cook is the Q4QS No.98 and arrives 8–2. Winder is also 8–2 and has recently won an ADC Championship event.

That doesn't make any of them more or less likely to win than the prices suggest – but it does show why this Week 8 field deserves a closer look than the market order alone.

Six Players to Follow

Scott Robertson
The benchmark. Q4QS No.39, an 87.80 Q4QS Average and a recent tournament victory averaging 92.50.

Johnny Haines
Perhaps the form story of the week. He's 10–0 and his last five events have produced two semi-finals, a final and two wins.

Steve West
Three wins and a final from his latest five tournaments, with some excellent mid-to-high 80s event averages along the way.

Lewis Cook
The second-highest ranked Q4QS player in the field, currently 8–2 and with a recent Vault 19 victory and final.

Scott Winder
An ADC Championship North event winner who has already shown he can beat strong opposition when he's at his best.

Jamie Owens
His overall numbers disguise some much stronger recent form, including three consecutive ADC Championship North event averages above 85.

A strong Week 8

What I like about this field is that there isn't just one type of contender.

Robertson brings the strongest overall Q4QS numbers. Haines and West bring outstanding winning form. Cook and Winder have strong rankings and recent titles. Owens has suddenly started producing numbers well above his overall database average.

Then there are players such as Robinson where the Q4QS sample is simply too small for me to make any firm assessment yet.

That should make Week 8 particularly useful from a Q4QS point of view too. By the end of the week we'll know considerably more about several of these players.

For now, Scott Robertson sets the standard – but there is enough winning form throughout this field to suggest he won't have things all his own way.

Q4QS Weekly Spotlight (week ending 19th September 2026)

 


Three Players Who Caught My Eye This Week

Another week of grassroots darts, and this time my three selections are Steve Boundy, Edward Manley and Ellie Harwood.

Once again, this isn't simply about finding the three highest averages or counting who collected the most trophies. One player reached three finals during the week, another put together three consecutive tournament victories, while the third followed a run to an open Vault final by winning a ladies event the following day.

Three very different weeks — and three players who caught my eye.


Steve Boundy

Player Profile

Steve Boundy's record shows just how consistently he has performed across the events covered by Q4QS.

He has played 1,043 recorded matches, winning 849 of them for an 81.4% win rate. Across 148 events he has recorded 53 tournament victories, as well as another 14 runner-up finishes and 27 semi-finals. His current form is also excellent, with nine wins from his last ten matches.

Boundy's overall match average stands at 71.62, with a best recorded performance of 100.20. His record includes victories over the likes of Nick Eggbeer, Dom Taylor, Shaun Vernall and Geoff James.

This Week

It was the consistency of Boundy's week that caught my attention.

He reached three finals across the week, winning two of them. After taking the title at Minehead, he reached another final at the Sartan Club before finishing the week with another tournament victory on Saturday night.

That Saturday success required another lengthy run. Boundy beat Sam Wilkes, Cori Wiltshire and Louis Dance before edging Paul Meyer 4–3 in the semi-final. He then defeated Leon Taylor 4–1 in the final to take the title.

It means this wasn't one standout evening. Boundy repeatedly put himself in position to win tournaments across the week.

With 53 recorded tournament victories now on his profile and another two titles added during this seven-day period, his consistency continues to stand out.


Edward Manley

Player Profile

Few players in the Q4QS database have accumulated a record quite as extensive as Edward Manley's.

Manley has played 1,085 recorded matches, winning an extraordinary 917 of them. That's an 84.5% win rate, while his 163 recorded events have produced 64 tournament victories and 27 runner-up finishes.

He's also currently on a perfect run of 10 wins from his last 10 matches.

His overall average is 75.39, with a best of 107.36. That peak has actually been reached twice — most recently earlier this month against Morgan Dobbs at Duffy's in Pontypridd.

This Week

Manley's week was much easier to describe:

Three nights. Three tournament victories.

He won at Duffy's in Pontypridd, followed it by another Vault victory at County Cons in Cardiff, and then completed the sequence at Splott Albion Pavilion.

The Friday run was particularly impressive.

Manley began with a 91.09 average, before progressing through the tournament and producing 79.71 against Tom Breward, 82.27 in the quarter-final and 81.98 in the semi-final. Liam Forward was waiting in the final, where Manley completed the hat-trick of titles with a 3–2 victory.

Three consecutive Vault titles is impressive enough on its own. Doing it as part of a current 10-match winning streak makes the week even stronger.

Manley was one of the more obvious contenders for this week's three — but sometimes a run is simply too good to overlook.


Ellie Harwood

Player Profile

Ellie Harwood is perhaps my favourite example this week of why I don't want this feature to become simply a list of serial tournament winners.

Harwood has played 437 recorded matches, winning 251. She has seven tournament victories, ten runner-up finishes, seven semi-finals and 15 quarter-finals from her 81 recorded events.

Most importantly for this feature, her current form reads nine wins and just one defeat from her last ten matches.

Her overall match average is 56.06, while her best recorded performance is 83.50. Her record also contains three victories over Steve Boundy, including averages of 78.00 and 75.58.

This Week

Harwood's two days at Pegasus were exactly the sort of story I was looking for.

First came Friday's Vault 19 at Pegasus 68 Club — an open event.

Harwood progressed all the way to the final, beating Sam Leitch 3–0, Harry Cave 3–1 and Paul Gardiner 3–0 during the knockout stages.

In the final she produced her best average of the knockout run, 69.46, but was edged 3–2 by Ryan Greenslade.

Twenty-four hours later, she was back at Pegasus for the Ladies Round Robin.

This time she finished the job.

Harwood recorded six consecutive victories, including a 71.57 average against Kaye Megit, before beating Sally Chinn 3–0 in the quarter-final, Amy Pearce 3–0 in the semi-final and Shelley Cotterell 3–1 in the final.

So across two days she reached two finals, won one of them and compiled nine victories from ten matches.

That's exactly what I want the Weekly Spotlight to find: not necessarily the week's biggest average or biggest collection of trophies, but a performance that deserves a little more attention.

Vault 19 Tournament Strength: Pinches Still Leads as the Toughest Venues Begin to Emerge

 


A week ago I took my first look at Tournament Strength in Vault 19, and one venue immediately stood out.

Pinches Cue Club in Norwich produced a Tournament Strength of 1.350.

It was the strongest figure in the early data, but one tournament doesn't necessarily make a tough venue.

A week later, Pinches has provided a pretty convincing response.

Its second event produced 1.340.

So while plenty has changed underneath it, Pinches remains the venue setting the standard — and this time I've ranked each venue only once, using its strongest Vault 19 Tournament Strength recorded so far.

Vault 19: The Strongest Venues So Far

RankVenueHighest Tournament StrengthPlayers
1Pinches Cue Club, Norwich1.35024
2Faringdon Football Club, Faringdon1.3298
3Tipton Sports Academy, Tipton1.29728
4Bagley Sports & Social Club, Shrewsbury1.28024
5The Brookside, Syston1.27813
6Sartan Club, Bishopsworth1.26524
7Clacton Sports Bar, Clacton1.25624
8The Monty Club, Newtown1.25624
9Pot Black, Shanklin1.25224
10Lindsay Constitutional Club, Cefn Hengoed1.25024
11Bretforton Sports Club, Evesham1.24824
12Dorchester Trinity Club, Dorchester1.24824

Each venue appears once, using its highest Tournament Strength recorded in Vault 19 so far. Player count relates to that tournament.

Pinches Has Backed It Up

This is probably the most important development since my first article.

Pinches hasn't simply held the No.1 position because nobody has beaten its original score.

It has produced another enormous number.

Its two Vault 19 events have recorded:

1.350 — 10 September

1.340 — 17 September

The second field contained 22 players compared with 24 for the first, yet its Tournament Strength fell by only 0.010.

That is beginning to look less like one exceptional tournament and more like a genuinely strong regular venue.

There is still a long way to go in Vault 19, but Pinches has provided the strongest early evidence of consistency at the very top.

Faringdon Produces a Huge Score – With a Caveat

The closest anyone has come to Pinches is Faringdon Football Club, with an impressive 1.329.

There is an important difference, however.

Faringdon's 1.329 came from an eight-player field.

That doesn't make the strength figure irrelevant. If eight very strong players enter a tournament, it is still a very strong tournament.

But it is different from producing a similarly strong number across a field of 20-plus players.

Faringdon has actually had three Vault 19 scores in the data — 1.170, 1.203 and then 1.329 — so it will be particularly interesting to see where it settles over the next few weeks.

Tipton Makes a Big Move

One of the figures I particularly like is Tipton Sports Academy's 1.297.

Why?

Because it came from 28 players.

That's the largest field among the venues at the very top of this table.

Tipton's earlier event was considerably lower at 1.055, so again I'm not ready to label it one of the toughest regular venues on the evidence of one huge tournament.

But a 1.297 from 28 players deserves attention.

Bagley Is Getting Stronger

Bagley Sports & Social Club is another venue where the second result adds something to the story.

Its first Vault 19 Tournament Strength was 1.238.

The next was 1.280.

That moves Bagley up to fourth in the one-venue-only table and, importantly, gives it two strong tournaments rather than one isolated result.

That is exactly what I will be watching as Vault 19 develops.

The Usual Suspects Are Still There

Some familiar venues remain prominent.

Sartan Club sits sixth with its 1.265 tournament and remains one of the leading South West names in the data.

Lindsay Constitutional Club is tenth at 1.250 and continues to feature prominently among the Welsh venues.

North Star Club sits just outside this Top 12 with a best of 1.241.

Bretforton is also back amongst the leaders at 1.248.

Not every second event has matched the opening score. Sartan, for example, followed 1.265 with 1.184, while Lindsay followed 1.250 with 1.198 and North Star followed 1.241 with 1.171.

That isn't necessarily a negative.

Tournament fields fluctuate.

In fact, that's precisely why following these figures over the entire Vault series should become increasingly useful.

Eventually we'll be able to separate venues capable of producing an occasional exceptional field from those that are relentlessly difficult week after week.

A Few New Names to Watch

There are some other interesting additions.

The Brookside in Syston has now reached 1.278, although its previous scores were considerably lower.

The Monty Club in Newtown has climbed to 1.256.

Pot Black in Shanklin has reached 1.252.

And Dorchester Trinity Club has improved from 1.203 to 1.248.

We're therefore beginning to get movement rather than simply seeing the same opening-night table repeated.

That's what I wanted from these updates.


WADC Vault 3.0: Wales Still Leads, But England Is Getting Closer

I'm also following the WADC Vaults separately.

The first time I looked at WADC Vault 3.0, the story was unmistakable.

South Wales dominated the top of the Tournament Strength table.

A week later, England has started to make an impression.

But it hasn't displaced Wales yet.

As with the main Vault 19 table, I've included every venue only once below, using its highest Tournament Strength.

WADC Vault 3.0: Strongest Venues So Far

RankVenueHighest Tournament StrengthPlayers
1The 9 Darter, Port Talbot0.9975
2Briton Ferry Workies, Briton Ferry0.9896
3Arrows Darts Venue #2, Resolven0.9868
4Dereham Cricket Club, Dereham0.9805
5Walton WMC0.9414
6Fordham RBL0.9334
7London GAA, Ruislip0.9337
8Wiltshire Darts House, Swindon0.9295
9Shooters, Leominster0.9164
10The Men of March0.8935

Each venue appears once, using its highest WADC Vault 3.0 Tournament Strength recorded so far.

South Wales Still Owns the Top Three

The most obvious conclusion hasn't changed.

The three strongest WADC Vault 3.0 venues in the data are still all in South Wales.

The 9 Darter, Port Talbot — 0.997

Briton Ferry Workies — 0.989

Arrows Darts Venue #2, Resolven — 0.986

But there's now a particularly interesting story within those numbers.

Briton Ferry is getting stronger.

Its first event produced 0.961.

Its next reached 0.989.

That takes Briton Ferry to within just 0.008 of The 9 Darter's leading figure.

And from the previous WADC data I've looked at, Briton Ferry has produced strong Tournament Strength figures before.

It is rapidly becoming one of the WADC venues I want to follow most closely.

England Has Entered the Fight

England's big mover is Dereham Cricket Club.

Dereham initially recorded 0.855.

Its next tournament jumped all the way to 0.980.

That's enough to put it fourth overall and immediately behind the three South Wales leaders.

So has England caught Wales?

Not yet.

But the gap is considerably less comfortable than it looked in my first update.

Walton WMC is also showing some consistency, recording 0.941 and 0.923.

Fordham has reached 0.933, London GAA has also recorded 0.933, while Wiltshire Darts House has reached 0.929.

England therefore has considerably more representation towards the top than it did when I first looked.

One Tournament Tells Us Something – Repetition Tells Us More

That's probably the biggest lesson from this update.

The highest score is interesting.

What happens next is more interesting.

Pinches producing 1.350 caught my attention.

Pinches following it with 1.340 tells me considerably more.

Briton Ferry producing 0.961 was a strong start.

Following it with 0.989 changes the picture again.

Bagley moving from 1.238 to 1.280 is another example.

Then there are venues moving in the opposite direction or producing much more variable fields.

None of that is a problem. It's exactly what I'd expect.

As the sample grows, Tournament Strength should start showing which venues are consistently attracting strong fields rather than simply producing one exceptional night.

So, Where Are We Now?

After the first couple of weeks of Vault 19, Pinches Cue Club remains the benchmark.

Its best score of 1.350 still leads the entire field, but the really impressive part is the 1.340 that followed.

Faringdon has come closest with 1.329, although its eight-player field needs to be kept in context.

Tipton's 1.297 from 28 players is particularly interesting, while Bagley has strengthened from one event to the next.

And the familiar names haven't gone away. Sartan, Lindsay, Bretforton and North Star remain around the stronger end of the data.

In WADC Vault 3.0, Wales still holds the advantage.

Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Resolven occupy the first three positions.

But Dereham has given England a genuine challenger at 0.980, and several other English venues are beginning to gather behind it.

It's still early.

But we're now moving beyond simply asking:

Who had the strongest tournament?

The much more interesting question is beginning to become:

Where are the strongest tournaments happening again and again?

I'll keep tracking it throughout Vault 19.

Yesterday’s Darts Results: Shaun Vernall Wins Champion of Champions as Two Players Hit 115.62 Averages (20th September 2026)

Another 47 tournaments from Friday 19 September have been added to the Q4QS database, and this was a particularly interesting batch.

There were two 115.62 averages, several strong Vault 19 performances, more junior results and two WADC events. But for my South and South West coverage, the standout story came at Evesham.

Vernall wins the Champion of Champions

Shaun Vernall won The Food To Go Champion of Champions Finals Night at Evesham Darts Competitions, beating Pete Hughes 5–3 in the final.

It was backed up by some excellent numbers. Vernall produced the best average of the tournament with 100.20, also recording 96.23 and 89.41 during the event.

Hughes was impressive too, reaching 95.77, while Joe Quiney produced a 90.18.

Vernall and Hughes both finished the tournament with six wins, with Quiney recording five.

For Vernall, though, this was the important statistic: another tournament title and one achieved against a strong Evesham field.

Two 115.62 averages

The biggest numbers anywhere in Friday’s data came from Kyle Ison and Roger Crook, who remarkably both recorded 115.62 averages.

Ison produced his at the Vault 19 event at Burghfield Community Sports Association in Reading. The title there went to Archie Self, who beat Paul Self 3–0 in the final and recorded averages of 96.97 and 93.94 on his way through.

Crook did turn his 115.62 into a tournament-winning night.

At Danny’s Bar in Banbury, he added averages of 97.14, 85.89, 83.50 and 82.44 and finished with eight victories before beating Michael Cuddon 3–1 in the final.

That is one of the more impressive complete sets of numbers I’ve seen in these daily reports.

Ellie Harwood wins the Pegasus Ladies Round Robin

There were two tournaments at Pegasus 68 Club in Taunton, including another women’s event for the database.

Ellie Harwood won the Ladies Round Robin, beating Shelley Cotterell 3–1 in the final.

Cotterell recorded the tournament’s highest average at 72.73, while Harwood reached 71.57 and finished with six victories.

The Pegasus Under-65 event was won by Peter Taswell, who came through a 4–3 final against Ryan Greenslade. Greenslade recorded the highest average at 79.11, with Brooklyn Anthony reaching 78.05.

Steve Boundy takes Saturday night title

Another result worth picking out came from the Saturday Night Money In Money Out Round Robin.

Steve Boundy took the title with a 4–1 final victory over Leon Taylor, finishing the tournament with seven wins.

The highest average belonged to Ashton Brown at 88.41, while Louis Dance hit 86.89 and Boundy reached 82.17.

More big Vault 19 performances

There were plenty more strong numbers among the Vault 19 events.

At Inn On The Green in Shrewsbury, Sam Morris took the title against Jake B-Smith. Jamie Chaplin produced a huge 107.05, while Morris himself hit 96.97.

Ashley Coleman was particularly consistent in Peterborough, winning the Vault with seven victories while recording 100.20, 96.97 and 93.94 among the leading averages.

At Worthies Sports and Social Club in Winchester, Jamie Kelling beat Henry Povey 3–1 in the final and produced a 94.60 average.

WADC titles for Millie Jolley and Kelly Stevens

And, as part of the continuing Q4QS coverage of the women’s game, I’m including the WADC events in these daily roundups rather than allowing them to disappear among the larger number of open events.

Millie Jolley won the WADC Vault at Fordham RBL, beating Amanda Harwood 3–1 in the final. Harwood recorded the highest average at 62.56.

At The Castle & Falcon in Newark, Kelly Stevens took the second WADC title, defeating Sienna Beck 3–0. Stevens also produced the tournament’s highest average of 68.32.

Friday’s standout averages

At the very top of Friday’s numbers were Kyle Ison and Roger Crook at 115.62, followed by Jamie Chaplin’s 107.05 and Kevin Leadenham’s 103.66.

Shaun Vernall and Ashley Coleman both broke the three-figure barrier with 100.20, while Archie Self, Marc Grace and Sam Morris were among those reaching 96.97.

For my own South and South West coverage, though, Vernall’s Champion of Champions victory at Evesham and Harwood’s win at Pegasus 68 are two of the results that particularly catch my eye.

Another 47 tournaments are now in Q4QS, feeding more results into the growing player records, venue data, rankings, form, head-to-heads and tournament histories.


Explore more Q4QS data

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Saturday, September 19, 2026

PDC Asian Tour 2026: Which Countries Are Leading the Rise of Darts Across Asia?

 


The PDC Asian Tour has become one of the most interesting parts of the global darts calendar for me.

We already know about the established names who have emerged from Asian darts, but when I looked further down the 2026 numbers, I became just as interested in where the players are coming from.

Which countries have genuine depth? Which are producing the strongest players? And perhaps most interestingly, which countries might only be at the beginning of their Asian Tour journey?

Using my Q4QS data alongside the DartConnect Asian Tour leaderboard, I've been able to attach countries to the players and get a much better picture of what is happening across the region.

And it isn't simply a story about Japan and the Philippines.

Arihara Leads the Q4QS Asian Rankings

At the top of the Q4QS Asian rankings is Japan's Ryuta Arihara, ahead of the Philippines' Christian De Los Reyes.

They are followed by another Japanese player, Haruki Muramatsu, with Rolly Gabiana of the Philippines fourth and Motomu Sakai of Japan fifth.

The opening positions give a pretty good indication of the two countries which continue to provide so much quality.

My current top ten is:

  1. Ryuta Arihara — Japan

  2. Christian De Los Reyes — Philippines

  3. Haruki Muramatsu — Japan

  4. Rolly Gabiana — Philippines

  5. Motomu Sakai — Japan

  6. Paolo Nebrida — Philippines

  7. Lourence Ilagan — Philippines

  8. Lok Yin Lee — Hong Kong

  9. Alexis Toylo — Philippines

  10. Man Lok Leung — Hong Kong

The strength of the leading Filipino players is particularly apparent. De Los Reyes has a Q4QS Average of 88.21, while Gabiana is at 86.79 and Nebrida 86.56.

Japan counters with considerable strength and volume. Arihara leads the rankings, while Sakai and Yuta Hayashi are among the other Japanese players recording Q4QS averages above 86.

The Philippines Has Extraordinary Depth

If there is one thing that jumps out when the leaderboard is broken down by country, it is the sheer number of Filipino players.

I could identify more than 240 Philippines-flagged players in the data I matched, with more than 40 appearing inside the Q4QS Asian top 100.

That isn't just one exceptional player carrying a country.

De Los Reyes, Gabiana, Nebrida, Ilagan and Toylo are all near the very top, but the Filipino presence continues a long way down the rankings.

For me, that distinction is important when talking about the strength of darts in a country. One world-class player can emerge almost anywhere. Producing a large group of competitive players suggests something much deeper is happening.

Japan Combines Quality With Experience

Japan's numbers look slightly different but are equally impressive.

I identified more than 90 Japanese players in the matched data, including around 20 inside the Q4QS Asian top 100.

Arihara sits at No.1, Muramatsu at No.3 and Sakai at No.5, while Hayashi is also just outside the top ten.

There is also an enormous amount of Asian Tour experience among those leading players. Arihara has 113 events recorded in my export, Sakai 109 and Muramatsu 101.

Japan therefore isn't simply producing occasional high-level performances. There is a substantial group playing a lot of competitive darts and repeatedly appearing towards the top end of the numbers.

Hong Kong: Fewer Players, Serious Quality

Hong Kong provides a good example of why simply counting players doesn't tell the whole story.

Its overall player pool in the data is much smaller, but Lok Yin Lee and Man Lok Leung are both inside the Q4QS Asian top ten.

Leung has a Q4QS Average of 85.75, while Lee has played 97 events in the Q4QS export and has won more than 70% of the matches recorded there.

So when I look at the Asian Tour geographically, Hong Kong deserves attention despite not having anything like the numerical depth of the Philippines or Japan.

Malaysia, China and Taiwan Form Another Interesting Group

Below the leading countries, there are several nations with enough quality to suggest a significant competitive base.

Malaysia has Norhisame Bin Wahab at No.25 in the Q4QS Asian rankings, with Jenn Ming Tan and Jun Hao Terry Tan also inside the top 50.

China's leading name in the data is Xiaochen Zong, ranked No.14, while Lihao Wen and Tianxiao Cao provide further representation higher up the rankings.

Taiwan doesn't have a huge number of players in the data, but Pin Feng Yeh is No.31 and Yan Bin Chen No.40.

Again, it demonstrates why I think both depth and quality need to be considered. A country doesn't necessarily need hundreds of players before it starts producing people capable of competing towards the upper end of the Asian game.

Mongolia Might Be the Most Fascinating Story

This was probably the country that interested me most when I started looking beyond the familiar Asian darts nations.

There are more than 150 Mongolia-flagged players in the leaderboard data I was able to match.

That is a remarkable level of representation.

The leading Mongolian in my Q4QS rankings is Ganzorig Lkhagvasüren at No.34, followed by Altantülkhüür Myagmarsüren at No.47 and Jargalsaikhan Ulziibuyan at No.70.

That means Mongolia isn't merely supplying entrants either. It already has several players pushing into the higher reaches of these rankings.

Japan and the Philippines are established Asian darts forces. Mongolia feels different.

It looks like a country worth watching.

If that large player base continues to gain experience and the strongest players continue to improve, it will be fascinating to see where Mongolian darts is in another few years.

Singapore Still Has a Familiar Name

Singapore provides another interesting snapshot.

Phuay Wei Tan sits at No.52 in the Q4QS Asian rankings, while Paul Lim is No.61.

Lim's longevity in international darts hardly needs explaining to followers of the sport, but seeing another Singapore player above him in this particular dataset is an interesting indication that the country's story isn't solely about its most famous player.

The question will be whether greater depth eventually develops behind them.

And Then Come the Countries Beginning Their Journey

This is the part of the Asian Tour that I want to keep following.

The flags show players appearing from India, Thailand, Brunei, South Korea, Macau, the UAE and Indonesia, among others.

The numbers and sample sizes vary considerably, so I don't think it would be fair to draw strong conclusions about their playing standard yet.

But their presence matters.

Nitin Kumar is the leading Indian player in the Q4QS Asian rankings at No.76. Macau's Kam Weng Cheng is at No.91. Thailand has Sorawis Rodman at No.112, while players from Brunei and South Korea also appear further down.

And then there are countries with players appearing much nearer the beginning of their competitive journey.

That is something I find genuinely exciting about collecting this data.

Today's single entrant can become tomorrow's group of ten players. Ten can become fifty. Eventually one of those players can break through.

We have already seen how international darts can develop when opportunities become available.

The Asian Tour Is Becoming a Map of Darts' Growth

There is an obvious danger in trying to judge the strength of a country's darts purely from one leaderboard.

Players don't all enter the same number of events, travel requirements differ enormously across Asia and a large player population doesn't automatically mean a stronger one. My Q4QS rankings also measure performance rather than representing the official PDC Asian Tour standings.

But put the different measures together and a fascinating picture begins to emerge.

The Philippines has remarkable depth. Japan combines depth with an exceptionally strong group at the top. Hong Kong has high-end quality despite a much smaller player pool. Malaysia, China and Taiwan have players capable of pushing into the upper reaches.

And then there is Mongolia.

More than 150 players appearing in the matched data, with multiple players already well inside the Q4QS Asian top 100, makes that a development I particularly want to follow.

Beyond them are another collection of countries at very different stages of their darts development.

That might ultimately be the most important thing about the Asian Tour.

It isn't only providing a route for Asia's best players.

It's allowing us to watch the darts map grow.

And I'll be keeping the country data alongside my Q4QS rankings, because it should become even more interesting to see how that map changes over the next few seasons.

Yesterday’s Darts Results: Paul Jones, Ryan Greenslade & Warren Rixon Win as 47 Tournaments Join Q4QS 20th September 2026

Friday brought another sizeable batch of grassroots darts into Q4QS, with 47 tournaments added to the database.

There were some enormous averages elsewhere — including two 115.62s — but closer to my main South and South West coverage, there were titles for Paul Jones at Bengeworth, Ryan Greenslade in Taunton and Warren Rixon in Bridgwater.

Paul Jones takes the title at Bengeworth

The Bengeworth continues to provide plenty of useful Q4QS data, and this time it was Paul Jones who came through to take the Friday Vault title.

Jones finished the tournament with six wins, eventually beating Jason Reeve 3–2 in the final.

The biggest average of the night belonged to Danny Lauby, who produced a 93.94, while Reeve reached 84.51 and Jones' best recorded figure was 81.24.

It is another good example of why these reports aren't simply a list of the highest averages. Jones may not have topped that particular table, but he was the player left standing at the end.

Ryan Greenslade wins at Pegasus 68

At Pegasus 68 Club in Taunton, Ryan Greenslade came through a close final against Ellie Harwood to take the title 3–2.

Greenslade finished with six wins, while Paul Gardiner and Harwood both recorded five.

Gardiner produced the best average of the event at 75.54, with Harwood reaching 69.46 and Greenslade recording 68.52 among his best figures.

It's another South West venue where the growing amount of data should become increasingly interesting as the season develops.

Warren Rixon wins at Bridgwater Darts Academy

There was another local title at Bridgwater Darts Academy, where Warren Rixon won BDA DiDo Week 7.

Rixon accumulated seven victories, one more than Reuben Avis, and beat Calvin Livesey 2–0 in the final.

Avis produced the event's highest average with 79.11, while Rixon's best was 68.32.

With the BDA events now feeding into Q4QS as well, this is another useful strand of the South West grassroots picture.

Andy Steed among the best at Galaxy Sports Bar

There was no title for Andy Steed this time, but he was again among the stronger performers at Galaxy Sports Bar.

Tony Clark won the event, beating Carl McFarlane 3–0, with both players recording eight wins.

Clark produced a 91.09, McFarlane a 90.92, while Steed reached 88.41 and 87.69 and recorded six victories.

Kirsten Casley takes WADC Vault title

The women's game also features in Friday's roundup, with Kirsten Casley winning the WADC Vault 3.0 at Briton Ferry Workies.

Casley defeated Rhian O'Sullivan 3–1 in the final. O'Sullivan produced the highest recorded average of the event at 81.54, while Casley reached 76.82.

The WADC events are now an important part of the results I am bringing into Q4QS, adding another layer to the growing picture of the women's grassroots game.

Two huge 115.62 averages

Further afield, two performances shared top billing across Friday's Q4QS additions.

Roger Crook hit 115.62 at GWRSA Club in Didcot, followed by a 97.14, 85.89, 83.50 and 82.44. Even more impressively, Crook converted that scoring into the title, finishing with eight wins and beating Michael Cuddon 3–1 in the final.

At Walderslade Club in Chatham, Ross Lowe also produced a 115.62. Lowe added a 96.97 and 93.94 and eventually beat Tony Fleming 3–1 in the final.

Steve Haggerty produces a huge winning run

Another particularly impressive performance came from Steve Haggerty at The Castle & Falcon.

Haggerty didn't just record a 107.36. His listed top five performances were 107.36, 95.94, 93.94, 93.94 and 91.09.

He finished with seven wins and completed the night by beating Cain Allen 3–0 in the final.

That is a seriously consistent set of numbers rather than one isolated big average.

Friday's standout averages

Across the 47 tournaments, the leading individual performances included Roger Crook 115.62, Ross Lowe 115.62, Steve Haggerty 107.36, Andrew Hibbert 104.86, Tony Chapman 103.66, Mike Breckell 103.66, Keenan Thomas 100.20 and Andy Smith 100.20.

For the South West-focused side of Q4QS, though, the main stories belong to the tournament winners: Paul Jones at Bengeworth, Ryan Greenslade at Pegasus 68 and Warren Rixon at Bridgwater Darts Academy, alongside another WADC event entering the database.

Another 47 tournaments are now in the database, adding more results to the player records, venue histories, head-to-heads, rankings and form data behind Q4QS.


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Friday, September 18, 2026

Country Spotlight: Bahamas – From The Caribbean To Alexandra Palace

 

 

My Country Spotlight journey continues through the Caribbean, and this week I've arrived at one of the smallest nations I've featured so far.

But in darts terms, the Bahamas has already achieved something that many considerably larger countries are still chasing.

It has sent a player to Alexandra Palace.

That player is Rashad Sweeting, and his emergence has helped put Bahamian darts firmly onto the international map.

Yet the more I looked into the Bahamas, the more interesting the story became.

Because behind Sweeting there is evidence of something more: regular CDLC participation, tournaments staged on Bahamian soil and players such as Robin Albury, Nelson Rahming and Lorenzo Deveaux competing against the leading names in Latin American and Caribbean darts.

For a country with a population of only around 400,000, that's quite a footprint.

Rashad Sweeting – The Bahamian Pioneer

There is really only one place to start.

Rashad Sweeting made history by becoming the first player from the Bahamas to qualify for the PDC World Darts Championship.

His appearance at the 2025 tournament put the Bahamian flag onto the Alexandra Palace stage for the first time.

Sweeting faced Jeffrey de Graaf in the opening round and lost 3–1, but averaged 82.88 on his World Championship debut.

For a developing darts nation, simply reaching that stage matters.

It gives every player back home proof that the pathway actually exists.

And Sweeting certainly hasn't disappeared since.

One Of The CDLC's Leading Players

Sweeting has become one of the established forces of the Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Tour.

In April 2025, he won CDLC Event Two in Panama City, defeating Jesús Salate 6–5, Sudesh Fitzgerald 6–2 and Jonathon Heron 6–0 through the closing stages. It was already his third career CDLC Main Tour title.

A few months later he won again, this time in the Bahamas.

At 2025 Event Four in Grand Bahama, Sweeting defeated Salate 6–5 in the semi-final before beating Norman Madhoo 6–3 in the final, averaging 86.08.

And in 2026 he did it again.

This time the story was even better.

Three Finals In Three Days At Home

The final weekend of the 2026 CDLC season was staged in Nassau.

Sweeting reached the final on Friday.

Then he reached it again on Saturday.

And then, on Sunday, he reached a third consecutive final.

The first two ended in defeat to Argentina's Jesús Salate.

The third didn't.

Sweeting beat Dean Persad 6–2 in the quarter-final and Norman Madhoo 6–4 in the semi-final before defeating Trinidad and Tobago's Joshua Balfour 6–3 in the final.

He averaged 82.99 in that match and claimed another CDLC title on home soil.

It also meant that Sweeting finished second on the 2026 CDLC Tour Points List, behind only Salate.

That's a significant achievement.

What The Q4QS Database Tells Us

The Q4QS numbers underline just how strong Sweeting's 2026 campaign was.

My database currently contains 23 matches for Sweeting across five events.

He won 19 of them.

That's an 82.6% win rate, with one tournament victory, two runner-up finishes and a quarter-final. His overall match average stands at 77.20, while his best performance reached 89.29.

There is one important Q4QS caveat.

Sweeting has currently played five qualifying events in my dataset, one short of the six-event requirement for an official Q4QS Average.

So I won't manufacture one.

But the underlying performances are extremely impressive.

Sweeting averaged 89.29 while whitewashing Wayne Copeland 6–0.

He averaged 87.20 in an extraordinary 6–5 final defeat against Salate.

He averaged 84.28 against Robin Albury, 82.99 against Balfour and 81.00 against Madhoo.

Those aren't isolated numbers against unknown opposition either.

Beating The Best In The Region

One thing I increasingly like about the Q4QS database is that it allows me to look beyond averages and see who players are beating.

Sweeting's list is impressive.

In 2026 alone, it includes:

  • Norman Madhoo – 6–4
  • Joshua Balfour – 6–3
  • Dean Persad – 6–2
  • James Walkin – 6–3
  • Shane Sawyer – 6–4

That's effectively a roll call of some of the strongest players in Caribbean darts.

His four defeats in the database came against Salate twice, Balfour and Víctor Guillín.

So Sweeting isn't merely dominating local competition.

He is consistently competing at the sharp end of the CDLC.

Robin Albury – Evidence Of Greater Depth

Sweeting is clearly the headline act.

But Robin Albury might be the most interesting player behind him.

Albury has only three 2026 events in the current Q4QS database, meaning he doesn't qualify for an official Q4QS Average.

However, across eight recorded matches he has won five and lost three.

More strikingly, his overall match average is 68.03, with a best of 71.85.

His victories include a 71.85 average against Michael Moss, 71.36 against Oscar Wright and 68.80 against Geddes Foncette.

He also reached a quarter-final in Nassau, where Sweeting eventually stopped him.

And this isn't somebody who has suddenly appeared from nowhere.

Albury has been part of Bahamian darts for years and also reached the semi-finals of 2025 CDLC Event Four in Grand Bahama, beating Sudesh Fitzgerald 6–1 in the quarter-finals before losing to Madhoo.

On the published two-year CDLC Order of Merit following the opening 2026 weekend, Albury stood 15th, with fellow Bahamian Nelson Rahming 13th.

That's important.

It starts to move the Bahamas away from being simply "the country Rashad Sweeting represents."

Nelson Rahming – Another Regular Competitor

Nelson Rahming adds another layer.

My current database has eight Rahming matches across five events, with three victories and five defeats.

His overall average is 59.99, with a best of 63.51. Once again, he is one event short of qualifying for an official Q4QS Average.

His record is more interesting than the win percentage alone suggests.

Rahming beat Chile's George Patterson 6–4 and Mikhael Achong 6–5, while narrowly losing 6–5 to James Walklin and 6–4 to Dean Persad.

That's another Bahamian regularly encountering credible regional opposition.

Lorenzo Deveaux – One Match From The World Cup

Then we come to Lorenzo Deveaux.

His individual Q4QS numbers are more modest.

Deveaux has now reached the six-event threshold, giving him an official Q4QS Average of 60.48.

Across nine matches he has three wins and six defeats, with an overall average of 60.21 and a best of 66.00.

But Deveaux has already played a part in one of the biggest matches in Bahamian darts history.

Because in April 2026, he partnered Sweeting in the regional qualifier for the PDC World Cup of Darts.

And the Bahamas reached the final.

One Match From A World Cup Debut

Twenty-eight teams representing 12 countries entered the qualifier in Panama City.

By the end, only two remained.

Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago.

Sweeting and Deveaux therefore stood just one match away from giving their country its first appearance at the PDC World Cup of Darts.

Unfortunately for the Bahamas, the final proved a step too far.

Joshua Balfour and James Walkin produced a dominant performance, winning 10–1 and taking Trinidad and Tobago to Frankfurt.

But reaching the final matters.

Sweeting had already taken the Bahamas to Alexandra Palace.

Now the country had come within one match of reaching another of the PDC's major international stages.

That's progress.

Home Events Are Helping Too

Another significant factor is that the Bahamas isn't simply sending a handful of players overseas.

The CDLC comes to the Bahamas.

Grand Bahama staged three events in 2025, while Nassau hosted the final three events of the 2026 season.

That creates opportunities.

When the Tour arrives, far more Bahamian players can compete without facing the substantial travel costs associated with getting around Latin America and the Caribbean.

And the result is a much wider list of Bahamian names appearing in tournament draws.

That's potentially very important for the next stage of the country's development.

Sweeting has demonstrated what the pathway can lead to.

The challenge now is producing more players capable of following him.

Why The Bahamas Matters

Of all the countries I've visited during this part of Country Spotlight, the Bahamas provides one of the clearest examples of what the new regional structure can achieve.

This is a country of only around 400,000 people.

Yet it has produced a PDC World Championship qualifier.

It has a multiple CDLC tournament winner.

It has hosted CDLC events.

It reached the final of the 2026 World Cup qualifier.

And behind Sweeting there are players such as Albury, Rahming and Deveaux accumulating regional experience.

That's quite a lot for such a small population.

Looking Ahead

The obvious question is what comes next.

For Sweeting, the target must surely be another Alexandra Palace appearance.

He finished second on the 2026 CDLC Tour behind Salate, so he remains firmly among the region's elite players. His Q4QS record of 19 wins from 23 matches reinforces that.

But perhaps the bigger long-term question concerns everyone behind him.

Robin Albury's small 2026 sample is encouraging.

Nelson Rahming is regularly competing on the Tour.

Lorenzo Deveaux has already experienced a World Cup qualifying final.

And staging CDLC tournaments in the Bahamas gives other local players an opportunity to test themselves.

Sweeting has already opened one door.

The next landmark could be somebody joining him.

Or perhaps, after coming so close in 2026, two Bahamians finally walking onto the World Cup stage together.

Q4QS Darts Nation Rating

Current Strength: 8/10
Participation & Depth: 7/10
International Achievement: 8/10
Future Potential: 8/10

Overall Q4QS Nation Rating: 7.75/10

I'd put the Bahamas at 7.75/10.

That's above Costa Rica's 7/10 for me because the Bahamas has something Costa Rica is still seeking: a proven World Championship breakthrough.

Sweeting is also currently performing at a genuinely strong regional level, while Albury's figures suggest there is more behind him than might initially be obvious.

The population makes the story even more impressive.

A nation of around 400,000 people has already reached Alexandra Palace.

And in 2026, it came within one match of the World Cup.

For Bahamian darts, the question is no longer whether it can reach the international stage.

It already has.

Now the challenge is staying there.

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