2026 Development Tour Round-Up: Tour Cards Decided and World Youth Finalists Confirmed

 

The 2026 PDC Development Tour is complete.

After 24 events, two new Tour Cards have been decided, the Development Tour World Championship places are settled, and the World Youth Championship has been whittled down to its final two players.

For me, the interesting part is comparing what actually happened with the 50,000-run simulations I published before the final weekend and again with two events remaining.

There were a few twists.

Bialecki finishes comfortably on top

Sebastian Bialecki finishes the 2026 Development Tour Order of Merit as the clear number one on £21,900.

His position had already become mathematically secure before the final two events, and nobody ultimately got remotely close to overturning it.

Behind him, however, things became incredibly tight.

The final leading positions were:

Pos	Player	Prize Money
1	Sebastian Bialecki	£21,900
2	Jurjen van der Velde	£12,350
3	Cam Crabtree	£12,350
4	Jamai van den Herik	£12,250
5	Owen Bates	£12,200
6	Jack Drayton	£12,200
7	Leon Weber	£11,350
8	Dominik Gruellich	£11,300
9	Archie Self	£10,550
10	James Beeton	£10,400

Just £1,950 separated second from tenth.

That shows just how congested the Development Tour became behind Bialecki.

Van den Herik completes the comeback

The biggest story of the Tour Card race is Jamai van den Herik.

Before the final four events, my simulation gave him just a 3.69% chance of collecting one of the two available Tour Cards.

After the first two tournaments of the final weekend, that had risen dramatically to 19.80%.

He then completed the job.

Van den Herik finishes fourth overall on £12,250, but because several players above and around him already held Tour Cards, he takes one of the two new cards available through the Development Tour.

It is a great example of why I kept stressing that the raw Order of Merit did not tell the whole story.

Fourth overall was enough.

Drayton holds on

Jack Drayton takes the other Tour Card.

That is far less surprising.

Before the final four events, the Q4QS simulation gave Drayton a 98.27% chance of securing a card.

With two tournaments left that remained at 95.91%.

He did not ultimately need a spectacular finish.

His £12,200 final total was enough to get the job done.

So our model identified Drayton as overwhelmingly likely to qualify from the start of the final weekend, and that is exactly what happened.

Weber misses out

Leon Weber is probably the player who will look back on the weekend with the most frustration.

With four events remaining, Weber had a 56.78% Tour Card probability in the simulation.

With two events left, that was still 51.96%.

He was effectively the favourite for the second available card.

But Weber finishes on £11,350, £900 behind Van den Herik.

That is not a huge difference across a 24-event season, but it proved decisive.

Gruellich and Beeton also fall short

Dominik Gruellich finishes eighth overall on £11,300, while James Beeton ends tenth on £10,400.

Both remained realistic contenders entering the final stages.

With two events remaining, Gruellich had a 10.63% Tour Card chance and Beeton 15.42%.

Neither found the final run required.

Archie Self also finishes strongly in ninth on £10,550, having come from much further back during the closing events.

Coates wins Development Tour 23

Henry Coates produced one of the performances of the final weekend by winning Development Tour 23.

He beat Owen Bates 5-1 in the final, averaging 97.41 compared with Bates' 89.55.

Coates went through the tournament unbeaten with nine wins and an overall event average of 86.89.

Bates had an excellent event himself, averaging 90.79 across his run to the final.

Jamai van den Herik and Tyler Thorpe reached the semi-finals.

That run was important for Van den Herik's eventual Tour Card position, even though Bates stopped him 5-2 in the last four.

Baysal takes Development Tour 24

The final Development Tour event of 2026 went to Kaya Baysal.

Baysal beat Jurjen van der Velde 5-3 in the final, finishing the tournament with nine straight wins and an 89.33 event average.

Van der Velde's run to the final was also significant.

The £2,000 runner-up money helped lift him to £12,350, level with Cam Crabtree and ultimately second on the final Order of Merit.

Owen Bates and Duyane Wade Decena were the beaten semi-finalists.

The World Championship places

The final Development Tour World Championship race produces another example of why eligibility mattered throughout this series.

The three highlighted Development Tour places go to:

Jurjen van der Velde
Cam Crabtree
Jamai van den Herik

Van der Velde and Crabtree both finish on £12,350, with Van den Herik just £100 behind them on £12,250.

Again, that should be read alongside the qualification rules rather than simply taking the top three names on the overall Order of Merit.

Players who had already qualified through another route did not need another Development Tour place, allowing qualification to pass down the table where appropriate.

That was the caveat I included throughout the simulation articles, and it ended up being an important one.

And then came the World Youth Championship

The action continued with the PDC World Youth Championship.

The final stage produced a 64-player knockout field, but it did not finish with a champion.

Instead, it decided the two players who will contest the eventual World Youth Championship final.

Those players are:

Cam Crabtree and Jan Schmidt.

Crabtree beat Luke Littler 6-5 in a superb semi-final.

There was virtually nothing between them statistically.

Crabtree averaged 97.91.

Littler averaged 97.89.

One leg separated them.

In the other semi-final, Jan Schmidt beat Charlie Manby 6-3, producing a 94.85 average against Manby's 91.63.

So the World Youth Championship final will be:

Cam Crabtree v Jan Schmidt

Crabtree reached the final with five wins and an overall average of 90.40.

Schmidt also won five matches and actually posted the higher tournament average of the two at 92.81.

They now advance to the showpiece final.

Littler stopped in the semi-finals

Luke Littler unsurprisingly produced the highest overall average among the leading players in the knockout stages.

His tournament average was 95.60, but that was not enough to get past Crabtree.

That 6-5 semi-final is another reminder that averages do not automatically decide knockout darts.

One leg was enough to end Littler's run.

Manby also impresses

Charlie Manby reached the other semi-final with an overall average of 90.24.

He had beaten Ansh Sood 6-1 in the opening round before progressing all the way to the last four, where Schmidt finally stopped him.

Kaya Baysal, Henry Coates, Harrison Leigh and Arthur Allston made up the quarter-finalists.

Coates again performed strongly, averaging 93.20 across his World Youth matches, only a day after winning Development Tour 23.

A fascinating end to the Development Tour season

The final weekend ultimately showed exactly why these races are difficult to call.

Jack Drayton was the obvious favourite for a Tour Card and delivered.

Leon Weber was favourite for the second available card but missed out.

Jamai van den Herik moved from an outsider at the beginning of the weekend to a Tour Card holder by the end of it.

And players who already held cards continued to have a huge influence on everybody else's prospects.

The final outcome is:

Development Tour winner: Sebastian Bialecki
New Tour Cards: Jamai van den Herik and Jack Drayton
Development Tour World Championship places: Jurjen van der Velde, Cam Crabtree and Jamai van den Herik
World Youth Championship finalists: Cam Crabtree and Jan Schmidt

For Q4QS, the 50,000-run simulations were never intended to predict an exact finishing order.

They were designed to show where the probabilities sat and how quickly those probabilities could change.

Van den Herik might be the perfect example.

He started the final weekend as a 3.69% Tour Card chance.

He finishes it with a Tour Card.

That is why they still have to throw the darts.

Two Events Left: 50,000 Simulations Show the Development Tour Card Race Has Blown Wide Open

 

Two Development Tour events have been played since I last ran the numbers.

At that point, with four tournaments remaining, Jack Drayton looked extremely secure, Leon Weber held the edge for the second Tour Card, and James Beeton was the main challenger.

Now we are down to DT23 and DT24, with a maximum of £6,000 still available to any one player.

So I ran the final two events another 50,000 times.

And the race has changed quite a bit.

The latest Order of Merit

After DT22, the leading positions are:

Sebastian Bialecki – £21,900
Jack Drayton – £12,100
Cam Crabtree – £11,900
Leon Weber – £11,350
Jamai van den Herik – £11,000
Jurjen van der Velde – £10,350
Dominik Gruellich – £10,300
James Beeton – £9,950
Archie Self – £9,450
Owen Bates – £9,200

Bialecki has now mathematically secured first place on the overall Development Tour Order of Merit.

Drayton can only reach £18,100 even if he wins both remaining tournaments, so Bialecki cannot be caught.

But, as I explained in the first article, the overall standings are not the same as the Tour Card race.

Several players near the top already hold Tour Cards.

That means we have to look at which eligible players are most likely to finish high enough to collect the two new cards.

The new Tour Card probabilities

After 50,000 simulations of DT23 and DT24:

Player	Current Prize Money	Tour Card Chance
Jack Drayton	£12,100	95.91%
Leon Weber	£11,350	51.96%
Jamai van den Herik	£11,000	19.80%
James Beeton	£9,950	15.42%
Dominik Gruellich	£10,300	10.63%
Archie Self	£9,450	4.15%
Nathan Potter	£8,100	1.29%
Dylan Slevin	£8,300	0.65%
Henry Coates	£6,050	0.07%

The big story is that the second Tour Card is now properly up for grabs.

Drayton is still in control

Jack Drayton remains in by far the strongest position.

Before the weekend started, his Tour Card chance was 98.27%.

That is now 95.91%.

So his position has weakened very slightly, but not by much.

He remains overwhelmingly likely to leave the Development Tour with a card.

He does not need to win one of the final events.

He simply needs to avoid the sort of combination where several of the players immediately behind him make very deep runs.

Weber is now almost a coin flip

This is where the race gets much more interesting.

Leon Weber started the weekend with a 56.78% chance of earning one of the two cards.

After two events, that has moved to 51.96%.

That is basically a coin flip.

Weber is still the favourite for the second available card, but there is now a very realistic chance that somebody moves past him over the final two tournaments.

And there are several players capable of doing it.

Van den Herik is the biggest mover

Jamai van den Herik has been the major winner so far.

Before DT21, his Tour Card probability was only 3.69%.

He is now up to 19.80%.

That is a huge change.

His prize money has risen from £9,250 to £11,000, and with only two events remaining he is now firmly in the conversation.

A deep run in either of the final two events could completely change the picture.

Beeton has slipped back

James Beeton has gone the other way.

He started the weekend with a 29.48% chance of winning a Tour Card.

That is now down to 15.42%.

The important point is that Beeton has not fallen away completely.

He is still very much alive.

But other players have moved around him, particularly Van den Herik and Gruellich, and with only two tournaments left there is less time to respond.

Gruellich is still dangerous

Dominik Gruellich now has a 10.63% Tour Card chance.

That is actually slightly higher than his pre-weekend number of 8.34%.

So while he has not made the same jump as Van den Herik, he remains a genuine threat.

With £3,000 available for winning one tournament, a single big run could take him from outsider to serious contender.

Archie Self has suddenly entered the race

Archie Self is another player who deserves a mention.

He started this final block on £6,450.

He is now up to £9,450.

That has taken his Tour Card chance to 4.15%.

That still makes him an outsider, but he is no longer just a mathematical footnote.

Two events remain.

If he produces another big run, that number could move very quickly.

The second card is wide open

The battle now looks like this:

Leon Weber – 51.96%
Jamai van den Herik – 19.80%
James Beeton – 15.42%
Dominik Gruellich – 10.63%
Archie Self – 4.15%

That is much more open than it looked two events ago.

Weber is still favourite.

But it would not be a surprise now if somebody else took the second card.

The World Championship picture

The World Championship race looks different again.

Using the current qualification picture:

Player	World Championship Chance
Jack Drayton	94.62%
Cam Crabtree	85.86%
Leon Weber	38.94%
Owen Bates	17.25%
Jamai van den Herik	16.33%
Jurjen van der Velde	16.00%
James Beeton	14.89%
Dominik Gruellich	10.29%
Archie Self	3.98%
Nathan Potter	1.14%

These percentages need the same caveat as before.

They are based on the current World Championship qualification picture.

If a player later qualifies for Ally Pally through another route, a Development Tour place can move further down the Order of Merit.

So the World Championship percentages are more fluid than the Tour Card numbers.

That matters particularly for current Tour Card holders, because they can still occupy Development Tour World Championship places even though they are not part of the new Tour Card race.

Crabtree remains a huge factor

Cam Crabtree is the clearest example.

He is not competing for one of the two new Development Tour Tour Cards.

But he still has an 85.86% chance of taking one of the Development Tour World Championship places on the current qualification picture.

That means he can have a major influence on the Worlds race without affecting the new Tour Card race in the same way.

The same applies to players such as Jurjen van der Velde and Owen Bates.

Two events left

There are now only two opportunities remaining.

A tournament winner receives £3,000.

A finalist gets £2,000.

That is enough money to change the table very quickly.

But there is no longer much time to recover from an early exit.

That is why the current positions matter so much more now than they did before DT21.

Drayton is close.

Weber still has the advantage.

Van den Herik has transformed his position.

Beeton is still alive but under more pressure.

Gruellich remains dangerous.

And Self has suddenly given himself a chance.

The final two Development Tour events should be fascinating.

50,000 Simulations: Who Will Win the 2026 Development Tour Tour Cards?

 

The final four events of the 2026 PDC Development Tour are about to decide far more than just the Order of Merit.

Two players will earn two-year Tour Cards for 2027 and 2028, while three players will also receive places in the 2026/27 PDC World Championship.

But the Development Tour race is more complicated than simply looking at who sits first, second and third.

A number of current Tour Card holders are competing on the Development Tour, and some players may also qualify for the World Championship through other routes.

So I have run the final four events 50,000 times, using the current Development Tour Order of Merit and Q4QS player-strength data, to see who is most likely to actually come away with the major prizes.

How the simulation works

There are four Development Tour events remaining.

Each event carries the following prize money:

Winner – £3,000
Runner-up – £2,000
Semi-finalists – £1,000
Quarter-finalists – £750
Last 16 – £350
Last 32 – £250
Last 64 – £100

That means a player could theoretically add a maximum of £12,000 over the final weekend.

The model uses the full Development Tour field rather than just the players in the qualification race.

That is important.

Players such as Sebastian Bialecki, Cam Crabtree and other current Tour Card holders can still win tournaments, reach finals and knock rivals out even if they are not themselves competing for one of the new Tour Cards.

The simulations were weighted using current Q4QS playing strength, averages and recent form.

For example, Bialecki currently sits sixth in the Q4QS rankings with a 93.13 average, while Crabtree is averaging 89.13 and Charlie Manby 90.94. tournament_narrative_pack_20261… tournament_narrative_pack_20261…

The current qualification picture

After Development Tour 20, Sebastian Bialecki leads the overall Order of Merit on £21,900.

But he is already a Tour Card holder, so his position does not occupy one of the two new Tour Card places.

That is where the Development Tour becomes particularly interesting.

Jack Drayton currently has £12,100, Cam Crabtree £11,650 and Leon Weber £11,100.

However, Crabtree is already carded.

That means Drayton and Weber currently occupy the first two available Tour Card positions.

James Beeton, Dominik Gruellich and others are chasing behind them.

Tour Card probabilities

After running the final four events 50,000 times, this is how often each player received one of the two available new Tour Cards.

Player	Current Prize Money	Tour Card Chance
Jack Drayton	£12,100	98.27%
Leon Weber	£11,100	56.78%
James Beeton	£9,600	29.48%
Dominik Gruellich	£9,200	8.34%
Jamai van den Herik	£9,250	3.69%
Nathan Potter	£7,100	2.46%
Henry Coates	£5,800	0.70%
Dylan Slevin	£6,550	0.19%

Current Tour Card holders are not included in those percentages because they are not competing for one of the two new cards.

Jack Drayton is in a very strong position

Drayton's £12,100 starting total gives him a significant advantage.

He earned one of the two Tour Cards in 98.27% of the simulations.

That does not mean he cannot be caught.

There is still £12,000 available and four full tournaments to play.

But the combination of his current money advantage and playing strength means it requires a fairly unusual sequence of results for two eligible players to finish ahead of him.

Drayton also arrives in excellent form.

The latest Q4QS data shows him on a ten-match winning run, with recent title-winning performances included in the database. tournament_narrative_pack_20261…

Weber versus Beeton looks like the key battle

The second Tour Card is far less settled.

Leon Weber receives a card in 56.78% of simulations.

James Beeton gets one in 29.48%.

That makes their battle perhaps the most important storyline of the weekend.

Weber starts £1,500 ahead of Beeton, but four tournaments provide plenty of opportunities for that gap to disappear.

A single final is worth £2,000.

A tournament victory is worth £3,000.

So one deep run from Beeton combined with an early Weber exit could change the race immediately.

Gruellich is still very much involved

Dominik Gruellich sits on £9,200 and earns a Tour Card in 8.34% of simulations.

That may not sound huge, but it is far from negligible.

With four tournaments remaining, an 8% chance represents a genuine route into the top qualifying positions.

Gruellich has also shown strong scoring at this level, including a 95.43 match average at Development Tour 20 in the Q4QS data. tournament_narrative_pack_20261…

Jamai van den Herik is next at 3.69%, while Nathan Potter remains alive at 2.46%.

Existing Tour Card holders matter enormously

This is the major difference between the Development Tour and the Challenge Tour.

Several of the strongest players in the field already have Tour Cards.

They cannot claim one of the two new cards, but they can still have a huge influence on who does.

If Bialecki wins an event, for example, he takes £3,000 from the available prize pool and eliminates every opponent he meets along the way.

The same applies to Crabtree, Jurjen van der Velde, Owen Bates and other existing card holders.

That means a player does not necessarily need to finish second overall on the Order of Merit to earn the second available Tour Card.

He needs to finish high enough among the eligible players.

The official rules state that the top two players on the final Development Tour Order of Merit who have not otherwise qualified for Tour Cards for 2027 receive two-year Tour Cards. If a player above them has already qualified for a card, the place moves further down the Order of Merit. PDPA

The World Championship race

The World Championship calculation produces a very different picture.

Player	World Championship Chance
Jack Drayton	94.13%
Cam Crabtree	82.82%
Jurjen van der Velde	33.27%
Owen Bates	32.11%
Leon Weber	27.70%
James Beeton	20.62%
Dominik Gruellich	5.37%
Jamai van den Herik	2.15%
Nathan Potter	1.69%
Dylan Slevin	0.11%

This is where an important caveat is required.

World Championship caveat

These percentages are based on the current qualification position.

The official rule is that the three highest-ranked players on the final Development Tour Order of Merit receive World Championship invitations.

However, if one of those players qualifies for the World Championship through another route, or rejects the invitation, the Development Tour place passes further down the Order of Merit until all three places are filled. PDPA

That means the World Championship probabilities are less fixed than the Tour Card probabilities.

A player who currently appears to be occupying one of the Development Tour World Championship places could later qualify through the ProTour Order of Merit, Main Order of Merit or another recognised route.

If that happens, the Development Tour invitation would move to the next eligible player.

So the percentages above should be read as:

"Chance of taking a Development Tour World Championship position based on the qualification picture as it stands now."

They may change if players secure World Championship places elsewhere before the Development Tour qualification is finalised.

That is particularly important because some Development Tour players are also active on the ProTour.

Crabtree illustrates the difference perfectly

Cam Crabtree is one of the clearest examples of why the two races need to be treated separately.

He cannot win one of the new Development Tour Tour Cards because he already holds a card.

But he can still qualify for the World Championship through the Development Tour.

The simulation gives him an 82.82% chance of taking one of those three places based on the current situation.

So Crabtree is effectively irrelevant to the Tour Card race but extremely important to the World Championship race.

Van der Velde and Bates are similar

Jurjen van der Velde and Owen Bates are also existing Tour Card holders.

Neither is competing for one of the two new cards.

But both are strongly involved in the World Championship race.

Van der Velde qualifies in 33.27% of simulations.

Bates is at 32.11%.

Their presence is another reason why Leon Weber's Tour Card probability is much higher than his World Championship probability.

Weber may finish behind existing card holders and still receive a Tour Card.

For the World Championship, those same players can occupy qualifying places themselves.

Drayton has the best of both worlds

Jack Drayton is currently in the strongest overall position.

He receives a new Tour Card in 98.27% of simulations.

He also takes a World Championship place in 94.13%.

For everyone else, the two races start to diverge considerably.

Leon Weber has a 56.78% Tour Card chance but only a 27.70% World Championship chance.

James Beeton stands at 29.48% for a card and 20.62% for the Worlds.

That difference is almost entirely created by the existing Tour Card holders above and around them.

Why this weekend could move quickly

Four Development Tour tournaments means four separate draws.

A player can earn £3,000 in one event and nothing in the next.

That makes the final weekend extremely volatile.

Weber starts only £1,500 ahead of Beeton.

Beeton is only £350 ahead of Van den Herik and £400 ahead of Gruellich.

One tournament could completely change that section of the table.

And because some of the strongest players are already Tour Card holders, the finishing order itself does not tell the whole story.

What I will be watching

The first question is whether Jack Drayton can make his position mathematically secure.

After that, the biggest Tour Card battle appears to be Leon Weber versus James Beeton, with Dominik Gruellich waiting for an opportunity.

The World Championship race is wider.

Crabtree, Weber, Van der Velde, Bates and Beeton are all heavily involved, while qualification elsewhere could potentially move the cut-off further down the table.

That is why this Development Tour finale could be even more interesting than the Challenge Tour finish.

There are effectively two races taking place on the same Order of Merit.

One for new Tour Cards.

One for Alexandra Palace.

And the players occupying those positions do not necessarily have to be the same.

MODUS Super Series Week 2 Preview – Drayton Arrives With a Title, Wild in Form and Van Peer the Intriguing Unknown

 

The MODUS Super Series moves into Week 2, and once again the field provides exactly the sort of mix that makes these weeks so difficult to predict: emerging players, experienced campaigners, players carrying strong grassroots form and a few names for whom the available recent data tells only part of the story.

From a Q4QS perspective, Jack Drayton immediately catches the eye, while Neil Wild arrives with some extraordinary recent numbers. George Cressey and Reece Colley have been winning tournaments, Connor Hopkins has demonstrated plenty of scoring power, and then there is perhaps the most intriguing name of all – Berry van Peer.

Jack Drayton arrives on the back of a title

There could hardly be a better piece of preparation for Jack Drayton.

He has just won Event 11 of the ADC Winmau Tour Championship, giving him a timely confidence boost immediately before his MODUS appearance.

That adds another dimension to what was already an encouraging recent profile.

Drayton sits 37th in the Q4QS rankings, with an 86.45 database average and seven victories from his last ten recorded matches. His recent Development Tour results include a quarter-final at Event 17, where he won five matches and averaged 85.69 across the event.

There have been glimpses of a considerably higher ceiling too. He recorded a 91.31 in beating Kilian Hohnstedt and an 87.24 against Damien Moore.

Coming into MODUS having just won an ADC Winmau Tour Championship event makes Drayton one of the obvious players to watch this week.

Neil Wild brings some remarkable recent numbers

If we're looking purely at recent Q4QS data, Neil Wild is very difficult to ignore.

Wild has won nine of his last ten recorded matches and recently won an Evesham competition with a 104.63 tournament average. That run included some huge performances – most notably a remarkable 119.55 average in a 4–3 victory over Joe Quiney, as well as 104.51 against Mitchell Leeming and 100.31 against Dave Honey.

He has subsequently reached a semi-final at the Vault 18.0 event at Tipton Sports Academy.

Clearly the MODUS environment represents a different challenge, but Wild arrives with enough recent form to make him a fascinating proposition.

Berry van Peer – perhaps the biggest unknown

Berry van Peer is much harder to assess through the current Q4QS database.

There simply isn't enough recent information there to build the same sort of statistical profile we have for many of the other players in the field – he appears among the missing/unranked players in the tournament export.

But that certainly doesn't make him someone to overlook.

It wasn't that long ago that Van Peer was ripping up the PDC Challenge Tour, demonstrating the level of ability he possesses when his game is flowing.

His career has also included a well-documented battle with dartitis. That makes his appearance particularly interesting: if Van Peer has rediscovered some of the ability we've seen from him previously, he could be one of the most interesting players to watch all week.

Sometimes a lack of recent data means exactly that – a lack of data, rather than a lack of ability. Van Peer could be the perfect example.

George Cressey knows how to win

Another player arriving with winning form is George Cressey.

Cressey has won eight of his last ten recorded matches and sits 425th in Q4QS with an impressive 85.73 database average.

More importantly, he's been collecting titles. He won the Once Twitten Early Bird event with a 93.58 tournament average, and also won the Men's Singles at the same venue with an 86.73 average.

His recorded performances include a spectacular 120.40 in a 2–0 win over Lee Clark and 95.05 against John Power. More recently, he reached the semi-finals of an ADC Winmau Championship South Friday Night event before making the last 64 of Event 10.

Cressey's ranking probably understates how dangerous he could be in this company.

Reece Colley in excellent form

Reece Colley is another player whose recent win-loss record demands attention.

He's 9–1 across his last ten recorded matches, with recent results including a Vault 18.0 tournament victory at Amblecote British Legion and another title at Bostin Darts 180 Bar.

Between those victories he also reached a final at Bostin.

Colley's numbers aren't as spectacular as some in this field, but repeatedly going deep and winning tournaments matters. He has also shown that there is more scoring available, including a 97.84 performance against Michael Powell.

Connor Hopkins capable of raising his level

Connor Hopkins is another interesting younger name.

He has won seven of his last ten recorded matches and has been active on the Development Tour. His best recent run came at Development Tour 17, where he averaged 88.30 across four matches.

The standout individual performance was a 100.20 average in a 4–0 victory over Moritz Klein, while he also averaged 91.09 when whitewashing Angelo Balsamo.

There is enough there to suggest Hopkins could cause problems if he settles quickly into the MODUS format.

Wilkinson brings experience and scoring power

Carl Wilkinson brings plenty of experience and has seven wins from his last ten matches in the database.

His recent highlight was a quarter-final at the Isle of Man Caliburn International Festival, where he averaged 90.46 across seven matches.

There were consecutive 93.94 performances among his notable results, alongside a 93.31 and 91.09. He's since been competing in Eastern European events, so arrives with plenty of competitive darts behind him.

Others who could make an impact

There is plenty more depth beyond those names.

Ryan Branley has shown a 93.94 ceiling and recently reached the quarter-finals of an ADC Winmau Championship South Friday Night event.

Scott Campbell has Challenge Tour experience and recorded notable victories over Keegan Brown and Darren Armstrong, while Michael Huntley's limited Q4QS sample contains an impressive eight wins from his last ten and individual averages reaching 96.97.

And Zvonimir Lesic brings experience from the Eastern European Tour qualifiers, including a semi-final at ET03 and another semi-final at ET04.

Six to Follow

Jack Drayton – The obvious Q4QS selection after winning ADC Winmau Tour Championship Event 11 and showing good recent Development Tour form.

Neil Wild – Nine wins from his last ten and some extraordinary recent scoring, including that 119.55 performance.

Berry van Peer – The wildcard. Limited recent Q4QS information, but we know the ability he has shown previously. If some of that old Challenge Tour form is returning, watch out.

George Cressey – Two recent titles in the database and capable of producing seriously big individual performances.

Reece Colley – 9–1 across his last ten and repeatedly reaching the business end of tournaments.

Connor Hopkins – Development Tour experience, improving results and already capable of producing ton-plus averages.

Week 2 therefore looks particularly difficult to call. Drayton brings perhaps the most immediate momentum after his latest ADC success, Wild has some eye-catching numbers behind him and Cressey and Colley have demonstrated that they know how to win.

But Berry van Peer might be the player I'm most curious to see. Recent statistics don't tell us much about where his game currently sits. His past ability tells us why it is worth finding out.

If he is anywhere close to the player who was tearing through Challenge Tour fields not so long ago, MODUS Week 2 could become very interesting indeed.

What's in a Name? Which First Name Rules the Q4QS Rankings?

 

Every now and then I spot something in the rankings that makes me wonder...

This week I noticed that Luke Humphries sits at No.1 in the Q4QS Rankings, Luke Littler is No.2, and Luke Woodhouse isn't far behind.

So naturally I started thinking...

Is Luke the strongest first name in darts?

To find out, I grouped every player in the Q4QS rankings by first name. Rather than simply looking at the highest-ranked player, I added together the rankings of each name's best five players. That rewards names with real depth rather than just one superstar.

The results were a real surprise...

The Strongest First Names in Q4QS

🥇 1. Jack (Combined Ranking Score: 558)

• Jack Drayton (#34)

• Jack Aldridge (#50)

• Jack Tweddell (#136)

• Jack Johnson (#145)

• Jack Todd (#193)

🥈 2. Daniel (571)

• Daniel Ayres (#25)

• Daniel Klose (#46)

• Daniel Zapata (#87)

• Daniel Larsson (#171)

• Daniel Nicholls (#242)

🥉 3. James (670)

• James Wade (#13)

• James Beeton (#40)

• James Hurrell (#163)

• James Howard Hughes (#226)

• James Parkin (#228)

4. Ryan (761)

• Ryan Searle (#100)

• Ryan Hogarth (#114)

• Ryan Joyce (#119)

• Ryan Branley (#196)

• Ryan Furness (#232)

5. Michael (811)

• Michael van Gerwen (#6)

• Michael Smith (#84)

• Michael Unterbuchner (#178)

• Michael Wiles (#202)

• Michael Bajowski (#341)

6. Adam (812)

• Adam Gawlas (#37)

• Adam Sevada (#116)

• Adam Leek (#142)

• Adam Beck (#189)

• Adam Paxton

7. Scott (895)

• Scott Robertson (#26)

• Scott Waites (#29)

• Scott Walters (#258)

• Scott Campbell (#277)

• Scott Winder (#305)

So what about the Lukes?

This was the whole reason I looked into it.

With Luke Humphries at #1, Luke Littler at #2 and Luke Woodhouse at #11, I thought Luke would probably top the table.

Not even close!

Once you get beyond those three, the rankings thin out, meaning Luke only finishes 15th overall in the first-name standings.

It just shows that having the world's two best players doesn't necessarily give you the strongest name overall.

Is your name any good?

Being called Paul myself, I couldn't resist checking.

There are 107 Pauls in the current Q4QS rankings.

The leading five are:

• Paul Krohne (#19)

• Paul Milford (#240)

• Paul Rowley (#369)

• Paul Hogan (#379)

• Paul Redfern (#575)

That puts Paul in 17th place overall. Not bad... but I'll admit I'm slightly disappointed we couldn't crack the Top 10!

What about some of darts' legendary names?

I also wondered how some of the sport's most famous first names were represented today.

• Eric – Just 9 players appear in the rankings, with Eric Wadlow (#1064) currently leading the way.

• Phil – 27 players, headed by Phil Johnson-Hale (#708).

• Philip – 16 players, with Philip Van Gasse (#738) the highest ranked.

• Raymond – Led by Raymond Smith (#58) and Raymond van Barneveld (#399), giving the name a respectable showing.

• Ray – Only 6 players, with Ray Byron (#3302) currently the highest ranked.

It seems some of darts' most iconic names have become surprisingly uncommon in today's rankings.

Which name comes next?

This started as a bit of fun, but it turned out to be a fascinating look at the depth of talent behind each first name.

It also raises plenty of other questions...

• Which surname is strongest?

• Which first name is the most common?

• Which names are climbing fastest?

• Is there a lucky darts name after all?

I'll definitely be digging into the data again.