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.