Over the past few weeks, I’ve been building a separate Q4QS database for the MODUS Super Series.
Rather than simply looking at the latest results, the idea is to bring together the Portsmouth-era MODUS history and see what the numbers can tell us about the players who have competed there.
There is a lot in it.
Thousands of matches, hundreds of players, head-to-head records, averages, 180s, checkouts, Finals Night appearances and weekly victories all give me plenty to explore. In fact, there is far too much for one article.
So I’m starting relatively simply.
Here are 10 facts from the Q4QS MODUS database, covering results through Series 15, Week 195. Week 196 has begun appearing in my data, but isn't complete, so I've left it out of the record-book cutoff.
1. Neil Duff is the MODUS marathon man
If there is one player who dominates the longevity records, it is Neil Duff.
Duff has appeared across 24 MODUS weeks and has played 466 recorded matches.
He has won 292 of them.
That means Duff currently leads my database for weeks played, matches played and matches won.
It is difficult to find a better illustration of just how much darts some players have played on the MODUS stage.
2. Duff has also won nine weekly titles
Those appearances haven't simply been about turning up.
Duff has collected nine weekly titles from his 24 weeks in the database, as well as reaching 11 finals and making 19 Finals Night appearances.
So while several players have produced spectacular shorter bursts at MODUS, Duff's record combines longevity with sustained success.
3. Darryl Pilgrim owns the biggest average in the database
The highest individual match average I have recorded belongs to Darryl Pilgrim.
Pilgrim averaged an extraordinary 122.69 against Dennie Olde Kalter during Week 49.
For context, only a tiny number of performances in the entire database even get close.
Connor Scutt and David Evans are among those next in line, both having recorded 120.24.
There is another rather remarkable Pilgrim average hidden in the database too — but I'm saving that one for another article.
4. Nobody has recorded more 100+ averages than Derek Coulson
One huge average can happen on one exceptional day.
Repeatedly averaging over 100 is something different.
Derek Coulson has recorded 45 match averages of 100 or more, the highest total in the Q4QS MODUS data.
Tom Sykes and Scott Taylor are next on 32 each, followed by Andreas Harrysson on 30.
Coulson's overall numbers are impressive too: across 272 recorded matches he has won 195, a win rate of 71.69%.
5. Steve West leads the 180 race
When it comes to maximums, Steve West sits at the top.
West has hit 561 recorded 180s across 371 matches.
That works out at just over 1.5 maximums per match.
There are players with even higher rates over smaller samples, something I'll look at separately, but nobody in the database has accumulated more maximums than West.
6. Luke Littler's MODUS numbers are ridiculous
Long before some of the biggest moments of his subsequent career, Luke Littler was producing some extraordinary numbers at MODUS.
Littler played in just five recorded weeks.
He reached Finals Night in all five and won four weekly titles.
Across his 110 recorded matches, Littler won 84 — 76.36% — and averaged 94.39 overall.
Among players with at least 100 matches in the database, both figures are currently the best.
He also averaged 100+ on 21 occasions and hit 208 maximums.
That's 1.89 180s per match.
7. Neil Duff has checked out 100+ on 147 occasions
Duff returns for another record, but this time it is finishing rather than appearances.
He has recorded 147 checkouts of 100 or more.
Scott Taylor is next with 134, while Steve West has 121.
The highest possible checkout of 170 has been achieved by numerous MODUS players, but accumulating three-figure finishes over several years is another measure of consistency.
8. Two match-ups share the rivalry record
One of the things I particularly wanted the database to uncover was how often the same players have crossed paths.
At the moment, two pairings share the lead with 13 meetings.
Andreas Harrysson v Mike Warburton has happened 13 times, with Harrysson leading the series 9-4.
Conan Whitehead v Darryl Pilgrim has also happened 13 times — and remarkably, Whitehead also leads that rivalry 9-4.
There are some wonderfully close rivalries sitting just below those two as well.
I'll definitely be returning to those.
9. Beau Greaves has recorded a 114.56 average
I also want this database to allow me to look properly at the performances of women who have competed at MODUS.
One number immediately stands out.
Beau Greaves has a best recorded match average of 114.56.
Across the matches currently captured for Greaves, she has won 31 of 40, giving her a 77.5% win rate.
Her overall recorded average is 93.75, she has produced six 100+ averages and hit 76 180s.
There is much more to investigate here, particularly because the dedicated Women's Weeks need to be treated separately from the normal mixed competition.
I think the women's MODUS record book deserves an article of its own.
10. MODUS has produced far more than a handful of familiar names
Perhaps the biggest thing I've noticed while building the database isn't one individual record.
It's the scale of MODUS.
There are around 600 different players represented in the database.
Some have become household names. Others have been MODUS regulars for years. Some appeared briefly and produced a performance that still sits remarkably high in the record books.
There is also a substantial international element.
I'm currently matching the MODUS player database against my Q4QS country data so I can establish exactly how many nations and home nations have been represented rather than guessing at the number.
Once that's complete, MODUS Around the World will be another article in this series.
This is only the beginning
These are deliberately some of the more straightforward records.
I've already found plenty of stranger ones.
There are remarkable losing averages, long winning streaks, incredibly even rivalries, whitewash records, deciding-leg records and players who seem to have spent half their MODUS careers playing one another.
There are women's records to explore properly, country records, the players with the greatest title strike rates and plenty more.
That's what I want to do with this database.
Rather than simply telling you what happened at MODUS last night, I want to use the history to find the stories sitting underneath the results.
This is Part One of the Q4QS MODUS Record Book. There is plenty more to come.
