Another week of grassroots darts, and another three players who caught my eye while looking through the Q4QS Database.
I've said before that I don't want this feature to become simply a list of the players who win the most tournaments or throw the highest averages.
There's more to darts than that.
Sometimes it's about producing your best performances when they really matter. Sometimes it's about playing consistently rather than spectacularly. And sometimes it's about reaching a final, even if you don't quite manage to win it.
This week's selections are Aaron Ayres, John Paul Jones and Ryan Davies.
Two won regional titles in different average categories, while the third reached a MODUS Super Series qualifying final.
Three different stories, and all three deserve some recognition.
Aaron Ayres — Delivering When It Mattered
Aaron Ayres enjoyed an excellent Saturday, winning the ADC North West Vault 19 Level Up RISE Regional Finals, a competition for players in the under-77.5 average category.
And looking at the individual results, his route to the title was particularly interesting.
Aaron didn't go through the entire competition unbeaten. He suffered defeats during the earlier round-robin stages, including losses against Albie Clynch, Jason Bailey and Ellis Hancock.
But when the knockout matches arrived, he found another level.
In the last 16, he defeated Joe Brady 3–0 with an 85.08 average.
He followed that with a 3–1 quarter-final victory over Daz Molyneux, averaging 87.00.
Then came the semi-final against Ollie Beckett.
Aaron produced an 88.85 average to win 4–1 and book his place in the final.
His opponent was Tom Lockyer, and this proved to be a much closer contest.
The match went all the way to a deciding leg, with Aaron eventually winning 5–4, averaging 84.35.
That's a very good performance under the circumstances.
Looking Beyond This Week
Aaron's Q4QS profile contains 106 recorded matches across 21 events.
He's won 79 of those matches, giving him a 74.5% win rate.
His overall match average stands at 75.56, while his Q4QS Average is 74.55.
The database also records four tournament victories and three runner-up finishes.
His highest recorded match average is 103.66, achieved against Jake Harrison at Coppenhall Working Men's Club in October.
But there's something else interesting about Aaron's record.
He's also competed in events such as the Isle of Man International Festival of Darts, the Scottish Open and the Romanian Darts Festival.
That gives him experience of playing in different competitive environments.
His record includes a 4–1 victory over Geoffrey Heath at the Isle of Man, and he's also faced players such as Jack Drayton, James Beeton and Moreno Blom.
Of course, playing in those competitions doesn't automatically make someone a better player. But it does mean Aaron has experienced different opponents and formats.
What impressed me most this week was the way he responded after those early defeats.
It would have been easy to have a disappointing day.
Instead, he produced a series of strong averages in the knockout stages and came away as regional champion.
Sometimes winning a tournament isn't about being the best player from the first dart to the last.
It's about being good enough when the important matches arrive.
Aaron certainly managed that.
John Paul Jones — Consistency Wins a Regional Title
John Paul Jones is probably my favourite example this week of why we shouldn't judge everything by the highest averages.
On Saturday 7 November, he won the ADC North Wales Vault 19 Level Up Emerging Finals, competing in the under-65 average category.
He did it by winning five consecutive knockout matches.
And while he didn't produce a string of 90-plus averages, his consistency was excellent.
His campaign began with a 4–1 victory over Tom Hughes, averaging 67.65.
Next came Theo Vaughan, whom John Paul also defeated 4–1, this time averaging 70.12.
In the quarter-final, he beat Jake Hughes 4–2 with a 71.26 average.
The semi-final against Allan McGuire followed a similar pattern, with John Paul winning 4–2 and averaging 67.11.
That brought him to the final against Peter Lewis.
John Paul completed the job with another 4–2 victory, averaging 72.00.
Five knockout victories, and every match average between 67 and 73.
There's something rather satisfying about that.
He didn't need one extraordinary performance to carry him through the tournament.
He simply played consistently well across the knockout stages.
Looking Beyond This Week
John Paul's enhanced Q4QS profile currently contains 38 matches across six recorded events.
He's won 30 of those matches, giving him a 78.9% win rate.
His overall match average is 69.86, with a Q4QS Average of 69.39.
His latest ten recorded matches have produced a slightly higher average of 74.54.
That's encouraging, although 38 matches is a relatively small sample, and I wouldn't want to make too many predictions about his future performances from that alone.
His highest recorded match average is 100.20, achieved against Mason Hale at the Jac Owen Fundraiser in October.
He's also recorded a 91.09 average against Oscar Tutte and an 86.71 against James Jones.
So there's evidence that he can produce significantly higher averages than those he recorded in Saturday's regional finals.
But that's not really the point of this week's story.
He won a regional title by being consistent, taking his chances and getting through five knockout matches.
And for somebody competing in the under-65 category, that deserves just as much recognition as somebody averaging 90 or 100 in a higher-level event.
I particularly like that the Level Up competitions give players at different stages of their darts development something meaningful to compete for.
John Paul made the most of his opportunity.
Ryan Davies — Another MODUS Qualifying Final
Ryan Davies completes this week's selection after reaching the final of the ADC South Wales Vault 19 MODUS Super Series Qualifier on Sunday 1 November.
And there was an interesting story behind that final.
Ryan faced Connor Hopkins, a player he knows well from previous competitions.
The Q4QS Database contains several meetings between the pair, with Ryan having recorded victories over Connor in March, May and June.
Among those was a 2–0 victory at Lindsay Constitutional Club in June, when Ryan averaged 100.20.
But this time it was Connor who came out on top.
Ryan reached the final after defeating Finley Bennett 6–5, averaging 88.01 in a particularly close contest.
The final against Connor finished 6–3, leaving Ryan as runner-up.
Reaching a MODUS qualifying final is an achievement in itself, even if the final result isn't the one you wanted.
And Ryan wasn't finished for the week.
Finishing the Week With a Victory
On Friday 6 November, Ryan competed in the Friday Night Fun League competition at Wattsville National Club.
He put together a very convincing knockout run.
In the last 16, he defeated Lozza Woods 3–0 with a 75.15 average.
He then beat Adam Meek 3–0, averaging 86.71.
The semi-final against Dan Benger was another comfortable victory, with Ryan winning 4–0 and averaging 82.36.
Then came the final against Jac Verity.
Ryan won 4–0 with an 88.41 average.
Four knockout matches, four victories, and not a single leg conceded.
That's an excellent way to finish the week.
Looking Beyond This Week
Ryan has one of the more extensive records in the Q4QS Database.
His profile contains 1,019 recorded matches across 166 events.
He's won 802 of those matches, giving him a 78.7% win rate.
The database records 30 tournament victories and another 35 runner-up finishes.
His overall match average stands at 77.85, with a Q4QS Average of 78.12.
His latest ten recorded matches have produced an average of 80.18, slightly above his overall figure.
One thing that stands out is the number of close and competitive matches he's played against strong opponents.
His record includes victories over Ashton Brown and Connor Hopkins, while he's also faced Sion Thomas in a previous MODUS regional qualifier.
That previous qualifier ended in a 6–4 defeat against Sion, with Ryan averaging 82.00.
So Sunday's final wasn't his first experience of competing for a place in the MODUS Super Series.
And perhaps that's what makes this week's achievement particularly interesting.
Ryan keeps putting himself in contention.
He didn't quite manage to win Sunday's qualifier, but he followed it with another tournament victory on Friday.
Sometimes that's all you can do in darts.
Take the positives, keep competing and give yourself another opportunity.
Three Players, Three Different Stories
I think this week's selections demonstrate exactly what I want the Q4QS Weekly Spotlight to be about.
Aaron Ayres showed that an imperfect start doesn't have to mean a disappointing tournament. He recovered from early defeats, produced his best performances in the knockout stages and became the North West Level Up RISE regional champion.
John Paul Jones showed the value of consistency, winning five consecutive knockout matches to claim the North Wales Level Up Emerging title without needing spectacular averages.
And Ryan Davies reached another MODUS Super Series qualifying final before finishing the week with a convincing tournament victory at Wattsville.
Three players competing at different levels, each with something worth celebrating.
There were plenty of other performances that caught my attention this week, including players reaching several finals without winning, those doing well in average-restricted competitions and others producing results above their usual standard.
I can't feature everyone, but I do want to keep recognising achievements that might otherwise be missed.
Because grassroots darts isn't just about the biggest names or the highest averages.
It's about players competing, improving, having good weeks, recovering from bad ones and occasionally producing something they'll remember for a long time.
Congratulations to Aaron, John Paul and Ryan.
Who caught your eye this week?
I'd be interested to hear about players whose achievements deserve a little more recognition.
