Another week of grassroots darts, and another three players who stood out for very different reasons.
This week I've gone with Tyler Thorpe, Michael Wiles and Oscar Shipwright.
Thorpe put together back-to-back tournament victories and produced a 103.66 average along the way. Wiles enjoyed an exceptional run of results across the week, culminating in a remarkable scoring display at Clacton. And Shipwright takes his place after winning the Bucks Youth County Open Day at Bradmoor Farm.
As always, this feature isn't simply about finding the three biggest averages or the players who won the most tournaments. It's about performances and stories that caught my eye over the previous seven days.
Tyler Thorpe
Player Profile
Tyler Thorpe's overall numbers perhaps don't immediately tell the story of the player he has become.
Across 182 recorded matches he has 108 victories, giving him a 59.3% win rate, but his current form is on another level: 10 wins from his last 10 matches. His overall match average stands at 85.00, rising to 91.49 across his latest five matches.
There is also considerable quality on Thorpe's wider CV. He has beaten Sebastian Bialecki three times, while victories over Dirk van Duijvenbode and Andrew Gilding show that he is more than capable of competing against established PDC opposition.
His best recorded average is 107.36, while performances of 103.79, 103.66 and 103.30 further demonstrate the level he can reach.
This Week
Thorpe's week was built around back-to-back tournament victories.
The first came at Monday's Daventry Town Football Club Round Robin. His profile shows an 88.41 quarter-final average against Anthony Coleman before a 3–0 semi-final victory over Jack Waker.
A day later, he did it again at the MDC Round Robin.
This time the scoring really caught the eye. Thorpe produced a 96.97 early in the event before firing in 103.66 against Charlie Symons. He then averaged 90.18 in the quarter-final, 98.02 in the semi-final and 88.53 in a 4–2 final victory over Carl Green.
Two tournaments. Two victories. Ten consecutive wins on his current profile.
A very easy choice for this week's Spotlight.
Michael Wiles
Player Profile
Michael Wiles has considerably fewer recorded events than many of the players who appear in this feature, but what he has done in them is impressive.
Wiles has won 74 of 85 recorded matches, an 87.1% win rate, with five tournament victories from only 15 recorded events. He is also currently 10 wins from 10.
His overall average is an excellent 85.37, but his recent numbers are considerably higher. Wiles is averaging 90.52 across his last ten matches and 96.09 across his last five.
His record also includes victories over Nathan Potter, Sam Spivey, Jack Johnson and Robbie Martin.
This Week
Wiles was arguably the most sustained success story I found in this week's results.
He kept appearing at the business end of Vault events during the week, but Friday's Vault 19 at Clacton Sports Bar was particularly impressive.
Wiles opened with a 103.66, followed it with 71.57 and then produced 96.97 and 98.14 in successive rounds.
Then came another 107.36 against Max Haley, before Wiles produced 107.36 again in a 3–0 quarter-final victory over James Hare. He eventually beat CJ Everrit 3–1 in the final to take the title.
That means three ton-plus performances in the same event — 103.66, 107.36 and 107.36 — alongside another two performances above 96.
His current profile now shows five tournament victories from just 15 recorded events and a perfect 10–0 recent record.
Whatever measure you use — winning, consistency or scoring — Wiles had a week worthy of the Spotlight.
Oscar Shipwright
Player Profile
Oscar Shipwright gives me a very different reason for making this week's three.
Shipwright has already accumulated 281 recorded matches, winning 202 of them for a 71.9% win rate. His 49 events have produced nine tournament victories, three runner-up finishes, nine semi-finals and ten quarter-finals.
His overall average is 70.47, but his ceiling is considerably higher. His best recorded performance is 103.66, with another 100.20 on his record.
Perhaps most interestingly, his best wins include two victories over Danny Lauby. One of those came in a tournament final, where Shipwright averaged 96.69 in a 3–2 victory.
That's a pretty good indication of the level he can produce.
This Week
This week's achievement came at the Bucks Youth County Open Day at Bradmoor Farm, and this wasn't a tiny knockout.
There were 147 recorded matches, with Shipwright collecting nine victories on his way to the title.
Among them was a 93.94 average against Harvey Chapman, followed later by 79.11 against Alfie Kirk, 69.91 against Sid Hopcroft and an excellent 83.50 in his 3–0 semi-final victory over Kieran Colley.
Shipwright then beat Jayden Laming 4–2 in the final to complete the run.
For me, this is exactly the sort of performance that belongs in the Weekly Spotlight.
Shipwright wasn't selected because he recorded the week's biggest average or accumulated several titles. He came through a substantial youth tournament, won nine matches and produced some very good darts along the way.
At a time when I'm increasingly looking for performances beyond the obvious names and serial winners, his week definitely caught my eye.
