Country Spotlight: Bahamas – From The Caribbean To Alexandra Palace

 

 

My Country Spotlight journey continues through the Caribbean, and this week I've arrived at one of the smallest nations I've featured so far.

But in darts terms, the Bahamas has already achieved something that many considerably larger countries are still chasing.

It has sent a player to Alexandra Palace.

That player is Rashad Sweeting, and his emergence has helped put Bahamian darts firmly onto the international map.

Yet the more I looked into the Bahamas, the more interesting the story became.

Because behind Sweeting there is evidence of something more: regular CDLC participation, tournaments staged on Bahamian soil and players such as Robin Albury, Nelson Rahming and Lorenzo Deveaux competing against the leading names in Latin American and Caribbean darts.

For a country with a population of only around 400,000, that's quite a footprint.

Rashad Sweeting – The Bahamian Pioneer

There is really only one place to start.

Rashad Sweeting made history by becoming the first player from the Bahamas to qualify for the PDC World Darts Championship.

His appearance at the 2025 tournament put the Bahamian flag onto the Alexandra Palace stage for the first time.

Sweeting faced Jeffrey de Graaf in the opening round and lost 3–1, but averaged 82.88 on his World Championship debut.

For a developing darts nation, simply reaching that stage matters.

It gives every player back home proof that the pathway actually exists.

And Sweeting certainly hasn't disappeared since.

One Of The CDLC's Leading Players

Sweeting has become one of the established forces of the Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Tour.

In April 2025, he won CDLC Event Two in Panama City, defeating Jesús Salate 6–5, Sudesh Fitzgerald 6–2 and Jonathon Heron 6–0 through the closing stages. It was already his third career CDLC Main Tour title.

A few months later he won again, this time in the Bahamas.

At 2025 Event Four in Grand Bahama, Sweeting defeated Salate 6–5 in the semi-final before beating Norman Madhoo 6–3 in the final, averaging 86.08.

And in 2026 he did it again.

This time the story was even better.

Three Finals In Three Days At Home

The final weekend of the 2026 CDLC season was staged in Nassau.

Sweeting reached the final on Friday.

Then he reached it again on Saturday.

And then, on Sunday, he reached a third consecutive final.

The first two ended in defeat to Argentina's Jesús Salate.

The third didn't.

Sweeting beat Dean Persad 6–2 in the quarter-final and Norman Madhoo 6–4 in the semi-final before defeating Trinidad and Tobago's Joshua Balfour 6–3 in the final.

He averaged 82.99 in that match and claimed another CDLC title on home soil.

It also meant that Sweeting finished second on the 2026 CDLC Tour Points List, behind only Salate.

That's a significant achievement.

What The Q4QS Database Tells Us

The Q4QS numbers underline just how strong Sweeting's 2026 campaign was.

My database currently contains 23 matches for Sweeting across five events.

He won 19 of them.

That's an 82.6% win rate, with one tournament victory, two runner-up finishes and a quarter-final. His overall match average stands at 77.20, while his best performance reached 89.29.

There is one important Q4QS caveat.

Sweeting has currently played five qualifying events in my dataset, one short of the six-event requirement for an official Q4QS Average.

So I won't manufacture one.

But the underlying performances are extremely impressive.

Sweeting averaged 89.29 while whitewashing Wayne Copeland 6–0.

He averaged 87.20 in an extraordinary 6–5 final defeat against Salate.

He averaged 84.28 against Robin Albury, 82.99 against Balfour and 81.00 against Madhoo.

Those aren't isolated numbers against unknown opposition either.

Beating The Best In The Region

One thing I increasingly like about the Q4QS database is that it allows me to look beyond averages and see who players are beating.

Sweeting's list is impressive.

In 2026 alone, it includes:

• Norman Madhoo – 6–4
• Joshua Balfour – 6–3
• Dean Persad – 6–2
• James Walkin – 6–3
• Shane Sawyer – 6–4

That's effectively a roll call of some of the strongest players in Caribbean darts.

His four defeats in the database came against Salate twice, Balfour and Víctor Guillín.

So Sweeting isn't merely dominating local competition.

He is consistently competing at the sharp end of the CDLC.

Robin Albury – Evidence Of Greater Depth

Sweeting is clearly the headline act.

But Robin Albury might be the most interesting player behind him.

Albury has only three 2026 events in the current Q4QS database, meaning he doesn't qualify for an official Q4QS Average.

However, across eight recorded matches he has won five and lost three.

More strikingly, his overall match average is 68.03, with a best of 71.85.

His victories include a 71.85 average against Michael Moss, 71.36 against Oscar Wright and 68.80 against Geddes Foncette.

He also reached a quarter-final in Nassau, where Sweeting eventually stopped him.

And this isn't somebody who has suddenly appeared from nowhere.

Albury has been part of Bahamian darts for years and also reached the semi-finals of 2025 CDLC Event Four in Grand Bahama, beating Sudesh Fitzgerald 6–1 in the quarter-finals before losing to Madhoo.

On the published two-year CDLC Order of Merit following the opening 2026 weekend, Albury stood 15th, with fellow Bahamian Nelson Rahming 13th.

That's important.

It starts to move the Bahamas away from being simply "the country Rashad Sweeting represents."

Nelson Rahming – Another Regular Competitor

Nelson Rahming adds another layer.

My current database has eight Rahming matches across five events, with three victories and five defeats.

His overall average is 59.99, with a best of 63.51. Once again, he is one event short of qualifying for an official Q4QS Average.

His record is more interesting than the win percentage alone suggests.

Rahming beat Chile's George Patterson 6–4 and Mikhael Achong 6–5, while narrowly losing 6–5 to James Walklin and 6–4 to Dean Persad.

That's another Bahamian regularly encountering credible regional opposition.

Lorenzo Deveaux – One Match From The World Cup

Then we come to Lorenzo Deveaux.

His individual Q4QS numbers are more modest.

Deveaux has now reached the six-event threshold, giving him an official Q4QS Average of 60.48.

Across nine matches he has three wins and six defeats, with an overall average of 60.21 and a best of 66.00.

But Deveaux has already played a part in one of the biggest matches in Bahamian darts history.

Because in April 2026, he partnered Sweeting in the regional qualifier for the PDC World Cup of Darts.

And the Bahamas reached the final.

One Match From A World Cup Debut

Twenty-eight teams representing 12 countries entered the qualifier in Panama City.

By the end, only two remained.

Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago.

Sweeting and Deveaux therefore stood just one match away from giving their country its first appearance at the PDC World Cup of Darts.

Unfortunately for the Bahamas, the final proved a step too far.

Joshua Balfour and James Walkin produced a dominant performance, winning 10–1 and taking Trinidad and Tobago to Frankfurt.

But reaching the final matters.

Sweeting had already taken the Bahamas to Alexandra Palace.

Now the country had come within one match of reaching another of the PDC's major international stages.

That's progress.

Home Events Are Helping Too

Another significant factor is that the Bahamas isn't simply sending a handful of players overseas.

The CDLC comes to the Bahamas.

Grand Bahama staged three events in 2025, while Nassau hosted the final three events of the 2026 season.

That creates opportunities.

When the Tour arrives, far more Bahamian players can compete without facing the substantial travel costs associated with getting around Latin America and the Caribbean.

And the result is a much wider list of Bahamian names appearing in tournament draws.

That's potentially very important for the next stage of the country's development.

Sweeting has demonstrated what the pathway can lead to.

The challenge now is producing more players capable of following him.

Why The Bahamas Matters

Of all the countries I've visited during this part of Country Spotlight, the Bahamas provides one of the clearest examples of what the new regional structure can achieve.

This is a country of only around 400,000 people.

Yet it has produced a PDC World Championship qualifier.

It has a multiple CDLC tournament winner.

It has hosted CDLC events.

It reached the final of the 2026 World Cup qualifier.

And behind Sweeting there are players such as Albury, Rahming and Deveaux accumulating regional experience.

That's quite a lot for such a small population.

Looking Ahead

The obvious question is what comes next.

For Sweeting, the target must surely be another Alexandra Palace appearance.

He finished second on the 2026 CDLC Tour behind Salate, so he remains firmly among the region's elite players. His Q4QS record of 19 wins from 23 matches reinforces that.

But perhaps the bigger long-term question concerns everyone behind him.

Robin Albury's small 2026 sample is encouraging.

Nelson Rahming is regularly competing on the Tour.

Lorenzo Deveaux has already experienced a World Cup qualifying final.

And staging CDLC tournaments in the Bahamas gives other local players an opportunity to test themselves.

Sweeting has already opened one door.

The next landmark could be somebody joining him.

Or perhaps, after coming so close in 2026, two Bahamians finally walking onto the World Cup stage together.

Q4QS Darts Nation Rating

Current Strength: 8/10
Participation & Depth: 7/10
International Achievement: 8/10
Future Potential: 8/10

Overall Q4QS Nation Rating: 7.75/10

I'd put the Bahamas at 7.75/10.

That's above Costa Rica's 7/10 for me because the Bahamas has something Costa Rica is still seeking: a proven World Championship breakthrough.

Sweeting is also currently performing at a genuinely strong regional level, while Albury's figures suggest there is more behind him than might initially be obvious.

The population makes the story even more impressive.

A nation of around 400,000 people has already reached Alexandra Palace.

And in 2026, it came within one match of the World Cup.

For Bahamian darts, the question is no longer whether it can reach the international stage.

It already has.

Now the challenge is staying there.

Country Spotlight: Guyana – The Tiny Nation Punching Above Its Weight

 

After Brazil and Argentina, this week’s Country Spotlight stays in South America and heads to a country with a completely different darts story.

Guyana has a population of only around 830,000. It does not have anything like the player base of the major European darts nations, and even within the Caribbean and Latin American scene participation remains relatively modest.

Yet Guyana has repeatedly found a way to produce players capable of competing on the international stage.

That alone makes it one of the most fascinating nations I have looked at so far.

Because when it comes to darts, Guyana has consistently punched well above its weight.

A Small Country With a Surprisingly Big Darts History

Guyana sits on the northern coast of South America, bordering Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname.

Culturally, however, its sporting links often extend into the Caribbean as much as South America, and darts is a good example of that crossover.

For more than two decades, Guyanese players have appeared on PDC stages, regional tours and major Caribbean competitions.

At the centre of that story are two names:

Norman Madhoo and Sudesh Fitzgerald.

Between them, they have provided Guyana with remarkable longevity at international level.

Norman Madhoo – The Standard Bearer

Few players from developing darts nations can match the longevity of Norman Madhoo.

Madhoo first qualified for the PDC World Championship in 2004 and returned in 2010, 2011 and 2024. He is also a multiple Caribbean and South American Masters champion.

More than 20 years after that first World Championship appearance, he remains one of Guyana’s strongest players.

And the current Q4QS data backs that up.

Across 41 matches, Madhoo has won 30, giving him a 73.2% win rate. His 2026 record includes a tournament victory, a runner-up finish, a semi-final and two quarter-finals.

His scoring numbers are also very respectable.

Madhoo has an overall match average of 71.77, a Q4QS Average of 71.75 and a best recorded average of 88.41.

For a player now well into his sixties, that level of competitiveness is extraordinary.

Still Winning in 2026

Madhoo’s 2026 CDLC title might be the clearest indication that he remains a serious force.

After Jesús Salate had won the first two events in Panama, Madhoo stopped the Argentine’s run in the semi-final of Event Three, beating him 6–4 before defeating Dean Persad 6–1 in the final.

The Q4QS data adds another layer to that result.

Madhoo averaged 82.20 in the victory over Salate, whose Q4QS rating is significantly higher, making it one of Madhoo’s best recorded wins of the year.

His best performance of the season was even higher — an 88.41 average in a 6–0 win over Denis Valerin.

Madhoo eventually finished fourth on the 2026 CDLC Tour, earning complimentary entry to PDC Q-School and a place in the qualifying rounds of the Winmau World Masters.

That is a remarkable level of longevity.

Sudesh Fitzgerald – Another Guyanese Mainstay

If Madhoo is the headline figure, Sudesh Fitzgerald is almost as important to the Guyana story.

Fitzgerald has been competing internationally for well over a decade and reached the PDC World Championship himself in 2009.

More recently, he and Madhoo have formed Guyana’s leading World Cup partnership.

And in 2026, Fitzgerald remains highly competitive.

The Q4QS database currently contains 21 matches, of which he has won 15 — a strong 71.4% win rate.

He has reached one semi-final and two quarter-finals from six recorded events.

His overall match average stands at 66.71, his Q4QS Average at 66.96, and his best performance at 74.60.

Those averages sit below Madhoo’s, but Fitzgerald’s ability to win matches consistently remains impressive.

Fitzgerald’s Best Results

One of Fitzgerald’s strongest wins of the year came against Trinidad and Tobago’s Joshua Balfour.

Fitzgerald beat him 6–4, averaging 70.95, and has also recorded victories over George Patterson, Jonathan Quiros and Luis Ramirez-Merlano.

His best recorded average of 74.60 came in a 6–2 victory over Andres Vega.

Fitzgerald ultimately finished sixth on the 2026 CDLC Tour, meaning Guyana placed two players inside the competition’s top six.

For a nation of Guyana’s size, that is a significant achievement.

Guyana on the World Cup Stage

Madhoo and Fitzgerald have also helped ensure Guyana is visible on one of darts’ biggest international stages.

Their partnership has represented the country at the PDC World Cup in recent years, while qualification performances have repeatedly placed Guyana among the strongest countries in the Caribbean and Latin American region.

The pair again earned a World Cup berth through the 2025 CDLC qualifying process after reaching the semi-finals in Panama.

That recurring international presence is important.

For a country without a huge domestic darts scene, qualification for events like the World Cup provides visibility that would otherwise be extremely difficult to achieve.

Christopher Lochan – Evidence of Some Depth

Guyana’s story isn't entirely dependent upon Madhoo and Fitzgerald.

The Q4QS database also contains Christopher Lochan, who has competed across the CDLC circuit during 2026.

His numbers are more modest: four wins from 10 matches, with a Q4QS Average of 56.24 and a best average of 64.14.

However, his presence is still relevant.

Lochan has recorded victories over players including Mikhael Achong and Navarro Bastian and pushed Robin Albury all the way before losing 6–5 with his best average of the season.

He isn't currently at the same level as Guyana’s leading pair, but players such as Lochan demonstrate that there is at least some competitive structure underneath them.

The Question Guyana Must Answer

The biggest question surrounding Guyanese darts is obvious.

What happens after Madhoo and Fitzgerald?

Both players have given the country remarkable service.

But the Guyana Darts Association itself has acknowledged that the domestic game has historically relied heavily on a relatively small group of experienced players.

That is why its new focus on youth development could be so important.

In January 2026 the association launched a Youth Darts Training Programme, designed to attract new players, teach the fundamentals and begin widening the country’s darts base.

Later in the year, the GDA again said that it wanted to develop a structured junior programme capable of sending youth players to future Caribbean championships.

That may ultimately be more important than any single tournament result.

A Strong Caribbean Cup Showing

Guyana’s recent Caribbean Cup campaign also showed that the country remains highly competitive regionally.

Fitzgerald reached the men’s singles semi-finals, losing narrowly 6–5 to eventual champion Joshua Balfour.

He then partnered Luis Miguel Remirez-Merlano to the men’s doubles final, where the Guyanese pair finished runners-up.

The same tournament also highlighted some of Guyana’s challenges.

The association acknowledged that it was unable to field a full female contingent, contributing to a seventh-place overall finish, and identified both female participation and junior development as areas needing further attention.

That is an important reminder that international success at the top doesn't necessarily mean the domestic game is deep.

Why Guyana Matters

Guyana is probably one of the best examples yet in this Country Spotlight series of why population alone tells us very little about a darts nation.

Brazil has more than 200 million people.

Argentina has around 46 million.

Guyana has fewer than one million.

Yet Guyana has produced multiple World Championship representatives, regular World Cup players and two competitors who finished inside the top six of the 2026 CDLC standings.

That's impressive.

The country appears to have developed a small but extremely resilient competitive darts culture.

The challenge now is turning that resilience into something sustainable.

Looking Ahead

Guyana already has something many developing darts nations would love to possess:

history.

It has players who have qualified for major PDC events.

It has a proven international partnership.

It has current regional success.

What it needs now is another generation.

Madhoo continues to defy age.

Fitzgerald continues to win matches.

But if the new junior programme can eventually produce players capable of joining them, the foundations they have created could become something much bigger.

For now, Guyana remains a small darts nation.

But it is a small darts nation that opponents continue to underestimate at their peril.

Q4QS Darts Nation Rating

Current Strength: 7/10
Participation & Depth: 5.5/10
International Achievement: 8/10
Future Potential: 7/10

Overall Q4QS Nation Rating: 7/10

That might look high for a nation with such a small player base.

But international achievement matters.

Two established players inside the upper reaches of the CDLC, a 2026 tournament winner, multiple World Championship appearances and repeated World Cup representation give Guyana a record that many much larger countries would happily take.

The next chapter depends on whether the country can produce the players who follow Madhoo and Fitzgerald.

If it can, Guyana could continue punching above its weight for many years yet.