Another week of grassroots darts, another mountain of results to look through, and another three players who caught my eye.
One thing I particularly like about putting these weekly articles together is that there's always more than one way to have a good week.
You can win several tournaments, of course. But you can also play consistently well without picking up every trophy, or reach a final that means more to you than half a dozen ordinary victories.
That's why I don't want this feature to become simply a list of the players with the highest averages or the most wins.
This week I've chosen Kelson Hughes, Keegan Brown and Tracey Dean.
Between them, they've produced some excellent performances, but there are three quite different stories behind those results.
Kelson Hughes — Q4QS Rank #606
Player Profile
Kelson Hughes has been building an impressive record in the Q4QS Database.
From 110 recorded matches, he's won 96, giving him an outstanding 87.3% win rate.
He's competed in 17 recorded events, winning five tournaments and reaching another four finals. He's also made four semi-finals.
His overall match average stands at 77.42, with a Q4QS Average of 78.36.
His highest recorded average is a remarkable 115.62, achieved against Lucas Martin at the Castle Arms in Denbigh on 13 October.
That performance was actually from the previous week, but it gives an indication of the standard Kelson can produce.
And this week, he certainly made his presence felt around North Wales.
This Week
Kelson began his run on Tuesday 20 October by winning the Vault 19.0 tournament at Castle Arms, Denbigh.
Among his performances was a 100.20 average against Max Messham, while he also recorded a 3–0 victory over Baz Tym.
On Wednesday, he followed that with another tournament victory at The Nelson in Rhyl.
Two evenings, two titles.
Then on Thursday he completed a hat-trick of consecutive Vault victories, this time at Cross Foxes, Prestatyn.
One of the standout performances came against Jason Boulton, with Kelson producing a 107.36 average in a 2–0 victory.
Three tournaments on three consecutive evenings is an excellent return, regardless of the standard you're playing at.
But there was still more to come.
On Saturday, Kelson competed in the Keith Woodfine Memorial at Prestatyn Town Football Club.
This time he reached the final after defeating Richard Martin 3–0, Adam Paxton 3–1 and Alex Williams 4–3 in the knockout stages.
His semi-final against Alex Williams was particularly close, with Kelson averaging 84.03.
The final against Andy Courtney proved a step too far, with Kelson losing 5–1, although he still averaged 83.84.
So, across the week, Kelson collected three Vault titles and a memorial tournament runner-up finish.
What I like about this run is that it wasn't simply one outstanding evening.
He kept turning up, kept winning matches and kept putting himself in contention.
There's obviously a big difference between winning a local Vault event and reaching the final of a larger tournament.
But doing both in the same week is certainly worth recognising.
Keegan Brown — Q4QS Rank #388
Player Profile
Keegan Brown is a name many darts followers will already recognise, but I'm looking at his performances here in exactly the same way as everyone else's: through the results recorded in the Q4QS Database.
And those results make interesting reading.
Across 259 recorded matches, Keegan has won 220, giving him an 84.9% win rate.
He's appeared in 48 recorded events, winning 13 tournaments and finishing runner-up on another eight occasions.
His overall match average stands at 81.42, while his Q4QS Average is slightly higher at 82.52.
His best recorded match average is 115.62, achieved at the Simeon Arms in Ryde on 14 October.
Again, that was the previous week, but it's a reminder of the level he's capable of reaching.
His recorded victories also include wins over Scott Waites and Tommy Morris on the PDC Challenge Tour.
This week, however, it was his consistency across several local competitions that caught my attention.
This Week
Keegan enjoyed an extremely productive few days, reaching four finals in four days.
His run included two tournament victories and two runner-up finishes, with appearances across the Isle of Wight and Southampton area.
On Tuesday 20 October, he was competing at the Ambassador Freehouse on the Isle of Wight.
One particularly impressive performance came against Connor Mitchell, whom he defeated 2–0 with a 103.66 average.
Later in the week, Keegan crossed over to the Southampton area.
On Thursday, he competed at Locks Heath Working Men's Club, producing a superb 111.33 average in a 2–0 victory over Jason Collins.
He also beat Gary Stafford 3–0 in the quarter-final, averaging 93.94, before defeating Bart Blake 3–0 in the semi-final.
Then on Friday he reached another final, this time at Sarisbury Green Social Club.
His route included a 3–0 quarter-final victory over Thomas Lacey, averaging 86.71, followed by another 3–0 win against Archie Davies-Eade in the semi-final.
That semi-final came with a 93.94 average.
The final went to Jarred Cole, who won 3–1, although Keegan still averaged 84.24.
There's a temptation when looking at a player with Keegan's experience to take performances like these for granted.
But I don't think we should.
Whatever level you've played at previously, you still have to turn up, win your matches and earn your place in the final.
And reaching four finals in four days is an excellent achievement.
The two titles are obviously welcome, but it's the consistency that stands out for me.
Tracey Dean — Q4QS Rank #4,976
Player Profile
Tracey Dean is probably the player whose story best illustrates why I started doing these Weekly Spotlights.
She's not someone whose record is built around winning a tournament every other night.
Instead, there's a substantial amount of competitive darts behind her, and this week she enjoyed a couple of performances that deserve recognition.
The Q4QS Database currently contains 421 recorded matches for Tracey, of which she's won 243.
That gives her a 57.7% win rate.
She's competed in 98 recorded events, winning three tournaments and finishing runner-up on another nine occasions.
She's also reached six semi-finals and 18 quarter-finals.
Her overall match average is 62.28, with a Q4QS Average of 62.37.
Her highest recorded average is 97.66, achieved against Archie Wright in June.
She's also recorded victories over players including Angela Kirkwood, Jake B-Smith and Jamie Chaplin.
But this week's story isn't really about her best averages.
It's about reaching a major final and then coming close again just two days later.
This Week
On Sunday 18 October, Tracey reached the final of the WADC Red Dragon National Singles.
I think that's worth emphasising.
This wasn't simply another local weekly tournament. It was a national final, and Tracey had played her way into the last match of the competition.
She eventually finished runner-up to Jo Locke.
Of course, losing a national final is going to be disappointing, particularly when you've worked your way through the field to get there.
But reaching that stage is an achievement in itself.
And Tracey's week wasn't finished.
On Tuesday 20 October, she was back competing in the SDO Challenge Series 3.
Once again, she reached the final.
Her route included a 3–1 quarter-final victory over Steven Thomas, averaging 65.41, followed by a much closer semi-final against Sam Jones.
Tracey won that match 3–2 with a 70.85 average.
The final against Keegan Green was another close contest, but this time Tracey was on the wrong end of a 3–2 result.
She averaged 68.57 in defeat.
So, in the space of three days, Tracey had reached two finals, including a national final, without quite managing to collect the winner's trophy.
And that, for me, is precisely why she deserves a place in this week's article.
It's very easy to look at a results page, see who won, and move on.
But the player who finishes runner-up has often won just as many difficult matches to get there.
Tracey's wider record shows someone who has competed regularly, experienced plenty of defeats as well as victories, and kept putting herself into tournaments.
That persistence deserves credit.
And reaching a national final is something she can rightly take pride in.
Three Players, Three Different Stories
This week's selections are quite a contrast.
Kelson Hughes enjoyed a superb run around North Wales, winning three Vault events on consecutive evenings before reaching the Keith Woodfine Memorial final.
Keegan Brown demonstrated remarkable consistency, reaching four finals in four days and producing some outstanding averages along the way.
And Tracey Dean reached the WADC Red Dragon National Singles final on Sunday 18 October, then followed it with another runner-up finish on Tuesday.
Three very different achievements.
There were plenty of other players who could have been featured this week, including those who won several tournaments, reached finals without winning, or produced performances well above their usual level.
But that's what makes grassroots darts so interesting.
There are stories everywhere, and not all of them finish with somebody lifting a trophy.
I'll keep looking for those stories each week.
Congratulations to Kelson, Keegan and Tracey on performances that caught my eye.
Who caught yours?
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