Q4QS World Country Rankings: Which Nations Have the Strongest Darts Depth?

 

Which countries currently have the strongest depth in darts?

It sounds like a fairly simple question, but it isn't particularly easy to answer.

We know where many of the world's leading players come from. We also know the countries traditionally associated with producing top-level darts players.

But what happens if we look beyond the very best player from each country?

That's what I wanted to find out with the first Q4QS World Country Rankings.

Rather than ranking countries according to their number one player, I've used the wider Q4QS rankings to measure the strength of the leading group of players representing each nation.

The first results are fascinating.

England and the Netherlands lead the way, but there is very little between them. Ireland and Wales are separated by just three points. The Philippines start sixth in the world, while Japan are ninth.

Further down, Mongolia, Malaysia and China all make the Top 20.

And then there are countries much further down the table where the darts scene may be considerably more developed than the Q4QS data currently shows.

This is very much the starting point.

How I Calculate the Q4QS World Country Rankings

I wanted the rankings to reward two things: quality and depth.

The current Q4QS rankings contain 31,156 players.

I start at the bottom.

The player ranked #31,156 receives one country point. The player immediately above receives two, the next receives three, and that continues all the way to the top.

That means the current Q4QS World #1 is worth 31,156 country points.

For each nation, I then take its 10 highest-ranked identified players and add those points together.

If fewer than 10 players from a country have currently been identified within the Q4QS data, the players available contribute to that country's score.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are treated separately.

I've also removed generic Great Britain and unidentified World entries from the published table. If I can't confidently establish a player's country, I'd rather leave them out than guess.

The idea behind using 10 players is fairly simple.

One outstanding player can demonstrate that a country can produce top-level talent. But that doesn't necessarily tell us how strong darts is beneath that player.

To challenge at the top of these rankings, a country needs depth.

That's what I want the Q4QS World Country Rankings to measure.

Q4QS World Country Rankings – Top 50

Rank	Country	Points
1	England	311,462
2	Netherlands	311,280
3	Germany	310,858
4	Ireland	310,189
5	Wales	310,186
6	Philippines	309,910
7	Scotland	309,730
8	Australia	309,719
9	Japan	309,574
10	Belgium	309,057
11	Czech Republic	307,221
12	Poland	307,217
13	Sweden	306,771
14	Hungary	306,220
15	New Zealand	305,707
16	Austria	302,760
17	Mongolia	301,009
18	Malaysia	299,970
19	China	298,008
20	Italy	293,896
21	Slovakia	289,760
22	Northern Ireland	287,484
23	France	280,852
24	Singapore	274,039
25	Taiwan	264,691
26	Switzerland	247,759
27	Finland	240,391
28	Denmark	227,448
29	Bahamas	219,285
30	Hong Kong	204,308
31	Trinidad & Tobago	202,649
32	UAE	200,310
33	Costa Rica	163,191
34	Iran	147,531
35	Brazil	147,432
36	South Africa	134,338
37	Jamaica	133,164
38	Guyana	131,300
39	Latvia	121,260
40	Gibraltar	114,835
41	Slovenia	110,904
42	Spain	109,204
43	Canada	105,113
44	Chile	102,923
45	Croatia	99,780
46	Macau	96,397
47	India	93,418
48	Norway	88,939
49	Brunei	87,086
50	Thailand	86,961

England Lead, But the Netherlands Are Right Behind

Perhaps unsurprisingly, England start the first Q4QS World Country Rankings at number one.

What is more interesting is the margin.

England's leading 10 combine for 311,462 points, while the Netherlands score 311,280.

That's a gap of only 182 points.

Germany aren't far behind either on 310,858.

Considering these are the combined totals of 10 players, there isn't much separating the leading countries at all.

It also means there is plenty of scope for movement when I update the rankings. This doesn't look like a table where one country is necessarily going to disappear over the horizon.

Ireland Beat Wales by Three Points

If the battle at the top is close, the fight for fourth is almost ridiculous.

Ireland: 310,189.

Wales: 310,186.

Three points.

That's all that separates the two countries after combining the scores of their leading 10 players.

It is one of the things I like about this system. Movement within the individual Q4QS rankings can have an immediate effect on the country table.

There is another incredibly close battle just outside the Top 10.

The Czech Republic start 11th on 307,221, with Poland 12th on 307,217.

This time the difference is four points.

Those are two battles I'll certainly be watching when the next rankings are calculated.

The Philippines Start at Number Six

One of the standout results from the first table has to be the Philippines.

They begin the Q4QS World Country Rankings at number six, ahead of Scotland, Australia, Japan and Belgium.

This is also where using more than one player becomes important.

The Philippines aren't sitting sixth simply because one Filipino player happens to be particularly highly ranked.

There is enough strength further down to produce a combined score capable of competing with some of the most established darts countries in the world.

Having looked more closely at Asian darts recently, perhaps I shouldn't be completely surprised.

But sixth in the world is still quite a statement.

Asia's Strength Goes Much Further Than the Philippines

The Philippines aren't the only Asian country making an impression.

Japan start at #9, putting two Asian nations inside the World Top 10.

Then come Mongolia at #17, Malaysia at #18 and China at #19.

Singapore and Taiwan are both inside the Top 25, with Hong Kong at #30.

Macau, India, Brunei and Thailand also make the Top 50.

It gives the first rankings a very different look from one based solely around the traditional European darts nations.

Asian Countries in the Top 50

Country	World Rank
Philippines	6
Japan	9
Mongolia	17
Malaysia	18
China	19
Singapore	24
Taiwan	25
Hong Kong	30
Macau	46
India	47
Brunei	49
Thailand	50

The Asian Tour and other competitions across the region are giving us far more evidence of the strength developing there.

It's something I intend to keep following.

New Zealand Lead the Next Group

New Zealand also have an impressive starting position at #15, while Australia are already established inside the Top 10 at #8.

Elsewhere, some countries perhaps appear lower than might initially be expected.

France start at #23, Spain at #42 and Canada at #43.

But this is where some caution is needed when interpreting the first edition.

The ranking can only work with the players and results I currently have.

For countries where Q4QS already has extensive coverage, I'm much more confident that we're seeing a good picture of their strength.

Elsewhere, there is still digging to do.

Beyond the Top 50

I don't want the World Country Rankings to stop at number 50.

In fact, some of the countries below the main table could eventually provide the most interesting stories.

Immediately outside the first Top 50 are Bahrain, South Korea, USA, Barbados, Portugal, Lithuania and Argentina.

There are then countries from the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, South America and elsewhere appearing further down.

A low position should not automatically be interpreted as meaning there isn't a substantial darts scene in that country.

It may mean that.

But it could also mean I haven't found enough of it yet.

That's an important distinction.

Kenya Shows Why There Is More Work to Do

Kenya are a particularly good example.

There are Kenyan players beginning to attract attention, yet Kenya currently sit right near the bottom of the wider Q4QS country table.

I don't think the conclusion from that should be that there is hardly any darts being played in Kenya.

The more accurate conclusion is that Kenyan representation within the Q4QS data is currently limited.

There could be domestic competitions, leagues and players that I simply haven't incorporated yet.

Africa in particular is somewhere I want to investigate much more closely.

South Africa are currently #36 in the rankings, while other African nations begin much further down or haven't yet appeared at all.

Finding those results and players is going to be part of developing this project.

If I subsequently discover a substantial source of results from Kenya, for example, and the country climbs dramatically, that doesn't make the original ranking wrong.

It means the Q4QS picture of world darts has become more complete.

Which Countries Haven't I Found Yet?

This might eventually become one of my favourite parts of the rankings.

There are countries with organised darts that don't currently appear in the Q4QS World Country Rankings.

I want to find them.

Africa is an obvious area for further research, but it certainly isn't the only one.

There are developing darts scenes across Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and elsewhere that rarely receive much attention in the mainstream darts conversation.

I'm not going to add countries simply because somebody somewhere owns a dartboard.

I want results.

I want tournaments.

I want players.

And where I can find reliable data, I can start bringing those players into the wider Q4QS picture.

Over time, we may see entirely new countries entering these rankings.

A Ranking That Should Improve With Time

This is important to emphasise with the first edition.

I don't consider the Q4QS World Country Rankings a finished dataset.

Far from it.

Q4QS has grown by bringing together results from different competitions, tours, venues and systems. There is still a huge amount of darts around the world that I haven't reached.

That makes these first rankings a snapshot of what the data currently tells us.

As more results are added and more countries are explored, the rankings should become stronger.

It also means there are two different ways a country might climb.

Its existing players can improve their positions in the Q4QS rankings.

Or I might uncover more of that country's darts scene and discover players who weren't previously represented.

Both are interesting.

What Happens Next?

My intention is to make the Q4QS World Country Rankings a regular feature.

A fortnightly update feels about right to begin with.

That gives enough time for meaningful movement without simply reproducing almost the same table every few days.

Once we have a second edition, I'll be able to start tracking far more than the raw positions.

Which countries have climbed?

Who has fallen?

Who has entered the Top 50?

Is anyone closing on England?

Have Ireland and Wales swapped places?

Are the Philippines still inside the Top 10?

Has another country appeared for the first time?

And, perhaps most interestingly, what have I discovered since the previous edition?

That's where I think this can become much more than another rankings table.

The first edition already gives us England against the Netherlands at the top, three points between Ireland and Wales, four between the Czech Republic and Poland, the Philippines at number six and a significant Asian presence throughout the Top 50.

But there is also another story developing much further down.

There is an enormous amount of darts being played around the world.

I want to find more of it.

And as I do, the Q4QS World Country Rankings will change with it.