Joe Hunt Tops Challenge Tour as Tour Cards and Ally Pally Places Are Decided

 

The 2026 PDC Challenge Tour reached its conclusion in Wigan with plenty still on the line going into the final weekend.

Two PDC Tour Cards were available through the final Order of Merit, alongside World Championship opportunities and, for the player finishing number one, a place in the Grand Slam of Darts.

By the end of Sunday, Joe Hunt had completed a superb late charge to finish top, Derek Coulson had secured the second Tour Card and the battle immediately behind them had gone right down to the wire.

Hunt times his run perfectly

Joe Hunt could hardly have picked a better time to hit top form.

He went into the closing weekend chasing Derek Coulson at the top of the standings, but victory in Challenge Tour 22 was followed by another title in Challenge Tour 23.

Hunt began Event 23 with a 5-0 win over Coulson and later produced a 109.56 average against Nathan Rafferty.

By the quarter-finals he was still going strong, edging Jack Aldridge 5-4 before beating Harrison Leigh 5-3 in the semi-final.

That set up a final against Jack Tweddell, and Hunt finished the job in convincing fashion with a 5-1 victory and a 99.48 average.

It was Hunt's fifth Challenge Tour title of the season and took him to £20,400 at the top of the final Order of Merit.

The reward is considerable.

Hunt earns a two-year PDC Tour Card for 2027 and 2028, while finishing number one also gives him a place in the Grand Slam of Darts.

It was a remarkable finish to the season and a reminder of how quickly the Challenge Tour picture can change when somebody strings together a series of deep runs.

Coulson gets the Tour Card his season deserved

For much of the closing part of the season, Derek Coulson had been the man everyone was chasing.

The final Sunday did not go his way, including that first-round defeat to Hunt in Event 23, but the work had already been done.

Coulson finished second on £15,500, comfortably clear of third place, and therefore joins Hunt in earning a two-year PDC Tour Card.

Hunt may have taken the number-one position at the end, but Coulson's consistency across the season ensured he still walked away with the main prize he had been chasing.

Morris and Klose separated by just £200

Behind the top two, things became much tighter.

Tommy Morris finished third on £12,450, with Daniel Klose fourth on £12,250.

Just £200 separated them after 24 Challenge Tour tournaments.

Morris gave himself an important boost in Event 23, beating Steve Lennon 5-3 in the quarter-final with a 98.30 average before losing 5-4 to Jack Tweddell in the semi-final.

Those extra winnings proved extremely important.

The final top four were:

Position	Player	Prize Money
1	Joe Hunt	£20,400
2	Derek Coulson	£15,500
3	Tommy Morris	£12,450
4	Daniel Klose	£12,250

The Challenge Tour also provides World Championship places, although players who qualify through a higher route do not take an additional place from the Challenge Tour allocation.

That matters because Hunt is in position to qualify for Alexandra Palace through the ProTour route.

As things stand, that puts Coulson and Morris into the Challenge Tour World Championship positions, with Klose next in line if Hunt's qualification comes through elsewhere.

For Klose, that could turn a £200 near miss into a World Championship appearance after all.

Williams wins the final event of the season

There was still one more tournament to play after Hunt had made his move at the top.

Challenge Tour 24 went to Patrik Williams.

Williams beat Jenson Remory 5-3 in the quarter-final before edging Sam Jackson 5-4 in the semi-final.

He then defeated Jack Aldridge 5-3 in the final, averaging 94.78.

The £3,000 winner's prize lifted Williams to 14th on the final Order of Merit on £6,600.

Aldridge also finished the season strongly, reaching the final and ending the campaign seventh on £8,150.

Plenty left wondering what one more run might have done

The final standings show just how costly one missed opportunity can be over the course of a Challenge Tour season.

Behind the leading four came Archie Self on £9,500, Tommy Lishman on £8,950, Jack Aldridge on £8,150, Jack Tweddell on £8,050, Daniel Ayres on £7,750 and Aden Kirk on £7,450.

Tweddell's late run was particularly impressive. He reached the final of Event 23 after beating Morris 5-4 in the semi-final before running into Hunt.

But once the season was finished, the biggest prizes had gone to Hunt and Coulson, while Morris and Klose were left separated by only £200.

Across 24 tournaments, that is an incredibly small margin.

One more route to Alexandra Palace

The Challenge Tour season finished on Sunday, but many of the same players were back in action on Monday for the UK & Ireland Tour Card Holder & Associate Member World Championship Qualifier.

This time there was no season-long Order of Merit.

There was one World Championship place available, and the only way to get it was to win the tournament.

That place went to Carl Wilson.

Wilson comes through the field

Wilson had not been one of the headline names going into the qualifier, but that did not matter once play began.

He beat Kevin Lane and Jack Vincent before surviving a very tight 6-5 match against Jack Aldridge.

Wilson then beat Robbie Martin 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

From there, the level of opposition became even tougher.

He defeated former Lakeside world champion Steve Beaton 7-5 and then beat Steve Lennon 7-3 in the semi-final.

That left one match between Wilson and a first appearance at Alexandra Palace.

Standing in his way was Shane McGuirk.

McGuirk falls one match short

McGuirk had put together an excellent run of his own.

He beat Christopher Wickenden in the last 16, Alan Norris in the quarter-final and then Mervyn King 7-5 in the semi-final.

The final was competitive too.

McGuirk produced the higher average, 93.88 compared with Wilson's 89.27, but Wilson won the match 7-4 to secure the World Championship place.

For Wilson, it means a first appearance at Alexandra Palace.

For McGuirk, it was another painful near miss after reaching the final of this qualifier for the second successive year.

Beaton, King and Lennon also go close

There were some very familiar names deep into the qualifier.

Steve Beaton's hopes ended in the quarter-finals against Wilson.

Mervyn King reached the semi-finals before losing to McGuirk, while Steve Lennon made the other semi-final.

Alan Norris, Nick Kenny and Gary Jackson were also among those reaching the last eight.

But this was a tournament where there was only one prize.

Everyone other than Wilson went home knowing they had fallen somewhere short of the one result that mattered.

A weekend that changed careers

The final Challenge Tour weekend and Monday's World Championship qualifier settled a number of major questions.

Joe Hunt finishes the year as Challenge Tour number one, earns a two-year Tour Card and takes a place in the Grand Slam.

Derek Coulson finishes second and earns the other two-year Tour Card.

Tommy Morris has secured his place among the leading Challenge Tour players in the World Championship race.

Daniel Klose finished just £200 behind him and is currently next in line if Hunt qualifies through the ProTour route.

And Carl Wilson produced perhaps the most dramatic story of all, coming through a huge one-day qualifier to book his first appearance at Alexandra Palace.

For some players, the weekend brought the biggest reward of their careers.

For others, an entire 24-event Challenge Tour season came down to a few hundred pounds, one deciding leg or one missed opportunity.

That is how fine the margins can be at this level.

Yesterday’s Darts Results: Jayden Walker Hits 100.20 as 29 Tournaments Join Q4QS – 28 September 2026

Monday brought another 29 tournaments into the Q4QS database, with a mixture of Vaults, Junior Volts, restricted-average competitions and the PDC World Championship qualifier.

For me, the grassroots performance of the day came from Salisbury, where junior Jayden Walker hit a superb 100.20 and went on to win the tournament.

Roger Crook also hit 100.20 on his way to winning in Didcot, while Josh McCarthy won a close final at North Star in Calne and Alfie Barney had an excellent night at Clandown.

Jayden Walker breaks 100 in Salisbury

The standout grassroots number of the day came at Stratford Social Club in Salisbury.

Jayden Walker averaged 100.20 in a 3–0 victory over Leo Fowler in the Junior Volts Series 1.

Walker then went on to win the tournament, beating Jacob Stott 3–0 in the final, and finished with 12 wins across the recorded results.

We've seen plenty of promising junior performances appearing in Q4QS, but a three-figure average deserves attention at any level.

Roger Crook wins in Didcot – and hits 100.20

There was another three-figure average at the GWRSA Club in Didcot, where Roger Crook won the Vault.

Crook's best performance was an excellent 100.20 in a 2–0 victory over Simon Goswell. He also recorded an 83.50 and accumulated 14 wins across the results.

Stephen Wilkes also finished with 14 recorded wins, while Preben Krabben reached ten.

Josh McCarthy takes North Star title in Calne

There was a close finish at North Star Club in Calne, where Josh McCarthy beat Scott Mc 3–2 in the final.

McCarthy averaged 80.44 in the decider, having previously beaten Gary Hiscock 3–2 in the semi-final.

Scott Mc actually produced the higher average in the final at 87.82, having also hit 90.18 in a 3–0 semi-final victory over Mitch McCarthy.

So although McCarthy took the title, Scott produced two of the strongest numbers in the knockout stages.

Alfie Barney wins at Clandown

At Clandown Darts Promotions, Alfie Barney put together a strong night in the Monday Under-65 Round Robin.

Barney beat Jayden Osmond 3–0 in the final, hit the tournament's highest recorded average of 77.74 and finished with 16 wins.

Osmond accumulated 14 wins, Freddie Keen 12 and Eddie Hughes ten, with Hughes reaching a best of 75.20.

With 124 matches recorded, there was plenty of darts played at Clandown on Monday.

Carl Wilson secures his World Championship place

Away from the grassroots events, there was a much bigger prize at stake in the PDC UK & Ireland Tour Card Holder & Associate Member World Championship Qualifier.

Carl Wilson beat Shane McGuirk 7–4 in the final to secure the World Championship place.

The biggest average of the entire day's export actually came from Darren Beveridge, who hit 106.09 in a 6–0 victory over Daniel Ayres.

Ted Evetts reached 102.48, while Jack Aldridge recorded 101.60.

Wilson finished with 16 recorded wins across the qualifier.

Strong night across the Welsh Vaults

There were three Welsh Monday Vaults worth picking out.

At Cardigan Rugby Club, Dorian Thomas beat Justin Smith 3–2 in the final.

Both Thomas and Smith reached 93.94 during the tournament, while Danny Williams recorded 91.09. Dorian finished with 12 wins and Justin with ten.

At the Clive Arms in Cardiff, William Thomas beat Edward Manley 3–0 in the final, averaging an excellent 93.94.

Manley also had a strong night, reaching 91.09 and 88.41 and accumulating 14 wins across the results.

At Duffys in Pontypridd, Kurt Parry beat Marc Saunders 3–0, averaging 86.71 in the final. Parry finished with 16 wins and also recorded an 82.47.

Tyler Thorpe wins in Daventry

At Daventry Town Football Club, Tyler Thorpe beat Michael Feasey 3–1 in the final.

Thorpe produced the highest average of the tournament with 90.18 and also recorded 86.78.

Feasey reached 86.71 and accumulated ten wins across the available results.

Two winners in Paignton

There was another busy night at 8 Ball Bar & Sports in Paignton, with two sets of Vault results included in the export.

Andy Steed beat Alfie Hutton 3–0 in the final. George Butcher produced the best average at 82.72, Harry Madge reached 81.24 and Steed recorded a best of 80.40.

The second competition went to Chris Tuck, who beat Josh Rose 3–1 in the final.

Kirky Godbeer produced the highest listed average in that event at 72.25, while both Godbeer and Rose accumulated ten wins.

More Junior Volts winners

Salisbury wasn't the only Junior Volts venue in action.

At Barry Town United, Henry Pearson beat Elijah Bishop 3–1 in the final, with Pearson also producing the best average of 67.21.

Zach Joyce won in Milton Keynes, beating Mika Usher-Yu in the final. Usher-Yu produced the best recorded average there at 79.11.

At Lancing, Jamie Johnson beat Morgan McGinty 3–1, while Ethan Yates recorded a best of 75.15.

There was plenty of junior darts again, but Walker's 100.20 in Salisbury was clearly the number that stood out.

A few more Monday winners

There were other performances worth mentioning beyond the headline events.

At the Bullseye Bar in Lichfield, David Hitchman beat Riley Smith 3–0 in the final and recorded an 81.24 during the competition.

At Broadway Social Club, George Humphreys beat Callum Davies 3–1 to win the CEC Heavyweight Championship Evening. Shaun Barnes produced the highest recorded average there at 79.11.

At Legends Sports Bar in Wisbech, Sid Stovold beat Tony Chapman 3–2. Chapman produced the strongest numbers at the event, including 88.24, 87.11 and 85.08.

Five grassroots performances that caught my eye

1. Jayden Walker – 100.20 — Stratford Social Club, Salisbury
2. Roger Crook – 100.20 — GWRSA Club, Didcot
3. Dorian Thomas – 93.94 — Cardigan Rugby Club
4. William Thomas – 93.94 — Clive Arms, Cardiff
5. Scott Mc – 90.18 — North Star Club, Calne

The PDC qualifier sits separately, where Darren Beveridge's 106.09 was the highest recorded average in Monday's complete export.

29 more tournaments into Q4QS

It wasn't as busy as the weekend, but another 29 tournaments still gives us plenty to add to the database.

There were strong performances from established players, plenty of Junior Volts action, competitive Monday Vaults and good nights at venues including Salisbury, Calne, Clandown, Paignton, Didcot and across Wales.

But the number I'll remember from Monday is 100.20 from Jayden Walker.

A junior breaking the three-figure barrier and then going on to win the tournament is a pretty good story to start the week.

Yesterday’s Darts Results: Mat Caste Hits 115.62 as 81 Tournaments Join Q4QS – 27 September 2026

Sunday produced one of the biggest Q4QS result days of the week, with 81 tournaments added to the database and some outstanding numbers from around the country.

The headline performance belonged to Mat Caste, who hit a huge 115.62 on his way to winning at the Carlton House Club in Olney. Curtis Hammond wasn't far behind with 111.33 in Ipswich, while Elliott Neary, Andrew Cook, Andy Steed and Stuart Bennett all reached 103.66.

There was plenty closer to home as well. Plymouth produced two of the day's 103.66 averages, Paul Gardiner won again in Taunton and the Junior Volts programme supplied a huge number of results across the country.

Caste combines 115.62 with the title

The biggest individual performance came at the Carlton House Club in Olney, where Mat Caste averaged 115.62 in a 2–0 victory over Bill McCloud.

It wasn't simply one big match either. Caste also recorded 98.02 and eventually won the tournament, beating Dean Taylor 3–1 in the final.

He finished the day with eight victories and, for me, that's one of Sunday's clearest standout performances: the highest average anywhere in the Q4QS results and the tournament win to go with it.

Hammond hits 111.33 in Ipswich

There was another huge performance at the Gardeners Arms in Ipswich.

Curtis Hammond hit 111.33 against Kai Garwood and went on to beat Arthur Allston 3–2 in the final.

Allston had an impressive day himself, recording 102.00, 100.20 and 98.93, but Hammond took the title with eight victories.

That's a very strong tournament at the top end, rather than simply a single eye-catching average.

Plymouth produces two 103.66 averages

One of my favourite results of the day came from Legends Lounge in Plymouth.

Andrew Cook and Andy Steed both hit 103.66, Danny Bull reached 96.97, and Mark Gilbery recorded 91.09 twice.

Despite all those numbers, it was Danny Bull who came through to win the tournament, beating Gilbery 3–0 in the final.

Bull and Gilbery both finished with seven wins, with Steed on six. That's a good illustration of the strength we're beginning to see regularly at some of the South West Vault venues.

Paul Gardiner wins again in Taunton

At the Queens Arms in Taunton, Paul Gardiner took the title with a 3–1 victory over Ashley Howe.

Gardiner's best performance actually came in the final, where he averaged 84.18, and he also recorded a 75.07 during the event.

Nigel Hodges hit 83.50 and Lauren Collins 75.15 on another competitive Sunday at the venue.

Wales provides another ton-plus performance

Wales continues to add plenty to these daily reports.

Louis Melville hit 100.20 at the Mile End Inn in Swansea, although the tournament itself went to Jonny Carr, who beat Josh Richards 3–1 in the final.

There was also a 100.20 from Dafydd Roach in the Clwb Emrys Draig Under-66 Finals Day. Roach went on to win that tournament as well, beating Mark Burton 3–2 and finishing with seven victories.

Elsewhere in Wales, Kevin Mills won in Blaenavon with a 92.02 along the way, Timothy Jones took the Briton Ferry Vault and Rhodri Phillips won in Llandysul.

Stuart Bennett joins the 103.66 club

The New Croft in Haverhill produced another performance worth highlighting.

Stuart Bennett averaged 103.66 against Harry Donno, added a 92.90 later in the tournament and then took the title with a 3–1 final victory over Gary Butcher.

Charlie Gambin also broke the ton barrier with 100.20, while Butcher reached 93.94.

Bennett finished with seven wins, making this another case where the big average was backed up by the tournament result.

Elliott Neary hits 103.66

At Ellistown Working Mens Club, Elliott Neary recorded 103.66 and later added an 88.41.

The tournament went to Macy Gibbons, who beat Jack Beasley 3–1 in the final and finished with eight wins.

Leon Baumber also impressed with 92.17 as another Vault produced plenty of depth beyond the eventual winner.

Mike Gillet dominates in Eastleigh

One of the more complete performances came from Mike Gillet at Eastleigh WMC.

Gillet won the tournament with eight victories, beating Jack Seymour 3–0 in the final with a 98.02 average.

His other leading figures included 91.09, two 88.41s and 85.89.

It may not quite have the headline number of Caste or Hammond, but that is a very strong sequence across an entire event.

Another huge Junior Volts day

Sunday was particularly busy for the JDC Junior Volts series, with events staged across the country.

One of the South West winners was Joseph Lauridsen at The Kings Pub in Exeter, beating Aaron Rea 3–0 in the final. Lauridsen hit 83.50 during the event, matching Oliver Hutchings for the best average.

There were also titles for players including Hector Bowers, Jackson Osborne, Reggie Bellott, Alfie Osman, Jack Turner, Freddie Skone, Arjun Sharma, Tyler Shuck and Josh Lloyd.

At The Big Fish in Leigh-on-Sea, Will Fisher produced one of the strongest junior performances of the day, winning the tournament and recording an 86.71.

WADC: four Sunday tournaments

There were four WADC Vault 3.0 tournaments in Sunday's results, so they certainly deserve their own section.

At Highways Sports & Social Club in Colchester, Sophie Shepherd beat Catherine Haley 3–1 in the final.

At Penybanc RFC in Ammanford, Rhian Osullivan beat Alannah Waters-Evans 3–1. Osullivan also recorded an excellent 81.98, although the source data for this event appears to contain some mixed match rows, so I'd be cautious about drawing too much from the wider event statistics.

Bridget McGuire won at the Phoenix Club in Waterlooville, beating Rosie Robinson 3–2 and finishing with five victories. McGuire also produced the three highest listed averages among the women's results there.

Finally, Elizabeth Moss won at The Station in Bognor Regis, beating Susan Ramsay 3–1 and finishing with seven victories.

Four WADC events in a single day's export is another useful addition to the growing women's database.

Five performances that caught my eye

1. Mat Caste – 115.62 — Carlton House Club, Olney
2. Curtis Hammond – 111.33 — Gardeners Arms, Ipswich
3. Andrew Cook – 103.66 — Legends Lounge, Plymouth
4. Andy Steed – 103.66 — Legends Lounge, Plymouth
5. Stuart Bennett – 103.66 — New Croft, Haverhill

Elliott Neary also hit 103.66, Tony Chapman reached 102.48, Arthur Allston 102.00, while Dafydd Roach and Charlie Collins both recorded 100.20.

81 tournaments in one day

The scale of Sunday's results is probably the biggest story of all.

81 tournaments means hundreds of players and thousands of individual match results feeding into Q4QS.

There were Vaults, Junior Volts, WADC events, restricted-average competitions, junior tournaments, local opens and league competitions covering a huge geographical spread.

And that's increasingly what I want Yesterday's Results to show.

The winner matters, but so does the player who hits 103 and doesn't win. So does the junior putting together a run of 80-plus averages, the player improving at a regular venue, and the strength of a tournament several rounds before the final.

The bigger the database gets, the more of those stories Q4QS can find.

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World Grand Prix 2026 Preview: Does Double-In Really Change Everything?

The World Grand Prix is one of the tournaments I always find interesting because it asks the players to do something they simply do not have to do anywhere else on the PDC circuit.

Every leg is double-in, double-out.

Before a player can start scoring, they have to hit a double. They then have to finish on one in the usual way.

It sounds like a relatively small change, but we all know what can happen. Miss a few darts trying to get away and your opponent can already be well into the leg before you have scored a point.

The obvious question, though, is how much difference does it really make at this level?

My feeling going into the tournament is perhaps not as much as we sometimes think.

These are elite double hitters

The theory is that the World Grand Prix should favour the better double hitters.

That makes perfect sense.

But we also have to remember who we are talking about. This is a 32-player field made up of elite professionals. There will obviously be differences between their doubling percentages, but every player in this tournament is capable of hitting doubles consistently.

For me, the format probably creates more volatility rather than completely changing who the strongest players are.

If someone misses six darts getting away, suddenly a leg can disappear very quickly. Over a short match, a couple of legs like that can decide everything.

Over the course of a whole tournament, though, I still expect the better players to come towards the top.

We will find out.

Littler and Humphries set the standard again

It is difficult to start anywhere other than Luke Littler and Luke Humphries.

They are currently the top two players in the Q4QS rankings and their recent numbers back that up.

Littler has been producing some extraordinary averages and has won nine of his last ten matches in the database. His World Matchplay run included an event average above 111, which tells you the level he can reach when everything is working.

Humphries remains number one in the Q4QS rankings and continues to produce deep runs and tournament victories.

The double-start format gives everyone another problem to solve, but it is difficult to imagine either player being particularly fazed by it.

Gerwyn Price remains right in the picture

Gerwyn Price is another player coming into the tournament with plenty of strong form behind him.

He is third in the current Q4QS rankings with an average just under 99 and has recently reached a World Matchplay final as well as another televised semi-final.

His opening match against Sebastian Bialecki is one I am particularly interested in.

Bialecki is much further down the established PDC pecking order, but the Q4QS numbers are very positive. He has already won a Players Championship event this season and sits surprisingly high in our current rankings.

If Price starts quickly, his scoring power should give him the advantage.

But this is exactly the sort of tournament where an outsider getting away cleanly while the favourite struggles on the starting doubles can suddenly change everything.

Ross Smith arrives as a recent champion

Ross Smith certainly deserves a mention after winning the recent World Series of Darts Finals.

That is a serious piece of form to bring into another televised tournament.

Smith has also won on the Players Championship circuit this season, so this isn't simply one good weekend appearing from nowhere.

He is capable of producing big averages, he scores heavily and he has just shown that he can put together a complete run against top-class opposition on a major stage.

His opening match against Cameron Menzies isn't straightforward, but Smith comes into the tournament with genuine momentum.

Chris Dobey is one I will be watching

Chris Dobey's recent numbers have been particularly strong.

He sits fifth in the current Q4QS rankings, has won eight of his last ten recorded matches and recently averaged over 105 across a Players Championship run.

He has also produced individual match averages comfortably above 110.

Dobey faces Jermaine Wattimena, who is hardly short of form himself.

Wattimena recently won a Players Championship event and has also won eight of his last ten matches in the database.

That could be one of the best matches of the opening round.

Nijman continues to climb

Wessel Nijman is another player whose numbers keep catching my attention.

He is currently fourth in the Q4QS rankings and has been regularly producing averages around or above the 100 mark.

His opening match against Rob Cross should tell us plenty.

Cross has obviously been there and done it on the biggest stages and has also won on the Players Championship circuit this season.

But Nijman increasingly looks comfortable alongside this level of player rather than simply being someone trying to break into it.

That makes this a particularly interesting first-round match.

Plenty of danger throughout the field

There are a number of other players who could easily have a big week.

Michael van Gerwen remains capable of beating anyone when his game clicks.

Gary Anderson's best performances are still extremely strong.

James Wade has spent a career finding ways of winning matches in formats where pressure and doubling matter.

Kevin Doets has been producing good results and recently reached a Players Championship final.

Danny Noppert continues to put together solid numbers, while players such as Gian van Veen, Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting and Damon Heta make this a very strong field throughout.

There really aren't many comfortable matches.

So how much will double-in actually matter?

This is probably the thing I want to follow most closely throughout the tournament.

My starting position is simple:

It matters, but I don't think it completely changes the hierarchy.

At lower levels of darts, differences in doubling ability can be enormous.

At this level, those differences are much smaller.

The really interesting part may therefore be what the format does psychologically.

One missed dart at double 16 means very little.

Three misses becomes frustrating.

Six misses while your opponent is already halfway down the board becomes pressure.

And once that happens in a short set format, strange things can happen very quickly.

That is probably why the World Grand Prix feels different even if, by the end of the week, many of the familiar names are still standing.

I'll be interested to look back when the tournament is finished and see whether the double-in format genuinely produced more surprises than we would normally expect.

Because there are really two different questions.

Does double-in change individual legs and matches?

Almost certainly.

Does it actually change who the best players are?

I'm not so sure.

This week should give us a pretty good opportunity to find out.

MODUS SUPER SERIES WEEK 9 PREVIEW

 

Another new MODUS Super Series week gets underway, and this looks like a particularly interesting field because there are several very different form lines coming into Portsmouth.

Aden Kirk heads the market and also sits highest of the field in the Q4QS rankings. He is currently Q4QS No.59 with an 88.17 average, and there has been plenty of evidence recently that he can produce considerably more than that. Kirk averaged 90.01 across a run to the last 32 of Challenge Tour 21 and produced individual match averages of 100.20 and 95.67 along the way. tournament_narrative_pack_20260…

Harry Ward is virtually alongside him in the Q4QS numbers at No.60, and comes into the week following an excellent Challenge Tour 22. Ward reached the semi-finals, winning six matches and averaging 89.85 across the tournament, including a 96.85 in his win over John Henderson. tournament_narrative_pack_20260…

Radek Szaganski gives the field another player with plenty of experience and arrives with improving Challenge Tour numbers. His last two events produced tournament averages of 87.09 and 86.02, with four wins at Challenge Tour 22. tournament_narrative_pack_20260…

But perhaps the most interesting player in the entire field from a Q4QS perspective is Michael Wiles.

Wiles is 10-0 across his last ten recorded matches and has been collecting Vault titles. One recent Clacton victory came with a 94.08 tournament average, while his recent results also contain individual match averages above 107. He may not have the profile of some of the names above him in the market, but his current numbers make him very difficult to ignore. tournament_narrative_pack_20260…

There is another strong form line with Petri Rasmus, who comes in after winning the Swedish Open with seven straight victories and an 87.26 tournament average. He has won nine of his last ten recorded matches. tournament_narrative_pack_20260…

Jeff Smith brings plenty of experience and some strong CDC form. He has reached two recent CDC semi-finals and is 8-2 across his last ten, while Jamie Kelling is another player whose recent local results deserve attention. Kelling is 9-1 in his last ten and has been winning regularly on the Vault circuit, including an Andover title with an 87.51 tournament average. tournament_narrative_pack_20260…

Gemma Hayter shouldn't simply be overlooked either. Her recent results include a PDC Women's Series semi-final and quarter-final, followed by a final at Fareham. She has won eight of her last ten recorded matches. tournament_narrative_pack_20260…

Jamie Atkins, Jim Widmayer and Nico Plovier complete the players for whom I have recent Q4QS data, while Robert Thornton is the one player in this week's field who isn't currently matched in this particular Q4QS export. tournament_narrative_pack_20260… tournament_narrative_pack_20260…

Six to Follow

Aden Kirk
Challenge Tour form includes a 90.01 event average and a 100.20 match.

Harry Ward
Comes straight from a Challenge Tour semi-final, averaging 89.85 across seven matches.

Michael Wiles
10-0 in his last ten with multiple recent Vault titles and some huge scoring numbers.

Petri Rasmus
Swedish Open champion after going 7-0 with an 87.26 tournament average.

Jeff Smith
Two recent CDC semi-finals and eight wins from his last ten recorded matches.

Jamie Kelling
9-1 in his last ten and already collecting Vault titles during a strong recent run.

Vault 19 Tournament Strength: Pinches Keeps Delivering as Wales Pulls Clear in WADC Vault 3.0

 

Two weeks into Vault 19 and we're beginning to get something much more useful than a collection of impressive one-off Tournament Strength scores.

We're starting to see patterns.

When I first looked at the new series, Pinches Cue Club in Norwich immediately set the benchmark with a Tournament Strength of 1.350.

A week later, Pinches backed that up with 1.340.

Now we've had another week.

Pinches has done it again.

Its latest tournament produced 1.331.

So the sequence now reads:

1.350 → 1.340 → 1.331

That consistency is becoming the biggest Tournament Strength story of Vault 19.

Elsewhere, some familiar venues have bounced back strongly, Faringdon has provided more evidence that its earlier huge score wasn't simply about an eight-player field, and Hethersett is quietly moving in the opposite direction to Pinches — getting stronger every week.

And over in WADC Vault 3.0, the story has changed dramatically.

Last week I asked whether England was beginning to catch Wales.

This week, Wales has pulled further away.

How I'm Ranking the Venues

I'm continuing with the method I used in the previous update.

Each venue appears only once in the table, ranked by its highest Tournament Strength during Vault 19.

That stops venues holding several positions simply because they've staged several events.

But the other scores aren't ignored.

In fact, as the series develops, they are becoming increasingly important.

A venue producing 1.300 once is interesting.

Producing something around that level three weeks running tells us considerably more.

Vault 19 – Strongest Venues After Two Weeks

Rank	Venue	Highest Tournament Strength
1	Pinches Cue Club, Norwich	1.350
2	Faringdon Football Club	1.329
3	Tipton Sports Academy	1.297
4	Bagley Sports & Social Club	1.280
5	The Brookside, Syston	1.278
6	The Gardeners Arms, Ipswich	1.270
7	Sartan Club	1.265
8	Hethersett Social Club	1.260
9	Clacton Sports Bar	1.256
10	The Monty Club	1.256

One entry per venue, using its highest Tournament Strength recorded in Vault 19 through the week ending 26 September.

Pinches Is Becoming More Than a Big Number

There isn't much debate about the headline.

Pinches remains No.1.

But I'm actually more interested in its third-best number than its best one.

The three Vault 19 scores are:

1.350

1.340

1.331

Its Tournament Strength has dipped very slightly each time, but only by 0.019 from its highest to its lowest.

That's remarkably consistent.

When Pinches first produced 1.350, I deliberately avoided immediately declaring it the toughest venue in Vault 19.

One exceptional tournament wasn't enough evidence.

Three consecutive scores above 1.330 make the argument considerably stronger.

There is still plenty of Vault 19 to come, but at this stage Pinches isn't merely holding onto the top position because of one spectacular opening night.

It keeps producing exceptionally strong fields.

Faringdon Is Answering an Important Question

Faringdon's 1.329 initially came with a fairly obvious caveat.

There were only eight players.

A very strong eight-player field can produce an excellent Tournament Strength figure, but I wanted to see what happened when the venue attracted a bigger entry.

We now have some evidence.

This week Faringdon produced 1.275 from a 24-player field.

It didn't beat its 1.329 record, so only the higher figure appears in the table.

But arguably the 1.275 tells us more.

Faringdon has now demonstrated that it can produce a strong Tournament Strength figure with a much larger field.

That makes its position immediately behind Pinches considerably more interesting.

Hethersett Is Quietly Climbing

One venue that might easily be missed by simply looking at the highest scores is Hethersett Social Club.

Its progression has been:

1.224 → 1.237 → 1.260

Three tournaments.

Three increases.

Its latest figure moves Hethersett into the current Top 10 and, perhaps more importantly, gives us another example of why following Tournament Strength week by week is useful.

It hasn't produced one enormous result.

Instead, the strength of the field has increased every time.

I'll be interested to see whether that continues.

Sartan Bounces Back

Sartan Club is another good example of why one week's number shouldn't be treated as definitive.

Sartan opened Vault 19 with an excellent 1.265.

Its next tournament dropped to 1.184.

This week it was back up to 1.256 from 25 players.

So while Sartan hasn't beaten its opening figure, it has returned very close to it.

Given how often Sartan appeared towards the top of my Vault 18 analysis, that's probably more significant than simply looking at its position of seventh in the current table.

The familiar South West benchmark is still producing strong fields.

Lindsay Is Remarkably Steady

There's a similar story at Lindsay Constitutional Club.

Its three figures are:

1.250 → 1.198 → 1.251

The latest tournament has actually edged above its opening Vault 19 score.

Again, this isn't about producing the biggest number in the entire series.

It's about a venue repeatedly returning to roughly the same strong level.

Lindsay was one of the Welsh venues that stood out during Vault 18, and two weeks into Vault 19 it remains very much part of the picture.

A New Name Enters the Top Group

The Gardeners Arms in Ipswich is one of the notable additions this week.

Its 1.270 puts it straight into sixth place when each venue is counted only once.

That's the sort of result that makes a venue worth following over the next few weeks.

As I've said throughout these updates, the next question is always the same:

Can it do it again?

Pinches is showing why that question matters.

The Top 10 Doesn't Tell the Whole Story

This is where I think these updates are becoming more interesting.

If I simply published the ten biggest numbers every week, we would miss some of the actual movement.

Pinches hasn't improved its best score this week — but producing 1.331 again is hugely significant.

Faringdon hasn't improved its best either — but 1.275 from 24 players strengthens its case.

Sartan hasn't beaten 1.265 — but its return to 1.256 matters.

Meanwhile, Hethersett has improved every week.

Tournament Strength is therefore becoming less about one league table and more about the pattern behind it.

And that should become even clearer as Vault 19 continues.

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WADC Vault 3.0 – Wales Pulls Further Clear

Last week's WADC question was simple:

Is England beginning to catch Wales?

At the time, South Wales held the top three positions, but Dereham Cricket Club had moved into fourth with 0.980.

England appeared to be closing the gap.

One week later, that isn't the direction the numbers have gone.

Instead, Wales has strengthened its position.

And the biggest mover of all is Briton Ferry Workies.

WADC Vault 3.0 – Strongest Venues After Two Weeks

Rank	Venue	Highest Tournament Strength
1	Briton Ferry Workies	1.151
2	Penybanc RFC #2, Ammanford	1.049
3	The 9 Darter, Port Talbot	0.997
4	Arrows Darts Venue #2, Resolven	0.986
5	Dereham Cricket Club	0.980
6	Walton WMC	0.941
7	Fordham RBL	0.933
8	London GAA, Ruislip	0.933
9	Wiltshire Darts House	0.929
10	Shooters, Leominster	0.916

One entry per venue, using its highest WADC Vault 3.0 Tournament Strength recorded so far.

Briton Ferry Makes a Huge Jump

This is the standout WADC result of the week.

When I first looked at Briton Ferry in Vault 3.0, it had produced 0.961.

Its next event improved to 0.989.

Now it has recorded:

1.151.

That's not a marginal improvement.

Briton Ferry has gone from being part of a very competitive South Wales group to holding a substantial lead at the top of the WADC Vault 3.0 Tournament Strength table.

And it reinforces something I mentioned previously.

Briton Ferry has previous form.

It produced strong Tournament Strength figures in the previous WADC Vault series as well.

We're now getting increasing evidence that this isn't simply a venue that happened to produce one unusually strong women's field.

Briton Ferry is becoming one of the most interesting WADC venues in the data.

Penybanc Makes It a Welsh One-Two

There's another significant new entry.

Penybanc RFC #2 in Ammanford has recorded 1.049.

That immediately puts it second.

Last week's WADC benchmark was The 9 Darter's 0.997.

We now have two Welsh venues above 1.000.

That changes the shape of the table considerably.

The 9 Darter Hasn't Become Weak Overnight

One thing worth stressing is that The 9 Darter dropping from first to third doesn't mean anything has gone wrong there.

Its 0.997 remains exactly the strong score it was previously.

It has simply been overtaken by two even stronger Welsh fields.

That's an important distinction when looking at these rankings.

Positions can change even when a venue's own performance hasn't.

Resolven Makes It Four for Wales

Arrows Darts Venue #2 in Resolven remains at 0.986.

That means the current top four are:

Briton Ferry — 1.151

Penybanc — 1.049

The 9 Darter — 0.997

Resolven — 0.986

All four are Welsh.

Only then do we reach England's leading venue, Dereham Cricket Club at 0.980.

So if last week's question was whether England was catching Wales, the current evidence says:

Not this week.

England Still Has Some Strong Fields

That doesn't mean the English WADC venues aren't competitive.

Dereham's 0.980 remains an excellent figure and is only just behind Resolven.

Walton WMC is next at 0.941, followed by Fordham RBL and London GAA on 0.933.

Wiltshire Darts House has reached 0.929, with Shooters in Leominster at 0.916.

But at the very top of the table, Wales has created some daylight.

And Briton Ferry in particular has raised the benchmark considerably.

Two Weeks In – What Are We Learning?

We're still early in both series.

But the picture is becoming clearer.

In the main Vault 19 series, Pinches Cue Club remains the venue everyone is chasing.

Not simply because of its 1.350 record, but because it has followed that with 1.340 and 1.331.

Faringdon has strengthened its case with a strong 24-player field.

Hethersett is improving every week.

Sartan has bounced back.

Lindsay continues to produce remarkably similar strong figures.

And Gardeners Arms has entered the conversation.

Over in WADC Vault 3.0, the story has moved dramatically.

Last week England appeared to be closing on Wales.

This week Briton Ferry has surged to 1.151, Penybanc has entered at 1.049 and Wales occupies all four of the leading positions.

The more tournaments we add, the more useful this becomes.

A huge one-off Tournament Strength figure will always catch the eye.

But I'm increasingly interested in something else:

Who keeps doing it?

After two weeks, Pinches is providing a very convincing answer.

And in the WADC Vaults, South Wales is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Q4QS Weekly Spotlight Week Ending 26th September 2026

 

Three Players Who Caught My Eye This Week

Another week of grassroots darts, and this time my three selections are Andy Steed, Kirsten Casley and Tony Chapman.

As always, this isn't simply about finding the three highest averages or counting who collected the most trophies. The idea of this feature is to pick out performances and stories that caught my attention for different reasons.

This week I've got a player who reached four finals in five days, a young player mixing success in girls' darts with impressive performances in open competition, and a player who managed to win four tournaments during the week.

Three very different stories, but all three deserve a closer look.

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Andy Steed

Player Profile

Andy Steed has become one of the most familiar names in the South West events covered by Q4QS.

His record now stands at 943 matches, 784 wins and 159 defeats, giving him an excellent 83.1% win rate across 144 events.

He's collected 52 tournament victories, alongside 31 runner-up finishes, and his overall recorded match average is 76.16. His best is a huge 111.33.

What's particularly noticeable at the moment is his form. Andy's last ten recorded matches have all been victories, while his last-five average has climbed to 87.20. Andy Steed_profile

He's also shown that he can beat some very strong players. His recorded victories include Owen Bates, Simon Stevenson, Gareth Griffiths, Neil Wild and Robbie Martin. Andy Steed_profile

This Week

Andy had one of those weeks where he seemed to be appearing at the business end of virtually everything he entered.

He started with a final at Legends Lounge in Plymouth on Sunday, losing out to Simon Stevenson. The following night brought another runner-up finish, this time at 8 Ball Bar & Sports in Paignton.

Then came the wins.

On Wednesday at Barnstaple Football Club, Andy took the title, beating Neil Ridd 3–0 in the final with a 92.02 average. Andy Steed_profile

Twenty-four hours later he did it again at Cue Sports Bar in Torquay. He averaged 85.08 in his quarter-final, 93.94 in the semi-final, and 87.61 when beating George Butcher 3–1 in the final. Andy Steed_profile

That's four finals in five days, two titles, and he finished the week with ten consecutive recorded victories.

That's some week.

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Kirsten Casley

Player Profile

Kirsten Casley's selection is perhaps the best example of why I don't want this feature simply to become a list of the week's most prolific tournament winners.

She has now played 319 recorded matches across 75 events, winning 193 of them for a 60.5% win rate.

There are already eight tournament victories, ten runner-up finishes and eight semi-finals on her record. Her overall average is 54.11, but there are plenty of signs of a much higher ceiling — including a personal best of 85.89. Kirsten Casley_profile

She's also already recorded wins against players including Eve Watson, Lloyd Sterio and Rhys Evans. Kirsten Casley_profile

This Week

Kirsten first caught my attention on Tuesday when she reached the final of the WADC Vault 3.0 at The 9 Darter in Port Talbot, finishing runner-up to Eve Watson.

But Friday was the real highlight.

Kirsten won the JDC Girls Series and also came through the JDC Wales Girls Series Event 6 at Arrows Darts Venue.

In the latter, she beat Erin O'Sullivan 3–0 in the quarter-final, Tia Sterio 3–1 in the semi-final and Celyn Saunders 3–1 in the final, averaging 65.09 for the title match. Kirsten Casley_profile

There was another interesting performance the following day. Playing in a Money In Money Out event, Kirsten produced an 81.24 average in a 2–0 victory over Lloyd Sterio, one of the highest averages of her recorded career. Kirsten Casley_profile

A WADC final, success in the girls' events and then an 81-plus performance in open competition.

Exactly the sort of week this feature is designed to notice.

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Tony Chapman

Player Profile

Tony Chapman doesn't yet have the huge volume of matches in the Q4QS database that Andy Steed has, but what is there makes impressive reading.

Across 88 recorded matches, Tony has won 77 and lost just 11 — an 87.5% win rate.

His record currently contains six tournament wins, three runner-up finishes and two semi-finals from just 12 events. His overall average stands at 74.13, with a best of 103.66. Tony Chapman_profile

That 103.66 only came on 18 September, so his current run of form hasn't suddenly appeared from nowhere.

This Week

Tony's week is the easiest of the three to summarise:

Four tournament victories.

He started on Sunday by winning the Vault at Fordham RBL, beating Jon-Sebastian Wright 3–0 in the final. During that event he also produced a 93.68 average against Dylan Waites.

On Monday he moved on to Legends Sports Bar in Wisbech and won again, with a 93.94 average among his performances.

Thursday brought title number three at Thetford Pool Club, where he defeated Adam Fellingham 3–0 in the final.

And then came Saturday's invite-only competition back at Fordham RBL.

Tony won seven matches on the day and finished it by beating Liam Ticehurst 5–0 in the final with an 81.68 average. His knockout run also included a 3–0 quarter-final win and a 4–0 semi-final victory. Tony Chapman_profile

So that's Fordham, Wisbech, Thetford and Fordham again.

Four tournament wins on four different days.

A fairly straightforward reason for making this week's three.

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Three Different Reasons to Catch the Eye

That's what I like about this week's selection.

Andy Steed demonstrated remarkable consistency, reaching four finals in five days before finishing with back-to-back titles.

Kirsten Casley showed why looking beyond the obvious tournament winners can uncover a much more interesting story, combining girls' success with a WADC final and an 81-plus performance in open competition.

And Tony Chapman simply kept winning — four tournaments across the week.

Three players at different stages, playing different circuits and catching the eye for different reasons.

I'll be looking through the results again next week to see who stands out.