Another MODUS Super Series week begins in Portsmouth, and Week 10 brings together a fascinating mixture of established names, Challenge Tour players, international talent and players arriving in excellent form.
Daniel Ayres and Steve Lennon are the two highest-profile names on paper, and both sit comfortably inside the Q4QS Top 50.
But once I put the 12-player field through the Q4QS database, this started to look much less straightforward.
Oliver Mitchell is 8–2 across his latest ten recorded matches, Alex Spellman arrives from America having just won on the Championship Darts Circuit, Harrison Leigh has been making deep runs, and Danny Lauby has been collecting titles and finals on the UK amateur circuit.
There could be plenty of competition for the places later in the week.
Ayres brings the strongest Q4QS ranking
Daniel Ayres begins Week 10 at No.31 in the Q4QS rankings, with a Q4QS average of 89.89.
His recent results have largely come against strong PDC and Challenge Tour opposition.
Ayres reached the last 32 of Players Championship 28 with a 92.93 tournament average, beating Cameron Menzies 6–4 with a 94.92 average along the way.
Other recent victories include Niels Zonneveld and Ritchie Edhouse.
Even in defeat at the recent UK & Ireland Tour Card Holder and Amateur World Championship Qualifier, Ayres averaged 94.11.
The results haven't always gone his way recently, but the scoring numbers remain extremely strong.
Steve Lennon brings consistency
Steve Lennon is only a few places behind at Q4QS No.44, and his 89.97 Q4QS average is actually marginally higher than Ayres.
Lennon comes into Week 10 after reaching the semi-finals of the UK & Ireland qualifier, winning five matches and averaging 90.20 across the tournament.
That followed consecutive Challenge Tour quarter-finals in which he averaged 91.52 and 90.93.
His recent wins include Aden Kirk, Shaun Griffiths and Gary Jackson.
If consistency around the 90-average mark is what is required to survive a MODUS week, Lennon certainly brings plenty of it.
Oliver Mitchell could be dangerous
Oliver Mitchell is actually the second-highest ranked player in the Week 10 field according to Q4QS.
He's No.39 with an 86.64 Q4QS average and is 8–2 across his latest ten recorded matches.
His recent Challenge Tour run included a 90.62 tournament average and victories over Scott Waites, Lewis Pride and Jamie Hughes.
There's also a 98.09 match average sitting in his recent data.
Mitchell may not have quite the profile of Ayres or Lennon, but the Q4QS numbers suggest he deserves to be taken very seriously this week.
Spellman arrives with a title
One of the most interesting players for me is Alex Spellman.
The American is Q4QS No.231 with an 83.32 average, but it's his current form that really catches the eye.
Spellman is 9–1 across his latest ten recorded matches and comes into MODUS having won Championship Darts Circuit Main Event 13 unbeaten.
He went 6–0 and averaged 89.92 across the event.
That run included match averages of 90.14, 95.96 and 90.99.
Immediately before that, Spellman had reached another CDC final.
He's travelling to Portsmouth with some serious form behind him.
Harrison Leigh continues to impress
Harrison Leigh is another player whose recent results deserve attention.
He's Q4QS No.223 and 8–2 from his latest ten.
Leigh reached a Challenge Tour semi-final and has also been runner-up at the British Open & Classic, where he averaged 84.17 across seven victories.
One performance in particular stands out: a 97.79 average in beating Callum Francis 4–2.
His most recent tournament brought another semi-final.
That's a lot of deep runs heading into Week 10.
Danny Lauby brings winning form
Danny Lauby is another familiar MODUS name and his recent amateur results make interesting reading.
He's 7–3 across his latest ten and recently won a Vault 19 at Bengeworth unbeaten, going 8–0 with an 81.42 tournament average.
His last five recorded tournaments also contain another victory, a final, a semi-final and a quarter-final.
Lauby reached the Bretforton final averaging 81.38 before losing to Joe Quiney and then averaged 80.86 in reaching another Bengeworth quarter-final.
That's consistent winning form.
Plenty of depth beyond the obvious names
Danny Trueman sits at Q4QS No.159 with an 84.47 average and recently averaged 89.72 at the UK & Ireland qualifier.
William Borland has an 83.53 Q4QS average and remains capable of producing very strong scoring numbers, although his recent results have been less consistent.
Lee Cocks is 7–3 recently and has recorded a 99.54 match average on the Challenge Tour. His recent victories include Aden Kirk and Jack Main.
Andreas Harrysson brings the Scandinavian element to the field, while Conor Heneghan has an 80.73 Q4QS average and plenty of Challenge Tour experience.
Niek Tijk completes the 12-player line-up. He isn't currently matched to enough information in my Q4QS export for me to make a meaningful statistical comparison, so he's the unknown quantity in this particular preview.
Q4QS Six to Follow
Daniel Ayres – Q4QS No.31 with an 89.89 average and still producing mid-90s match averages against strong opposition.
Steve Lennon – Q4QS No.44 with an 89.97 average and comes straight from a semi-final where he averaged 90.20 across the event.
Oliver Mitchell – Q4QS No.39, 8–2 recently and capable of pushing towards a 100 match average.
Alex Spellman – 9–1 and arrives in Portsmouth having just won a CDC title unbeaten with an 89.92 tournament average.
Harrison Leigh – 8–2 with a Challenge Tour semi-final and British Open & Classic final among his recent results.
Danny Lauby – 7–3 and regularly reaching finals and latter stages on the Vault circuit.
A difficult Week 10 to call
Ayres and Lennon may be the two names many people immediately recognise at the top of this field, but I don't think Week 10 looks anything like a two-player contest.
Mitchell's recent Challenge Tour numbers are strong. Spellman is arriving in arguably the best pure win/loss form in the field. Leigh continues to make deep runs, while Lauby has been winning regularly.
Then there are players such as Trueman, Borland and Cocks who certainly have the scoring ability to get involved.
That's one of the things I enjoy about these MODUS weeks. Put 12 players together over several days and reputations quickly become less important than who is actually producing the numbers on the day.
Week 10 looks particularly difficult to predict.
