Friday, October 2, 2026

Winmau Championship Grand Finals 2026 Preview: 16 Players, £10,000 and a Global Championship Place on the Line

 


The road through the 2026 ADC Winmau Championship reaches its conclusion this weekend as 16 players head to the MODUS Live Lounge in Portsmouth for the Winmau Championship Grand Finals.

After 24 events split between the North and South series, the top eight from each ranking table have made it through to the Grand Finals on October 3rd-4th 2026

There is £10,000 in prize money to play for, with £3,000 going to the champion, but there is also another significant prize attached to the weekend.

The winner earns qualification for the ADC Global Championship. If the champion has already secured a Global Championship place, that qualification opportunity passes to the next eligible player who has not already qualified.

The action will be shown live on Pluto TV from the MODUS Live Lounge. (from 12.30pm BST)

For Q4QS, it also gives me the chance to put the entire 16-player field through the database and see who arrives in Portsmouth with the strongest numbers and recent form.

And this is a seriously strong field.

Ryan Hogarth arrives in outstanding form

There probably isn't a better recent-form story in the field than Ryan Hogarth.

Hogarth is currently No.30 in the Q4QS rankings with an 88.68 Q4QS average, and he comes into the Grand Finals having won his last ten recorded matches.

His most recent tournament ended with a title at the Welsh Open, Masters & Classic, where he went 9–0 and averaged 89.16 across the event.

Among those results was a 6–3 victory over Ross Montgomery with a 95.10 average.

Before that he had also reached successive semi-finals in Winmau Championship North events, averaging 87.35 and 90.27.

He could hardly be arriving in Portsmouth in better form.

Daniel Ayres brings PDC-level numbers

Daniel Ayres is only two places behind Hogarth in the Q4QS rankings at No.32, but actually has the slightly higher Q4QS average at 89.89.

His recent results have included plenty of action against PDC-level opposition.

Ayres averaged 94.92 in beating Cameron Menzies at Players Championship 28 and also recorded wins over Niels Zonneveld and Ritchie Edhouse.

Even in defeat in his latest event, the UK & Ireland Tour Card Holder and Amateur World Championship Qualifier, he averaged 94.11.

Those are serious numbers heading into this weekend.

Steve Lennon is another major threat

Steve Lennon sits at No.45 in the Q4QS rankings and actually has the highest Q4QS average of these opening three at 89.97.

He reached the semi-finals of the recent UK & Ireland qualifier, averaging 90.20 across the event before eventually losing to Carl Wilson.

His recent Challenge Tour performances include tournament averages of 91.52 and 90.93 in reaching consecutive quarter-finals.

That consistency around the 90 mark makes Lennon another player to watch very closely.

Plenty more depth behind them

This isn't simply a tournament dominated by three names.

Lewis Pride is Q4QS ranked No.70 with an 87.68 average and has produced a 97.15 match average recently.

Lewis Cook sits just outside the Q4QS Top 100 at No.102 and comes into Portsmouth with an 8–2 recent record. His last two Vault appearances produced a victory and a final.

Danny Trueman has an 84.47 Q4QS average and recently averaged 89.72 in the UK & Ireland qualifier.

Callum Francis reached a Challenge Tour final recently, going 7–1 and averaging 85.40 across the tournament. His run included victories over Steve Lennon and Daniel Ayres.

Ashley Coleman is another interesting name. His Q4QS average is 86.35 and he averaged 92.88 across his recent run to the last 32 of the UK & Ireland qualifier.

Don't overlook the players further down the Q4QS rankings

One of the things I like about this field is that even the players further down the Q4QS rankings have numbers which suggest they can cause plenty of problems.

Jack Main recently reached a Vault quarter-final averaging 86.50 and produced a 103.66 match average along the way.

Chas Barstow has won a recent Vault and also reached a final and semi-final, while his last five events include a 91.91 tournament average.

Dan Nicholls is 9–1 from his last ten recorded matches. He recently won a round-robin event with an 85.67 average before reaching another semi-final averaging 84.11.

And then there is Roger Crook.

Crook may be Q4QS ranked No.532, but his recent Vault record is remarkable. His last five recorded events include three tournament victories, another unbeaten group-stage run and a final.

Those events have included tournament averages of 81.84, 86.51, 81.07, 84.16 and 85.80.

That is exactly why rankings alone never tell the whole story.

Q4QS Six to Follow

Ryan Hogarth – Q4QS No.30, 10–0 in his last ten and arrives having just won the Welsh Open, Masters & Classic with an 89.16 tournament average.

Daniel Ayres – Q4QS No.32 with an 89.89 average and recent wins against established PDC opposition.

Steve Lennon – Q4QS No.45 with an 89.97 average and comes straight from a semi-final run averaging 90.20.

Callum Francis – Recent Challenge Tour finalist whose run included victories over both Lennon and Ayres.

Ashley Coleman – An 86.35 Q4QS average and averaged 92.88 during his latest tournament run.

Roger Crook – The form outsider from the Q4QS numbers. Three wins and a final among his last five recorded events, with some excellent tournament averages along the way.

North meets South in Portsmouth

This is what the Winmau Championship series has been building towards.

Twelve events in the North and twelve in the South have reduced the field to eight qualifiers from each region, and now those 16 players meet on the MODUS stage.

The prize fund breaks down as £3,000 for the winner, £1,500 for the runner-up, £750 for each semi-finalist, £500 for the quarter-finalists and £250 for reaching the last 16. ADC - Amateur Darts Circuit

There is also that ADC Global Championship opportunity waiting at the end of it.

Looking purely at the Q4QS database, Hogarth, Ayres and Lennon bring some exceptional numbers into the weekend. But the deeper I look through this field, the harder it becomes to find anyone who can safely be discounted.

And with players such as Francis, Coleman, Main, Barstow, Nicholls and Crook all bringing their own strong recent form, this looks a fitting conclusion to the first North and South Winmau Championship campaign.


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Winmau Championship Grand Finals 2026 Preview: 16 Players, £10,000 and a Global Championship Place on the Line

  The road through the 2026 ADC Winmau Championship reaches its conclusion this weekend as 16 players head to the MODUS Live Lounge in Ports...