The MODUS Super Series moves into Week 2, and once again the field provides exactly the sort of mix that makes these weeks so difficult to predict: emerging players, experienced campaigners, players carrying strong grassroots form and a few names for whom the available recent data tells only part of the story.
From a Q4QS perspective, Jack Drayton immediately catches the eye, while Neil Wild arrives with some extraordinary recent numbers. George Cressey and Reece Colley have been winning tournaments, Connor Hopkins has demonstrated plenty of scoring power, and then there is perhaps the most intriguing name of all – Berry van Peer.
Jack Drayton arrives on the back of a title
There could hardly be a better piece of preparation for Jack Drayton.
He has just won Event 11 of the ADC Winmau Tour Championship, giving him a timely confidence boost immediately before his MODUS appearance.
That adds another dimension to what was already an encouraging recent profile.
Drayton sits 37th in the Q4QS rankings, with an 86.45 database average and seven victories from his last ten recorded matches. His recent Development Tour results include a quarter-final at Event 17, where he won five matches and averaged 85.69 across the event.
There have been glimpses of a considerably higher ceiling too. He recorded a 91.31 in beating Kilian Hohnstedt and an 87.24 against Damien Moore.
Coming into MODUS having just won an ADC Winmau Tour Championship event makes Drayton one of the obvious players to watch this week.
Neil Wild brings some remarkable recent numbers
If we're looking purely at recent Q4QS data, Neil Wild is very difficult to ignore.
Wild has won nine of his last ten recorded matches and recently won an Evesham competition with a 104.63 tournament average. That run included some huge performances – most notably a remarkable 119.55 average in a 4–3 victory over Joe Quiney, as well as 104.51 against Mitchell Leeming and 100.31 against Dave Honey.
He has subsequently reached a semi-final at the Vault 18.0 event at Tipton Sports Academy.
Clearly the MODUS environment represents a different challenge, but Wild arrives with enough recent form to make him a fascinating proposition.
Berry van Peer – perhaps the biggest unknown
Berry van Peer is much harder to assess through the current Q4QS database.
There simply isn't enough recent information there to build the same sort of statistical profile we have for many of the other players in the field – he appears among the missing/unranked players in the tournament export.
But that certainly doesn't make him someone to overlook.
It wasn't that long ago that Van Peer was ripping up the PDC Challenge Tour, demonstrating the level of ability he possesses when his game is flowing.
His career has also included a well-documented battle with dartitis. That makes his appearance particularly interesting: if Van Peer has rediscovered some of the ability we've seen from him previously, he could be one of the most interesting players to watch all week.
Sometimes a lack of recent data means exactly that – a lack of data, rather than a lack of ability. Van Peer could be the perfect example.
George Cressey knows how to win
Another player arriving with winning form is George Cressey.
Cressey has won eight of his last ten recorded matches and sits 425th in Q4QS with an impressive 85.73 database average.
More importantly, he's been collecting titles. He won the Once Twitten Early Bird event with a 93.58 tournament average, and also won the Men's Singles at the same venue with an 86.73 average.
His recorded performances include a spectacular 120.40 in a 2–0 win over Lee Clark and 95.05 against John Power. More recently, he reached the semi-finals of an ADC Winmau Championship South Friday Night event before making the last 64 of Event 10.
Cressey's ranking probably understates how dangerous he could be in this company.
Reece Colley in excellent form
Reece Colley is another player whose recent win-loss record demands attention.
He's 9–1 across his last ten recorded matches, with recent results including a Vault 18.0 tournament victory at Amblecote British Legion and another title at Bostin Darts 180 Bar.
Between those victories he also reached a final at Bostin.
Colley's numbers aren't as spectacular as some in this field, but repeatedly going deep and winning tournaments matters. He has also shown that there is more scoring available, including a 97.84 performance against Michael Powell.
Connor Hopkins capable of raising his level
Connor Hopkins is another interesting younger name.
He has won seven of his last ten recorded matches and has been active on the Development Tour. His best recent run came at Development Tour 17, where he averaged 88.30 across four matches.
The standout individual performance was a 100.20 average in a 4–0 victory over Moritz Klein, while he also averaged 91.09 when whitewashing Angelo Balsamo.
There is enough there to suggest Hopkins could cause problems if he settles quickly into the MODUS format.
Wilkinson brings experience and scoring power
Carl Wilkinson brings plenty of experience and has seven wins from his last ten matches in the database.
His recent highlight was a quarter-final at the Isle of Man Caliburn International Festival, where he averaged 90.46 across seven matches.
There were consecutive 93.94 performances among his notable results, alongside a 93.31 and 91.09. He's since been competing in Eastern European events, so arrives with plenty of competitive darts behind him.
Others who could make an impact
There is plenty more depth beyond those names.
Ryan Branley has shown a 93.94 ceiling and recently reached the quarter-finals of an ADC Winmau Championship South Friday Night event.
Scott Campbell has Challenge Tour experience and recorded notable victories over Keegan Brown and Darren Armstrong, while Michael Huntley's limited Q4QS sample contains an impressive eight wins from his last ten and individual averages reaching 96.97.
And Zvonimir Lesic brings experience from the Eastern European Tour qualifiers, including a semi-final at ET03 and another semi-final at ET04.
Six to Follow
Jack Drayton – The obvious Q4QS selection after winning ADC Winmau Tour Championship Event 11 and showing good recent Development Tour form.
Neil Wild – Nine wins from his last ten and some extraordinary recent scoring, including that 119.55 performance.
Berry van Peer – The wildcard. Limited recent Q4QS information, but we know the ability he has shown previously. If some of that old Challenge Tour form is returning, watch out.
George Cressey – Two recent titles in the database and capable of producing seriously big individual performances.
Reece Colley – 9–1 across his last ten and repeatedly reaching the business end of tournaments.
Connor Hopkins – Development Tour experience, improving results and already capable of producing ton-plus averages.
Week 2 therefore looks particularly difficult to call. Drayton brings perhaps the most immediate momentum after his latest ADC success, Wild has some eye-catching numbers behind him and Cressey and Colley have demonstrated that they know how to win.
But Berry van Peer might be the player I'm most curious to see. Recent statistics don't tell us much about where his game currently sits. His past ability tells us why it is worth finding out.
If he is anywhere close to the player who was tearing through Challenge Tour fields not so long ago, MODUS Week 2 could become very interesting indeed.
