Who’s Hot in South West Darts? The Q4QS Recent Form Top 100

 

Who are the most in-form darts players across the South West right now?

The latest Q4QS data gives us an interesting answer – and perhaps more importantly, shows just how many different types of player can put together a sustained run of winning darts.

The Q4QS South West Recent Form Top 100 is based primarily on results across a player's last 20 recorded matches, rather than simply ranking players by their three-dart average.

The data covers qualifying players across Bristol, Bath, Gloucester, Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth, Tiverton, Swindon and Blandford Forum areas, with players required to have competed in at least six events.

More than 36,000 unique matches were scanned, with 642 players meeting the qualifying criteria.

And to even sneak into the Top 100 takes some doing.

Every player on this list has won at least 14 of their last 20 matches.

Brown Leads – But He Has Company

At the top is Ashton Brown, whose recent record stands at a remarkable 19 wins from 20 matches.

Brown's position is particularly impressive because this is anything but a small sample. The Q4QS database has 237 matches for him across 30 events, with 16 titles recorded.

But he isn't alone on 19-1.

Henry Cooper, Andy Steed, Scott Mc and Mitchell Atkins have all also won 19 of their most recent 20 recorded matches.

And already, that group demonstrates what makes this table so interesting.

Cooper is averaging 86.39, while Atkins is at 64.57 – yet both have produced exactly the same 19-1 recent record.

Mitchell Atkins Flying the Flag for the Juniors

Atkins is particularly noteworthy because his main competition in the data comes through the Junior Darts Corporation.

He has been a regular JDC competitor and has already enjoyed tournament success, while also competing in events such as the England Youth Grand Prix.

So fifth place in a form table covering players from across the South West isn't simply another good statistic – it's an indication of how competitive some of the region's emerging junior players already are.

And Atkins isn't the only junior to appear.

Warren Rixon sits 15th after winning 18 of his last 20, while Jacob Godber is 47th, Joseph Lauridsen 83rd, Aaron Rea 85th and Finley Bird 90th.

Rixon's numbers are particularly striking. He has seven titles from only eight qualifying events in this dataset and has been one of the leading performers in the South West JDC Volts competition.

It is another reminder that the grassroots picture isn't simply about established adult open players. Some of the best current winning records belong to the next generation.

Karl Aldom – Why Form Isn't All About Huge Averages

Perhaps my favourite story in the whole table is Karl Aldom at number 17.

Aldom plays much of his darts in Under-55 average competitions at DartAsylum, so comparing his average directly with somebody regularly competing in high-level open tournaments wouldn't tell us very much.

What does tell us something is this:

18 wins from his last 20 matches.

Aldom's recorded average is 48.62, but he has four titles and 170 matches in the database across 28 events.

That's exactly why looking beyond averages can be worthwhile.

You don't need to be averaging 90 or 100 to be playing extremely well relative to the level at which you compete.

Ultimately, darts is about winning matches – and Aldom has been doing plenty of that.

Different Levels, Same Result

There are examples throughout the rankings.

Jane Price is 16th with an 18-2 record and a 52.08 average.

Aldom follows at 17th averaging 48.62.

At the other end of the spectrum, Henry Cooper has exactly one defeat in 20 while averaging 86.39.

Different competitions. Different standards. Different averages.

But lots of winning darts.

That is one of the reasons I think grassroots statistics need context rather than simply publishing a list of averages.

Who Is Improving Fastest?

Another fascinating column in the Q4QS data compares a player's most recent 50 legs with the previous 50.

And Joshua Lewis is the player who really leaps from the page.

Lewis is already 20th on recent form with a 17-3 record and an 80.50 average, but his improvement figure stands at +9.71.

That's a significant upward movement.

Other notable improvement figures among the Top 100 include:

• Ricky Harding: +8.16

• Luke Harding: +7.44

• Robbie Long: +7.08

• Leon Taylor: +6.74

• Danny Humphries: +6.24

• Johnny Haines: +6.10

• Robbie Roy: +5.46

Johnny Haines is particularly interesting. He is averaging 84.04, has won 16 of his last 20 and is simultaneously showing one of the biggest positive movements in the table.

That's someone whose numbers are worth watching.

The Established Winners Are Still There

The form table also contains plenty of familiar names.

Josh McCarthy might be only 58th on this particular measure, but "only" needs some context.

He's won 15 of his last 20 matches.

Across the wider database, McCarthy has 298 recorded matches, 43 events and an extraordinary 26 titles, alongside an 83.61 average.

Andy Steed has another outstanding long-term record: 22 titles from 44 events, while Steve Boundy has 17 titles, Shaun Vernall 17 and Ashton Brown 16.

This is where the Recent Form table should be viewed alongside the wider Q4QS numbers rather than replacing them.

A player can be 50th or 60th here and still be one of the strongest performers in the region.

You Need a 70% Win Rate Just to Make the List

Perhaps the statistic that best illustrates the strength of this Top 100 comes right at the bottom.

Joe Quiney is 95th.

Paul Lewis is 99th.

Martyn Freeman rounds out the Top 100.

All three have won 14 of their last 20 matches.

Quiney's recorded average is 73.07. Paul Lewis's is 50.58.

That's a difference of more than 22 points in average – yet their recent match records are identical at 14-6.

Again, that's why this isn't an averages ranking.

It's a ranking about winning darts matches.

Q4QS South West Recent Form Top 100

#	Player	Main Venue	Avg	Recent Form
1	Ashton Brown	Sartan Club	78.91	19-1
2	Henry Cooper	Yeovil Labour Club	86.39	19-1
3	Andy Steed	Pegasus 68 Club Ltd	76.17	19-1
4	Scott Mc	—	80.78	19-1
5	Mitchell Atkins	JDC	64.57	19-1
6	Kieran Smith	Magpies Social Club	79.97	18-2
7	Steve Boundy	Portishead Workmens Darts	71.68	18-2
8	Darren Herbert	Bullets Sports Bar	74.26	18-2
9	Kieran Spurdle	Pegasus 68 Club Ltd	71.67	18-2
10	Junior Howard	Darts Circuit	68.11	18-2
11	Steven Rees	Pegasus 68 Club Ltd	71.58	18-2
12	Liam Moore	DartAsylum HQ	67.54	18-2
13	Daren Field	Bullets Sports Bar	66.66	18-2
14	Ben Witcombe	DartAsylum HQ	61.36	18-2
15	Warren Rixon	Bridgwater Darts Academy	58.05	18-2
16	Jane Price	Magpies Social Club	52.08	18-2
17	Karl Aldom	DartAsylum HQ	48.62	18-2
18	Shaun Vernall	Magpies Social Club	77.25	17-3
19	Danny Humphries	Yeovil Labour Club	77.72	17-3
20	Joshua Lewis	Magpies Social Club	80.50	17-3
21	Ricky Harding	Pegasus 68 Club Ltd	73.66	17-3
22	Mike Harper	Yeovil Labour Club	77.01	17-3
23	Joe Bagguley	—	75.08	17-3
24	C-Jay Pipe	—	73.99	17-3
25	Jack Walker	—	73.39	17-3
26	Finlay Cleave	—	70.10	17-3
27	Joe Smith	Pegasus 68 Club Ltd	65.93	17-3
28	Sean Taylor	—	68.73	17-3
29	Dave Fisher	Darts @ The Lawns	67.50	17-3
30	Scott Lawrey	Darts Circuit	69.49	17-3
31	Mark Wellington	—	69.40	17-3
32	Glenn Pearce	DartAsylum HQ	62.68	17-3
33	Samuel Brough	—	61.47	17-3
34	Mac Docherty	Clandown Darts Promotions	60.12	17-3
35	Christopher Staples	Portishead Workmens Darts	57.86	17-3
36	Jimmy Bristow	North Star Club	77.84	16-4
37	Johnny Haines	North Star Club	84.04	16-4
38	John Brown	Sartan Club	79.66	16-4
39	Luke Harding	Portishead Workmens Darts	70.39	16-4
40	Iain Howie	Widden Rugby Club	76.43	16-4
41	Declan Cox	North Star Club	75.78	16-4
42	Dean Brown	Pegasus 68 Club Ltd	74.36	16-4
43	Paul Meyer	Magpies Social Club	69.79	16-4
44	Gary Eastwood	Yeovil Labour Club	74.24	16-4
45	Steve Donohue	Pegasus 68 Club Ltd	72.93	16-4
46	James Long	Portishead Workmens Darts	63.68	16-4
47	Jacob Godber	JDC	65.29	16-4
48	Darren Pearce	Darts Circuit	69.88	16-4
49	Mason Arnold	Portishead Workmens Darts	60.00	16-4
50	Duncan Bell	Lockleaze Family Community	63.93	16-4
51	Tommy Sperring	DartAsylum HQ	59.62	16-4
52	Matthew Reddy	—	60.76	16-4
53	James Wellbelove	Darts @ The Lawns	59.07	16-4
54	Phil Bisset	Pegasus 68 Club Ltd	58.87	16-4
55	Joshua Hall	Portishead Workmens Darts	58.15	16-4
56	Caspar Paine	Darts @ The Lawns	57.76	16-4
57	Ben Hayman	Darts @ The Lawns	57.53	16-4
58	Josh McCarthy	North Star Club	83.61	15-5
59	Ryan Palmer	Sartan Club	82.47	15-5
60	Terry Jenkins	DD's Snooker & Pool Club	76.61	15-5
61	Robbie Long	—	72.64	15-5
62	Graham Jenkins	DD's Snooker & Pool Club	74.19	15-5
63	Clive Burgess	DD's Snooker & Pool Club	75.96	15-5
64	Zach Quinn	Sartan Club	73.33	15-5
65	Gary Hiscock	North Star Club	76.60	15-5
66	Dan Williams	—	76.03	15-5
67	Leon Taylor	Portishead Workmens Darts	69.55	15-5
68	Leighton Cox	Pegasus 68 Club Ltd	72.80	15-5
69	Cori Wiltshire	North Star Club	66.20	15-5
70	Morgan Fowler	North Star Club	73.84	15-5
71	Ben Collins	Yeovil Labour Club	67.47	15-5
72	Paul Gardiner	—	67.62	15-5
73	James Wintle-Mckay	DartAsylum HQ	65.18	15-5
74	Warren Ryan	Portishead Workmens Darts	65.34	15-5
75	Cooper Cornish	Sartan Club	61.74	15-5
76	Collis Palmer	DartAsylum HQ	64.06	15-5
77	Robbie Roy	Yeovil Labour Club	63.74	15-5
78	Lee Bradley	Saintbridge Sports Club	63.07	15-5
79	Louis Hodge	—	61.10	15-5
80	Carl Galeitzke	Pegasus 68 Club Ltd	65.59	15-5
81	Phil Woodall	Portishead Workmens Darts	61.46	15-5
82	James Chappell	Yeovil Labour Club	63.49	15-5
83	Joseph Lauridsen	JDC	61.11	15-5
84	Gary Lapham	Clandown Darts Promotions	59.18	15-5
85	Aaron Rea	JDC	57.42	15-5
86	Callum Dry	DartAsylum HQ	54.08	15-5
87	George Hughes	Bullets Sports Bar	55.21	15-5
88	Jenson White	DartAsylum HQ	53.95	15-5
89	Ray Payne	DartAsylum HQ	53.62	15-5
90	Finley Bird	Bridgwater Darts Academy	48.46	15-5
91	Liam James	49 Club	51.32	15-5
92	Tommy Climo	Bridgwater Darts Academy	50.13	15-5
93	Chris Britton	DartAsylum HQ	51.45	15-5
94	Alex Bird	Bridgwater Darts Academy	50.65	15-5
95	Joe Quiney	DD's Snooker & Pool Club	73.07	14-6
96	Geoff James	North Star Club	78.94	14-6
97	Ellis Radford	Sartan Club	72.26	14-6
98	Steve Brown	Sartan Club	71.84	14-6
99	Paul Lewis	Pegasus 68 Club Ltd	50.58	14-6
100	Martyn Freeman	Magpies Social Club	65.40	14-6

More Than Just An Average

Perhaps that's the biggest takeaway from the first Q4QS South West Recent Form Top 100.

There are high-average established players.

There are prolific tournament winners.

There are rapidly improving players.

There are juniors beginning to make their mark.

There are players dominating restricted-average competitions.

And they can all appear on the same list because ultimately they have one thing in common:

They're winning.

As the Q4QS database continues to grow, these rankings should become even more interesting. Recent form can change quickly, which means today's Top 100 won't necessarily look anything like the next one.

And that might be the best reason of all to keep watching it.