Country Spotlight: Jamaica – A Darts Story That Goes Back Further Than You Think

My Country Spotlight journey remains in the Caribbean this week, and after looking at the Bahamas, I've moved on to one of the most famous islands in the region.

Jamaica.

Jamaica is known around the world for athletics, cricket, music and a sporting culture that has produced remarkable success for a country of fewer than three million people.

Darts probably isn't the first sport most people associate with Jamaica.

But this is one of those Country Spotlights where I started digging and discovered that the story goes back much further than I expected.

Long before the modern CDLC Tour existed, a Jamaican player was winning one of British darts' major open tournaments.

More than 20 years ago, Jamaica was represented at the PDC World Championship.

And now a new generation is trying to put Jamaican darts back onto the international stage.

Al Hedman – Jamaica's Darts Pioneer

The first name has to be Al Hedman.

Born in Kingston in 1953, Hedman played professionally across the BDO and PDC systems and produced one particularly significant result in 1995.

He won the British Open, defeating Andy Fordham in the final. The tournament's historical results list Hedman as the 1995 champion, between previous winner Steve Beaton and 1996 winner Roland Scholten.

That's a serious piece of Jamaican darts history.

But Hedman wasn't finished there.

He later moved into the PDC and qualified for the 2003 PDC World Championship at the Circus Tavern.

Hedman was one of four players to qualify through the PDPA route and faced former world champion Bob Anderson in the preliminary Last 40 round.

Anderson won 4–0, with Hedman averaging 76.36.

So when discussing Jamaica's ambitions in modern darts, it's worth remembering something important.

Jamaica has already been represented at a PDC World Championship.

Al Hedman did it more than two decades ago.

He is also the older brother of England great Deta Hedman, who was herself born in Jamaica. But Deta represented England internationally, so for the purposes of this series I'm not counting her as a Jamaican player.

A Long Wait For The Next Generation

What Jamaica hasn't yet managed is to turn Hedman's achievements into a continuous stream of players reaching the biggest stages.

That's hardly unusual across the Caribbean.

Geography, travel costs and the lack of a regular professional pathway have historically made things much more difficult for players from the region.

The creation of the Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Tour has started to change that.

And Jamaica hasn't simply sent players to compete on it.

Jamaica has hosted it.

Montego Bay Becomes A Darts Hub

In July 2024, the CDLC Tour headed to Montego Bay for its opening double-header.

Rashad Sweeting won the first event and Norman Madhoo won the second, with some of the strongest players from Latin America and the Caribbean competing on Jamaican soil.

The events formed part of a much bigger period of darts activity in Jamaica, alongside the 2024 Caribbean Cup.

The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission described Jamaica as becoming the epicentre of darts in Latin America and the Caribbean, with events centred around Montego Bay.

For a developing darts country, hosting matters.

It gives local players an opportunity to compete against stronger regional opposition without the cost of travelling across the Caribbean or into Central and South America.

And Jamaica now has players beginning to make an impression.

Jonathon Heron – A Jamaican CDLC Breakthrough

One of the most important is Jonathon Heron.

Heron doesn't currently appear in my Q4QS database, so I can't give him the same statistical treatment as some of the other players in this series.

But his wider record deserves inclusion.

In April 2025, Heron produced a breakthrough run on the CDLC Tour in Panama City.

He defeated Brazil's Artur Valle 6–5 in the semi-final, becoming the first Jamaican to reach a CDLC Main Tour final.

His run eventually ended against the Bahamas' Rashad Sweeting, but reaching that final represented an important step for modern Jamaican darts.

Heron has remained part of the regional picture since.

And while he hasn't yet followed Al Hedman onto the PDC World Championship stage, his results demonstrate that Jamaican players can challenge at the business end of modern CDLC events.

Vasseon Roye – What The Q4QS Database Tells Us

The Jamaican player I can examine in much greater detail is Vasseon Roye.

And there are some interesting results here.

Roye has reached the six-event threshold required to receive an official Q4QS Average.

Across 13 matches, he has seven wins and six defeats, giving him a 53.8% win rate.

His overall match average is 58.90 and his official Q4QS Average is 58.34, with a best performance of 65.38.

Those figures don't immediately jump off the page.

The opponents he's beaten make things considerably more interesting.

Roye Can Produce An Upset

Roye's most significant Q4QS result came against a player we've already featured heavily in this series.

Norman Madhoo.

The Guyanese veteran is a multiple World Championship participant and remains one of the strongest players on the CDLC circuit.

Roye beat him 6–5.

He has also beaten Bahamas player Robin Albury 6–4 while averaging his personal best of 65.38, and defeated Chile's George Patterson 6–2 with a 62.49 average.

His losses also show the level he's competing against.

They include Rashad Sweeting, Guillermo Soto and Shane Sawyer.

Roye isn't yet consistently producing the averages of Sweeting or Jesús Salate.

But he has demonstrated that on the right day he can beat established regional opposition.

That's an important starting point.

Fitzroy Ellison – Another Jamaican Name

Fitzroy Ellison gives us another current Jamaican player to follow.

The sample here is much smaller.

My Q4QS database contains only five matches across three events, so Ellison doesn't yet qualify for an official Q4QS Average.

He has won two and lost three, with an overall average of 55.82 and a best of 62.27.

His two recorded victories came against Randy Cruz and Kevin Hinton.

The Hinton match was particularly encouraging, with Ellison averaging 60.66 in a 6–3 victory.

He also produced his best recorded performance against Shane Sawyer, averaging 62.27 in a 6–4 defeat.

It's nowhere near enough data to make a definitive judgement about his level.

But it gives Jamaica another player competing regularly enough to begin appearing in the Q4QS numbers.

Evon Faulkner – Another Sign Of Participation

Evon Faulkner also appears in my 2026 database.

There are only three recorded matches across three events, so I'm deliberately not going to draw conclusions from her averages or results.

That's simply too small a sample.

What matters more for this article is that she is another Jamaican player appearing on the CDLC circuit.

And that's something I've increasingly noticed while producing these Country Spotlights.

A country's future prospects aren't necessarily determined by its best player.

Depth matters.

The Difference Between Jamaica And The Bahamas

The contrast with last week's country is interesting.

The Bahamas currently has the standout modern player.

Rashad Sweeting has won CDLC titles, topped tournaments on home soil and reached Alexandra Palace.

Jamaica doesn't currently have an equivalent.

But Jamaica has something the Bahamas can't claim.

Its World Championship history stretches all the way back to 2003, through Al Hedman.

So these are two Caribbean countries at different points in their darts stories.

The Bahamas has the stronger current headline.

Jamaica has the longer history.

And now Jamaica is trying to create its next chapter.

Why Jamaica Matters

There's another reason Jamaica interests me.

The potential scale is considerable.

Jamaica has a population approaching three million and an extraordinary sporting culture.

That doesn't automatically translate into darts success, of course.

But the infrastructure around Caribbean darts is now much stronger than it was during Al Hedman's career.

There is a regional Tour.

There are pathways towards the PDC World Championship.

There is a World Cup qualifying route.

And major regional darts events have already been staged in Jamaica itself.

The opportunity exists in a way that it didn't before.

Looking Ahead

The challenge is turning participation into sustained results.

Heron's CDLC final was encouraging.

Roye has demonstrated that he can beat players such as Norman Madhoo, Robin Albury and George Patterson.

Ellison is competing.

Faulkner adds another name to the Jamaican presence.

And somewhere behind them may be the next player capable of making a bigger breakthrough.

Al Hedman reached the PDC World Championship in 2003.

More than two decades later, Jamaica is still waiting for someone to follow him.

But for perhaps the first time, there is now a genuine regional structure through which that player can emerge.

The pathway is there.

The next challenge for Jamaican darts is finding the player who can take it.

Q4QS Darts Nation Rating

Current Strength: 6/10
Participation & Depth: 6.5/10
International Achievement: 7/10
Future Potential: 8/10

Overall Q4QS Nation Rating: 6.75/10

I'd put Jamaica at 6.75/10 at this stage.

Its current playing strength doesn't yet match the Bahamas, Argentina or some of the stronger countries we've visited.

But Jamaica gets considerable credit for its history.

Al Hedman won the British Open and reached the PDC World Championship.

Montego Bay has hosted the CDLC.

Jonathon Heron has reached a CDLC final.

And Vasseon Roye has shown that Jamaica still has players capable of beating established names around the Caribbean.

The intriguing question is whether those pieces can eventually come together.

Al Hedman wrote Jamaica's first chapter in international darts.

More than 30 years after his British Open victory, Jamaica is looking for somebody to write the next one.

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: Costa Rica - At The Heart Of Latin America's Darts Revolution

 

My Country Spotlight journey continues through Latin America and the Caribbean, and this week I've reached a country that has played a particularly important role in the development of the region's modern darts circuit.

Costa Rica.

Costa Rica hasn't yet produced a PDC World Championship qualifier. It hasn't reached the PDC World Cup of Darts.

But when the Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Tour began in 2023, San José was where it all started.

And three years later, Costa Rica has one of the deeper groups of competitive players I've encountered during this part of the series.

At the front of them is Guillermo Soto.

Where The CDLC Story Began

The creation of the CDLC Tour was a major development for darts across Latin America and the Caribbean.

For the first time, players across a huge geographical region had a structured PDC-affiliated circuit providing a pathway towards the biggest stages in the game.

And its inaugural weekend took place in San José, Costa Rica, in August 2023.

Two ranking tournaments were staged at the Radisson Hotel, representing the first PDC-sanctioned Tour weekend of its kind in the region.

That alone gives Costa Rica an interesting place in darts history.

But the home players weren't simply there to make up the numbers.

Guillermo Soto – Costa Rica's Leading Player

If Costa Rican darts currently has a standard bearer, it is Guillermo Soto.

Soto finished third on the inaugural 2023 CDLC Order of Merit, behind Guyana's Norman Madhoo and Sudesh Fitzgerald and one place ahead of fellow Costa Rican Alex Gutierrez.

Later that season, he reached the final of Event Four in Santiago.

Soto averaged 81.24 while whitewashing Jafet Vanegas 6–0 in the quarter-finals and then defeated Gutierrez 6–2 before losing 6–4 to Brazil's Arthur Valle in the final.

He has since gone one better, becoming a CDLC event champion, and remains firmly established among the region's strongest players.

After the opening three events of 2026, Soto sat fifth on the two-year CDLC Order of Merit, behind only Jesús Salate, Rashad Sweeting, Norman Madhoo and Sudesh Fitzgerald.

That's impressive company.

What The Q4QS Database Tells Us

Soto's 2026 Q4QS numbers strengthen the case.

Across the three opening CDLC events captured in my database, he played 14 matches and won 11, a win rate of 78.6%.

He reached two semi-finals and a quarter-final, recording an overall match average of 66.82 and a best of 76.09.

There is one important qualification.

Soto has only three qualifying events in this particular Q4QS dataset, so he doesn't yet have an official Q4QS Average. I require six events before awarding one.

But his individual performances are revealing.

His best came against Trinidad and Tobago's Joshua Balfour, one of the strongest players on the CDLC circuit.

Soto beat Balfour 6–3 in a quarter-final while averaging 76.09. He also produced 72.14 in a 6–0 victory over Mauricio Carcamo and 70.47 while beating Claudio Domingues 6–1.

Even his defeats demonstrate the level of opposition he is now encountering.

His three losses in that sample came against Jesús Salate, Norman Madhoo and Víctor Guillín.

That's about as tough a trio as the CDLC can provide.

Alex Gutierrez – Nearly Winning On Home Soil

Soto isn't Costa Rica's only player with a significant CDLC history.

Alex Gutierrez came remarkably close to winning one of the very first tournaments.

At the inaugural San José weekend in 2023, Gutierrez reached the final of Event Two before losing 6–2 to Sudesh Fitzgerald.

That result helped Gutierrez finish fourth on the 2023 CDLC Order of Merit, immediately behind Soto.

His current Q4QS sample is much smaller.

We have four 2026 matches across two events, with two victories and two defeats.

But one performance jumps off the page.

Gutierrez averaged 65.78 against Jesús Salate and pushed the dominant Argentine all the way before losing 6–5.

Again, there isn't enough data to award Gutierrez a Q4QS Average.

But taking Salate to a deciding leg is another reminder that Costa Rica possesses players capable of making life difficult for the region's best.

Jafet Vanegas – Another Name In The Mix

Then there is Jafet Vanegas.

Vanegas sits 14th on the published two-year CDLC Order of Merit after the opening three events of 2026, giving Costa Rica two players inside the top 14 alongside Soto.

His Q4QS sample contains only five matches, but his overall match average of 60.81 is encouraging.

More interestingly, three of his defeats came with averages above 62.

He averaged 63.92 against Norman Madhoo, 62.38 against Dean Persad and produced his current best of 65.33 in a 6–4 defeat against Kenny De Souza Heindel.

Vanegas also has some history on the circuit.

At the final 2023 event in Santiago he averaged 75.78 in one victory and later 73.81 in a 6–2 win over Brazil's Roberto Wentz before Soto stopped him in the quarter-finals.

That's another useful indication that his small 2026 sample doesn't tell the whole story.

More Depth Behind Them

This is where Costa Rica begins to separate itself from some of the developing nations I've looked at.

There are more names.

Norwing Jimenez has six matches recorded by Q4QS in 2026 and has split them evenly — three wins and three defeats.

His overall average is 54.81, with a best of 62.19 against James Walklin. He has also recorded victories over Michael Moss, Chris Torrie and Gustavo Quiros.

And Jenny Mora has also competed on the CDLC circuit.

My current database contains only two of Mora's matches, so there is nowhere near enough evidence to make any meaningful assessment of her playing level.

But her presence is worth mentioning for another reason.

The first CDLC weekend in San José featured a sizeable Costa Rican contingent, and the wider entrant lists demonstrate that the country has considerably more participation than just Soto and Gutierrez.

That depth matters.

Costa Rica's Missing Breakthrough

There is, however, a strange contrast.

Costa Rica helped launch the CDLC.

It has produced tournament finalists.

It has produced a CDLC tournament winner.

It currently has one of the highest-ranked players on the regional circuit.

And it has a broader group of players behind him.

Yet the really big breakthrough remains missing.

No Costa Rican has yet followed the likes of Norman Madhoo, Jesús Salate or Diogo Portela onto the PDC World Championship stage.

And Costa Rica has yet to make its debut at the PDC World Cup.

That makes it feel less like a country trying to discover darts and more like a country waiting for the final piece to fall into place.

A World Cup Opportunity Slips Away

The 2026 regional World Cup qualifier showed just how difficult that final step can be.

Costa Rica had several possible combinations in the competition.

One pairing of Guillermo Soto and Jafet Vanegas pushed Jamaica all the way before losing 5–4.

Another Costa Rican pairing, Alex Gutierrez and Nelson Hernandez, was beaten 5–1 by the Bahamas combination of Rashad Sweeting and Lorenzo Deveaux.

Trinidad and Tobago eventually claimed the single World Cup ticket.

For Costa Rica, the wait continued.

But the fact it can field several credible combinations is itself evidence of something important.

This isn't a one-player darts country.

Why Costa Rica Matters

Costa Rica's importance to this series goes beyond its results.

When the modern PDC pathway into Latin America and the Caribbean began, San José was its starting point.

Players travelled there from across the region in 2023 to compete for the opportunity that would eventually take Norman Madhoo back to Alexandra Palace.

Costa Rican players were immediately competitive.

Soto finished third on the Tour.

Gutierrez finished fourth.

And that strength hasn't simply disappeared three years later.

Soto remains one of the leading players on the CDLC.

Vanegas remains firmly involved.

Gutierrez can still threaten elite regional opposition.

Others continue to compete behind them.

Costa Rica therefore has something several emerging darts nations don't yet possess.

Depth.

Looking Ahead

The next target couldn't be clearer.

Costa Rica needs to turn regional competitiveness into an international breakthrough.

And Guillermo Soto looks the most likely player to deliver it.

His 2026 record in my database is excellent: 11 wins from 14 matches, two semi-finals, a quarter-final and a victory over Joshua Balfour.

But Soto isn't carrying the country alone.

Gutierrez has already reached a CDLC final.

Vanegas is inside the upper reaches of the regional rankings.

Jimenez is winning matches.

And the country's broader participation gives it a foundation from which another player could emerge.

Costa Rica was there at the beginning of the CDLC revolution.

Now it needs to take the next step.

From helping create the pathway to finally walking all the way down it.

Q4QS Darts Nation Rating

Current Strength: 7/10
Participation & Depth: 7.5/10
International Achievement: 6/10
Future Potential: 8/10

Overall Q4QS Nation Rating: 7/10

I think 7/10 feels right.

Costa Rica doesn't yet have the international achievements to match Guyana or the recent momentum of Argentina. But I'd put its depth ahead of Chile, and Soto is clearly one of the better players we've encountered during this part of the series.

The missing ingredient is the breakthrough.

A Costa Rican at Alexandra Palace or a Costa Rican team walking onto the World Cup stage would completely change the country's story.

And increasingly, it feels like a question of when rather than whether.

Country Spotlight: Chile – Closing In On The World Stage

 

After Brazil, Argentina and Guyana, my journey through South American darts continues this week with Chile.

And this might be one of the most interesting countries yet.

Chile has not produced a PDC World Championship player. It has never appeared at the PDC World Cup of Darts. Nor does it currently have an internationally recognised star comparable with Argentina's Jesús Salate.

But perhaps that misses the point.

Because Chile is beginning to appear more regularly on the Latin American darts map, has hosted PDC-affiliated CDLC competition in Santiago, and in 2026 came within one match of qualifying for the World Cup of Darts.

Chile isn't there yet.

But it may be getting closer.

Darts In Chile

With a population of around 20 million, Chile has considerably greater potential playing numbers than some of the Caribbean countries currently outperforming it internationally.

The creation and expansion of the Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Tour (CDLC) has also provided Chilean players with something crucial: a pathway.

The CDLC is now the region's route towards opportunities including the PDC World Championship, World Cup of Darts, Q-School and World Masters.

Chile itself became part of that circuit as a host nation in 2025, when Santiago staged the final two events of the six-event CDLC season.

That was an important development.

Rather than Chilean players always having to travel into Central America or the Caribbean, top-level regional darts had arrived on their doorstep.

Rosario Saravia – Chile's Established CDLC Name

One of the most prominent Chilean names on the regional circuit is Rosario Saravia.

Saravia currently sits 10th on the published CDLC two-year Order of Merit, with 29 points. That places him among the leading players from across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Our Q4QS database, however, provides an important bit of context.

The current 2026 sample is extremely small.

We have only five matches across three events, with two wins and three defeats. His overall match average is 49.94, with a best of 55.35.

Because Saravia has currently played only three qualifying events in our data, he does not yet have an official Q4QS Average.

So I wouldn't use those numbers to judge his overall ability.

His wider CDLC ranking record is far more established than that five-match 2026 snapshot suggests.

In his best run contained within our current data, Saravia defeated Patricio Garate 6–5 and Shawn Noteman 6–1 before running into Guyana's Norman Madhoo in the last 16.

He therefore remains an important figure when assessing where Chile currently sits.

George Patterson – The Q4QS Standout

The most interesting discovery from the Q4QS data is George Patterson.

Patterson has a considerably larger 2026 sample than either Saravia or Mauricio Carcamo, and his results suggest he may currently be Chile's most competitive player in our database.

Across 19 matches from eight events, Patterson has recorded 11 wins and eight defeats, giving him a 57.9% win rate.

His Q4QS Average stands at 59.25, with a best recorded match average of 68.55.

He's also competing beyond the CDLC.

His best average came at the 2026 Winmau Las Vegas Open, where he averaged 68.55 in a 3–1 victory over Shannon Cullen.

But perhaps his most significant result came back on the Latin American circuit.

Patterson Takes Down A Leading CDLC Player

At CDLC Event Four in July, Patterson defeated Trinidad and Tobago's Dean Persad 6–5, averaging 64.62.

Persad carries a substantially higher Q4QS rating, making that Patterson's best win by opponent strength in the current database.

It took him into the quarter-finals, where he was beaten by Argentina's Jesús Salate.

There have been other encouraging performances.

Patterson pushed Argentina's Víctor Guillín to a deciding leg before losing 6–5 and has faced established regional names including Sudesh Fitzgerald.

These aren't yet the numbers of an international-level breakthrough player.

But they're evidence that Chile possesses players capable of competing and winning matches against some of the better-established names on the regional circuit.

Mauricio Carcamo – A Small But Interesting Sample

The third Chilean player currently appearing in our Q4QS data is Mauricio Carcamo.

There is an important caveat here.

We've recorded only four matches across three events, so it would be unfair to draw major conclusions from the results.

Carcamo has won one and lost three, with an overall average of 60.34 and a best performance of 64.41. Like Saravia, he doesn't yet meet the six-event requirement for a Q4QS Average.

Interestingly, his solitary victory was emphatic.

Carcamo averaged 64.41 while defeating Giovanni Masis 6–0. His defeats came against Norman Madhoo, Víctor Guillín and Guillermo Soto — three established regional players.

So again, the raw win-loss record needs context.

We need considerably more data before knowing Carcamo's true level.

One Match From The World Cup

This is where Chile's story becomes particularly interesting.

The 2026 PDC World Cup of Darts regional qualifier provided Chile with an opportunity to make history.

Trinidad and Tobago's Joshua Balfour and James Walklin eventually claimed the single CDLC qualification spot, but Chile made it all the way to the semi-finals.

There, Trinidad and Tobago beat Chile 8–4 before demolishing the Bahamas 10–1 in the final to qualify for Frankfurt.

That meant Chile had effectively reached the final four of the regional race for one World Cup place.

They didn't make it.

But suddenly a Chilean appearance at the PDC World Cup doesn't seem particularly unrealistic.

The CDLC Is Changing The Picture

The importance of the CDLC to countries such as Chile shouldn't be underestimated.

Historically, geography created an enormous obstacle for aspiring professional players from South America.

European players can potentially access numerous competitive tours and tournaments without travelling halfway around the world.

A Chilean player faces an entirely different situation.

The CDLC provides regular meaningful competition against players from Argentina, Brazil, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, the Bahamas and numerous other countries.

The strength at the top is increasing too.

Jesús Salate has emerged from the circuit to reach the PDC World Championship, while players such as Rashad Sweeting, Norman Madhoo, Víctor Guillín and Joshua Balfour have demonstrated the standard required to challenge for the region's biggest opportunities.

Chile's players are now testing themselves against those names.

That matters.

Hosting The Tour Matters Too

Chile's position as a CDLC host could prove particularly significant.

The expanded 2025 circuit consisted of six tournaments across three weekends — in Panama, the Bahamas and Chile — with Santiago hosting Events Five and Six.

It brought a genuine PDC pathway directly into South America.

It also meant Chile wasn't simply participating in the development of Latin American darts.

It was helping host it.

For a country trying to establish a stronger darts culture, visibility is important.

Players need tournaments to enter.

New players need something to aspire towards.

And spectators need to see that there is a route from domestic darts towards international competition.

What The Q4QS Database Tells Us

Chile is an interesting example of why I've increasingly tried to combine tournament achievements with the underlying Q4QS numbers in these Country Spotlight features.

If we looked only at the CDLC Order of Merit, Rosario Saravia would naturally be the headline Chilean.

But our current 2026 database identifies George Patterson as the stronger performer across a meaningful sample.

Patterson:

19 matches | 11 wins | 57.9% | Q4QS Average 59.25 | Best 68.55.

Saravia:

5 matches | 2 wins | 40.0% | Q4QS Average N/A | Best 55.35.

Carcamo:

4 matches | 1 win | 25.0% | Q4QS Average N/A | Best 64.41.

The crucial point is that the latter two samples are far too small to make definitive comparisons.

What we can say is that Chile has several players appearing on the regional circuit rather than relying entirely upon one individual.

That's encouraging.

Why Chile Matters

Chile's darts story isn't about what it has already achieved.

It's about how close it might be getting.

There is no Chilean equivalent yet of Diogo Portela.

There hasn't been a Jesús Salate-style breakthrough.

There isn't the decades-long PDC history Guyana has through Norman Madhoo and Sudesh Fitzgerald.

But Chile now has:

regular CDLC representation;

a player inside the upper reaches of the regional two-year rankings;

several players appearing in the Q4QS database;

experience hosting CDLC events;

and a national team that reached the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup qualifier.

The pieces are beginning to appear.

Looking Ahead

The next landmark is obvious.

Chile needs its first major PDC breakthrough.

That could be a World Cup qualification.

It could be a Chilean player challenging for the CDLC Order of Merit and earning a World Championship place.

Or perhaps someone we haven't encountered yet will emerge as the standard of competition continues to improve.

For now, Argentina and Guyana remain ahead in terms of tangible international achievements.

But Chile doesn't look like a country standing still.

A World Cup place came within two matches in 2026.

Santiago has already hosted the regional tour.

And Chilean players are increasingly mixing with the best competitors from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The breakthrough hasn't happened yet.

But Chile is getting closer to the world stage.

Q4QS Darts Nation Rating

Current Strength: 5.5/10
Participation & Depth: 6/10
International Achievement: 4.5/10
Future Potential: 7.5/10

Overall Q4QS Nation Rating: 6/10

That places Chile below Argentina and Guyana for now — which I think is right.

Its current players haven't yet produced the individual averages or international achievements of the leading players from those countries.

But future potential is the interesting category.

A population approaching 20 million, a place on the CDLC calendar and a near miss in World Cup qualification give Chile considerably more room to grow.

The next few seasons could tell us whether this is simply gradual progress — or the beginning of something much bigger.

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.