Yesterday’s Darts Results: Steve West Hits 105.44 as Pete Hughes, Andy Steed & Joe Quiney Star – 15 September 2026

Tuesday was another huge night for grassroots darts, with 50 tournaments added to the Q4QS database.

And there was plenty to pick out from the South and South West.

Pete Hughes produced the biggest local average of the night with a superb 104.41 at Bretforton Sports Club, while Robbie Martin hit 104.16 in Poole. There were tournament victories for Andy Steed in Tiverton, Joe Quiney in Evesham, Jack Walker in Bristol, Will Jackson in Gloucester and Clare Bywater in Leominster.

Further east, Steve West produced the biggest number anywhere in Tuesday's results — 105.44 at Fareham Social Club — and then completed an excellent night by winning the tournament.

Hughes goes big – but Quiney takes the title

Bretforton Sports Club produced one of the most interesting tournaments of the night.

Pete Hughes hit a 104.41 average in a 2–1 victory over Andy Hammond, who averaged an impressive 93.32 himself.

Hughes also recorded an 85.12 later in the competition, while Danny Lauby reached 91.09.

But it was Joe Quiney who emerged with the title.

Quiney recorded seven victories and beat Vince Tipple 3–2 in the final, having also produced an 88.41 during his run. Lauby finished with six wins and Shaun Vernall with five.

So Hughes takes the performance headline from Evesham, but Quiney takes the trophy.

Andy Steed wins in Tiverton

There was another strong night for Andy Steed, this time at Elmore Football Club in Tiverton.

Dave Fisher produced the highest average of the tournament at 96.97, with Phil Bisset reaching 93.94.

Steed wasn't far behind with a 91.09, but once again it was the tournament run that mattered.

Steed and Fisher both collected seven victories before meeting in the final, where Steed won 3–0 to take another Vault title.

Robbie Martin fires 104.16 in Poole

Robbie Martin was very close to adding another title to his recent run.

At The Newtown in Poole, Martin produced a superb 104.16 average, followed by 93.94 and 88.41 performances.

He reached the final with seven wins but was denied the title by Matt Yarrow, who won the deciding match 3–2.

Yarrow also finished with seven victories and produced an 89.37 in the final itself.

For Martin, though, another 100+ average is a notable addition to his recent Q4QS record.

Jack Walker wins in Bristol

At Bessellscotts in Bristol, Jack Walker dominated the results.

Walker recorded seven victories and occupied all five places in the event's list of leading averages, headed by 73.32.

He then completed the night with a 3–0 final victory over Matt Cooper.

It wasn't one of Tuesday's highest-scoring tournaments, but from a results perspective Walker couldn't have done much more.

Will Jackson takes Gloucester title

At Widden Rugby Club in Gloucester, Will Jackson produced an eight-win tournament run.

James Mann recorded the highest average at 88.41, ahead of Todd Marfell on 83.50 and Martin Taylor on 81.24.

Jackson's best was 78.38, but he progressed all the way through the competition before beating Daniel Jeffrey 3–0 in the final.

Again, a good example of why the highest average and the tournament winner often tell two different stories.

Clare Bywater dominates in Leominster

The WADC Vault at Shooters Bar in Leominster belonged to Clare Bywater.

Bywater recorded the tournament's three highest averages — 66.80, 62.63 and 58.56 — and finished with five victories.

She then beat Karrina Barnes 3–0 in the final to complete an impressive tournament.

With the WADC events now forming part of these daily reports, performances like this will also start building a much clearer picture of the women's grassroots game.

Dani Kearns wins WADC Vault in Swindon

There was another WADC winner at Wiltshire Darts House.

Dani Kearns produced the tournament's highest average of 75.15, collected six victories and defeated Chris Savvery 2–1 in the final.

Savvery also had a strong event, recording averages of 68.32 and 66.70 on the way to four victories.

Steve West tops the entire night

Although my daily coverage remains weighted towards the South and South West, the national data produced an outstanding performance at Fareham.

Steve West averaged 105.44 in the final itself, beating Lloyd Walker 3–1.

West also hit 100.20 earlier in the competition and finished with eight victories.

Walker played his part in a high-quality final too, averaging 99.68, having previously recorded a 94.50 and 90.18.

That makes West's 105.44 the highest individual average across all 50 tournaments in Tuesday's report.

Plenty more 100+ darts

It wasn't only West and Hughes breaking three figures.

James Hubbard hit 104.86 at Hethersett, Robbie Martin produced 104.16 in Poole, Jack Main reached 103.66, and Stephen Cake hit 102.48 at Lindsay Constitutional Club in Wales.

Keegan Brown, Fin Lowe and several others also reached 100.20.

That's a pretty serious collection of numbers for one Tuesday night of largely grassroots competition.

Another 50 tournaments into Q4QS

The sheer volume is becoming almost as interesting as the individual performances.

Another 50 tournaments means another substantial batch of matches feeding into the Q4QS database — adding to player records, form, head-to-heads, venue histories and the wider rankings picture.

For me, Tuesday's local headlines are Pete Hughes' 104.41, Robbie Martin's 104.16 and titles for Andy Steed, Joe Quiney, Jack Walker, Will Jackson and Clare Bywater.

But the performance of the entire results set belongs to Steve West: 105.44, eight wins and the Fareham title.

Follow Q4QS for daily grassroots darts results, player statistics, rankings and tournament coverage.

JDC VOLTS National Finals 2026 Preview: The Next Generation Heads to Hangar 61

 

Some of the very best young darts players in the country head to Hangar 61 in Bristol on Saturday for the 2026 JDC VOLTS National Finals.

Throughout the year, youngsters have been competing in JDC VOLTS events around the country. Now that pathway reaches its national conclusion, with a sold-out field of 48 players and considerably more than just the title at stake.

The format should make for a fascinating day. The players are split into eight groups of six, playing best-of-five-leg round robins. The top three from each group progress, but winning the group carries a significant advantage: the eight group winners advance directly to the Last 16, while second and third place must survive an additional play-off.

From there, the knockout matches are best of seven – but there is a major twist at the end.

The final will not be played at Hangar 61.

Instead, the two remaining players will earn the opportunity to contest the best-of-nine-leg final on stage at the PDC World Grand Prix in October. The eventual National Finals champion will also secure a place in the 2027 JPL.

For players at this stage of their development, that makes Saturday a potentially significant day.

A field with plenty of quality

My Q4QS data has matches for 38 of the entrants, with 35 of those already linked to player profiles.

And one player stands out immediately at the top of those rankings.

Jack Johnson comes into the tournament as Q4QS No.197 with an 83.02 Q4QS Average – but even those figures don't quite tell the story of his latest form.

Johnson recently reached a Vault 19 final at Tonbridge with an 88.71 tournament average, before following it with a semi-final at Rusthall where he averaged 89.97. His recent individual performances include 93.94, 90.18 and 91.09 averages.

Those are serious numbers in any company.

But Johnson is certainly not alone.

Logan Symons Jr has been extraordinarily consistent in recent local competition. His latest five recorded tournaments contain two finals and three semi-finals, including a Vault 19 final at Indian Queens where he averaged 85.96. He's 8–2 across his latest ten matches.

Then there is Finlay Cleave, who arrives as one of the hottest players in the field.

Cleave won a Vault 19 event at Paignton with an 82.18 tournament average, including a 91.57 in one victory, and has won nine of his latest ten recorded matches. He also has another recent tournament victory in the database.

JDC experience could matter

There are plenty in this field already accustomed to playing within the JDC structure.

Dylan Cowley has an 8–2 recent record and has already won on the JDC England North Foundation Tour, going 7–0 with an 80.15 tournament average. He has also reached another Foundation Tour final and has a Vault victory averaging 82.04 on his recent record.

Ben Lundstrom is another North Foundation Tour winner. His recent title came via a perfect 7–0 run with a 75.66 average, while an 80.92 and 86.63 feature among his notable match performances.

Alfie O'Flynn-Rogers and Alfie O'Brien have both been competing on the JDC Advanced Tour. O'Flynn-Rogers has produced an 82.14 match average, while O'Brien has an 81.38 on his record and reached the Last 32 of Advanced Tour Event 16.

That experience of playing against strong youth fields could become particularly valuable once Saturday reaches the knockout stages.

Winners arriving from around the country

One of the things I like most about this field is that it genuinely brings together players who have been producing results in different parts of the country.

Jack Powell arrives having won the JDC VOLTS Wales Series 7 Regional Finals, going unbeaten at 5–0 with a 72.15 tournament average. He is also 9–1 across his latest ten matches.

There's a more local interest in Joseph Lauridsen, who won the JDC VOLTS Southwest Series 7 Regional Finals. Lauridsen went 5–0 in that tournament with a 67.17 average and has now won nine of his latest ten recorded matches.

Harvey-Lee Nelson-Harris won the West Midlands Regional Finals, while Remy Stapleton arrives after winning the East Midlands Regional Finals 5–0.

And Charlie Mossman has already enjoyed success in the VOLTS series at The Banckers Draught in Minehead, winning one event 9–0 with a 73.65 average.

So while the Q4QS rankings give us a useful guide, this is exactly the sort of tournament where simply working down a ranking list could be misleading.

Players arriving in form

There are several more who deserve attention.

Addison Hefferon is 8–2 and recently reached a final at the Welsh Open, Masters & Classic, averaging 77.17, before making another semi-final at a Vault 19 event in Bletchley.

Oscar Rumsey comes to Bristol immediately after an unbeaten 8–0 Vault 19 victory, averaging 76.83 for the event. He's 9–1 across his latest ten.

Sam Jones is also 9–1 and won the SDO Academy Development Series 3.4 last time out, while Logun Godbeer has been repeatedly reaching finals in the South West and is 8–2 across his latest ten.

That's before we get to players for whom my database has much less information. Ten entrants are currently unranked in this particular Q4QS export, so there is every chance that some of Saturday's biggest threats are not obvious from the numbers alone.

Six to Follow

Picking six from a 48-player national youth final is inevitably difficult, but these are the six I'll be particularly interested in following.

Jack Johnson – The standout Q4QS numbers in the field, and recent tournament averages of 88.71 and 89.97 suggest a player arriving in outstanding scoring form.

Finlay Cleave – 9–1 recently and already a Vault 19 winner, taking the Paignton title with an 82.18 tournament average.

Logan Symons Jr – Two finals and three semi-finals across the latest five recorded events, including an 85.96 average during a recent Vault 19 final run.

Dylan Cowley – A JDC Foundation Tour winner with an unbeaten 80.15 title run and an 8–2 recent record.

Addison Hefferon – Another 8–2 player who has combined a recent Welsh final with a Vault 19 semi-final.

Jack Powell – Comes into the National Finals as a JDC VOLTS Regional Finals champion and has won nine of the latest ten matches in the database.

There are plenty I could have included instead. Oscar Rumsey, Ben Lundstrom, Joseph Lauridsen, Charlie Mossman and Sam Jones all arrive with recent titles on their records, while several others have already shown they can produce considerably bigger averages than their overall numbers might suggest.

A big opportunity at Hangar 61

For me, this is one of the more interesting tournaments taking place at Hangar 61 this year.

We talk a lot about pathways in darts, but the VOLTS series is a very visible example of one. Players have been competing around the country throughout the year and now 48 of them come together for a National Finals day.

By the end of Saturday, that field will have been reduced to just two.

And those two will have something rather special to look forward to: a final on the PDC World Grand Prix stage in October.

For the eventual winner, there's the additional prize of a 2027 JPL place.

Forty-eight young players arrive at Hangar 61 on Saturday morning.

For two of them, the journey continues onto a much bigger stage.

Yesterday’s Darts Results: 66 Tournaments, Palmer Hits 107.36 & South West Winners – 9 September 2026

Another huge Wednesday as 66 tournaments join Q4QS

Wednesday delivered another enormous night of grassroots darts, with 66 tournaments added to the Q4QS database from events around the country.

For the South West, there were winners stretching from Bristol and Evesham through to Stonehouse, Barnstaple and Bodmin, while several players produced performances well into three figures.

One of the standout combinations of scoring and results came at the Sartan Club in Bishopsworth, where Ryan Palmer hit a 107.36 average and went on to win the tournament.

Palmer takes the honours at the Sartan

Ryan Palmer came through a strong Vault 19.0 field at the Sartan Club, beating Zach Quinn 3–2 in the final.

Palmer had earlier produced a superb 107.36 average against Luke Harding, while Quinn showed plenty of quality himself with a 97.26. Shay Goff reached 93.94 and Geoff James 91.09.

Palmer and Quinn both finished the evening with seven victories, with Steve Boundy collecting six.

Coombes hits 107.36 as Vernall wins Evesham

There was another 107.36 in the region at the Bengeworth Club in Evesham, this time from Richard Coombes against Andy Hammond.

The tournament itself belonged to Shaun Vernall, who produced an excellent night of scoring on the way to eight victories.

Vernall averaged 96.97 against Danny Lauby and 92.02 against Hammond before recording 91.28 in a 3–2 final victory over Pete Hughes. Hughes finished with seven wins, while Coombes collected six.

Nankervis fires 107.36 in St Austell

Jack Nankervis added another South West 107.36 at The Pitch Sports Bar in St Austell — and this one came as part of a tournament-winning night.

Nankervis recorded the figure in a 2–0 victory over Neil Dudbridge before later beating Dave Hampton 3–0 in the final, averaging 92.02 in the title decider.

Nankervis and Hampton both finished with six victories.

Kay wins in Bodmin as Symons Jnr breaks 100

Bodmin produced another of Wednesday's strongest South West events.

Jamie Kay took the Vault 19.0 title at Bodmin Band & Social Club, beating James Chudleigh 3–0 in the final and recording a 95.94 average in the process.

Kay also hit another 95.94 during the tournament and finished with eight victories, but the night's biggest figure belonged to Logan Symons Jnr, who averaged 103.66 against Chris Gill.

Chudleigh contributed a 93.47 and finished the night with seven victories.

Steed takes Barnstaple title

At Barnstaple Town FC, Andy Steed completed an eight-win night by beating Nigel Gullon 3–0 in the final.

Steed saved his best recorded performance for the title match, averaging 88.41, while Gullon had earlier reached 85.89 and finished the tournament with six victories.

McCready wins eight in Leominster

Alec McCready was the winner at Shooters Bar in Leominster after another consistent night.

McCready beat Chris Hurds 3–2 in the final, finished with eight victories and topped the tournament averages with a 92.02.

Connor Millin reached 88.41, while Hurds collected six wins on the way to the final.

Cantillion takes Stonehouse honours

The Magpies Social Club in Stonehouse also produced a local winner, with Alex Cantillion beating Josh Lewis 3–1 in the final.

Cantillion finished with six victories and also produced the tournament's highest recorded average, an 88.93 against Paul Meyer.

Lewis reached 84.78 and collected five wins, with Andy Sim also finishing on five.

Huge averages around the country

Beyond the South West, there was some excellent scoring.

Joe Croft produced a superb 115.62 at Abbots Langley on his way to winning the tournament, while Edward Manley, Phil Johnson-Hale and Jake B-Smith were among several players to record 107.36 averages.

There were also ton-plus performances from Chas Barstow and Jake Eichen during another exceptionally busy Vault programme.

Wednesday's South West picture

The six names featured on today's Q4QS graphic give a good indication of the geographical spread of the night: Ryan Palmer, Shaun Vernall, Jamie Kay, Alec McCready, Andy Steed and Alex Cantillion all collected titles.

Perhaps the biggest story, though, was the scoring. Palmer and Richard Coombes both produced 107.36 averages, Jack Nankervis matched that figure in Cornwall and Logan Symons Jnr broke the 100 barrier in Bodmin.

With another 66 tournaments now incorporated, Wednesday has added another substantial block of matches to the Q4QS rankings, player records, venue statistics and form data.

Where Is the Toughest Area to Play Darts? Q4QS Area Strength Rankings 2026

 

Over the last few editions of my Tournament Strength series, I've gradually moved closer to the grassroots game.

I've compared tours, individual tournaments and, most recently, the toughest regular venues south of Birmingham. That venue analysis showed Cefn Hengoed narrowly ahead of Sartan and North Star, but it also raised another question.

Does having one exceptionally tough venue mean you live in a particularly strong darts area?

Or is the real test the strength and depth of tournaments available across the whole local scene?

This time, I've gone back into the Q4QS database to find out.

What Do I Mean By An 'Area'?

This is important.

I'm not attempting to produce a definitive county championship or rank every part of Britain.

The Q4QS database is still expanding geographically. My existing rankings already cover the Midlands south of Birmingham, Wales and Southern England, with particularly detailed coverage around the South and South West.

So I've grouped tournaments into recognisable darts areas currently represented sufficiently in the database.

Think of this as the first Q4QS Area Strength table.

As the database expands, more areas will be able to join it.

Tournament Strength Is NOT A Three-Dart Average

One familiar warning before we get to the numbers.

If an area records a Tournament Strength of 62, it does not mean players in that area average 62.

Tournament Strength is the Q4QS field-strength measure. It looks at the quality of the players actually competing rather than simply how well somebody threw on a particular night. That's the same principle I've used throughout this series.

For this article, I've grouped those tournament scores geographically.

That allows us to ask:

If I regularly entered tournaments in this area, what sort of strength would I encounter?

The Early Q4QS Area Strength Picture

Here are some of the best-represented areas in the current database:

Area	Recorded Events	Typical Strength	Median	Peak
Dorset	51	61.49	62.60	68.87
Wiltshire	40	61.01	63.70	67.86
Oxfordshire	162	60.75	61.22	69.51
Buckinghamshire	255	60.70	62.53	89.02
Hampshire	162	59.74	60.38	73.80
Worcestershire	236	59.39	61.68	83.40
Gloucestershire	88	59.35	59.68	68.02
Devon	112	58.62	59.08	75.08
South Wales	505	56.73	58.74	73.57
Somerset	218	56.01	57.39	68.75
Bristol area	293	55.89	56.36	73.33

Figures are based on tournaments I can currently identify confidently within each geographical grouping. Different areas have different levels and types of Q4QS coverage, so these should be viewed as evolving 2026 benchmarks rather than definitive national rankings.

Dorset Takes The Early Lead

This wasn't necessarily the result I expected.

Dorset currently leads the areas I've analysed with a typical Tournament Strength of 61.49.

Its median is even higher at 62.60, suggesting the result isn't simply being inflated by one or two particularly strong tournaments.

That's exactly what this analysis is supposed to uncover.

Dorset doesn't need to contain the single strongest tournament in the database.

Instead, the tournaments currently represented there are producing a consistently strong overall level.

But Wiltshire May Have The Most Interesting Number

Wiltshire is second on mean Tournament Strength at 61.01.

Look at the median, though.

63.70.

That's the highest in this initial group.

North Star in Calne was already third in my individual venue rankings, with a typical Tournament Strength of 64.77.

The area analysis suggests that strength isn't disappearing when we move beyond one individual tournament.

The sample is smaller than some of the other areas, so I wouldn't declare Wiltshire the capital of grassroots darts just yet.

But 63.70 for the median tournament is a serious number.

Oxfordshire Has Depth

Then we reach an area with considerably more data.

Oxfordshire records 162 tournaments and a typical strength of 60.75.

Its peak reaches 69.51.

Faringdon had already caught my attention in the venue analysis because it maintained strong figures across a large number of competitions. Now the wider area is appearing towards the top as well.

That's more significant to me than one enormous tournament.

It's beginning to show depth.

Buckinghamshire Is Fascinating

Buckinghamshire is only fractionally behind Oxfordshire at 60.70, and its median is an impressive 62.53.

But then there's the peak:

89.02.

That comes from the ADC Winmau Championship South level of competition at Bradmoor Farm, Aylesbury – an event that already featured prominently in my toughest individual tournaments analysis. The 89.02 score is considerably beyond normal weekly grassroots territory.

And this demonstrates exactly why I've included both Typical Strength and Peak.

Buckinghamshire can stage an exceptionally strong tournament.

But I'm not allowing that one competition to turn the whole area into an 89-rated darts region.

The typical figure tells us what happens regularly.

The peak tells us how strong it can become.

Worcestershire Has The Same Story

Worcestershire produces another huge peak at 83.40, but its wider typical figure is 59.39.

Again, that's useful.

We already knew from previous Q4QS analysis that Worcestershire could produce extremely strong grassroots environments, with Bengeworth and Redditch both appearing prominently in earlier venue comparisons.

Area Strength adds another layer.

A brilliant venue doesn't necessarily make every tournament in the surrounding area equally difficult.

Bristol Produces The Biggest Surprise

Now for the result I suspect will interest many of my regular readers.

Bristol is bottom of this particular group at 55.89.

Do I therefore think Bristol has the weakest darts scene here?

Absolutely not.

In fact, this may be the most useful result in the entire article.

My Bristol data contains 293 tournaments, and Q4QS coverage around Bristol is particularly extensive. Previous local analysis alone has included thousands of matches and hundreds of different players.

More importantly, Bristol offers an enormous range of competitions.

There are strong open tournaments.

There are ADC Vaults.

There are Under-55 events.

There are Sub-70 competitions.

There are junior events.

There are tournaments specifically designed to give developing and lower-average players competitive darts.

DartAsylum is perhaps the perfect example. Its programme covers a huge range of standards, even though its strongest recorded field has reached 73.33.

So Bristol's lower overall number is partly telling us something positive:

there is competitive darts available for almost everybody.

That's Why Mean And Median Both Matter

This exercise has convinced me that future Area Strength rankings shouldn't rely on one number alone.

Look at Wiltshire.

Mean: 61.01
Median: 63.70

Now Bristol.

Mean: 55.89
Median: 56.36

And Buckinghamshire:

Mean: 60.70
Median: 62.53

We're beginning to see different types of darts ecosystems.

Some areas have predominantly strong open competition.

Some have enormous tournament schedules covering every standard.

Some have a fairly ordinary weekly level but occasionally host fields of almost professional-tour strength.

None of those is necessarily "better".

They're different.

South Wales Is Another Great Example

South Wales currently has a typical figure of 56.73, which might initially look surprising after Cefn Hengoed finished number one in the individual venue ranking.

But look at the sample:

505 tournaments.

That's vastly more than Dorset or Wiltshire.

Cefn Hengoed can produce exceptionally strong regular fields. Cardiff and Brynmawr have also featured prominently in the venue analysis.

But once hundreds of competitions of different standards are included, the overall area figure naturally changes.

And that gives us perhaps the most important lesson from this article.

One Tough Venue Doesn't Make A Tough Area

That was the question I started with.

I think the database is already beginning to answer it.

Venue Strength and Area Strength aren't the same thing.

An area can contain one brutal weekly tournament but relatively little strength elsewhere.

Another can have ten venues consistently producing good fields without ever recording one spectacular score.

And another can have hundreds of competitions deliberately catering for players throughout the ability spectrum.

That's why I don't want Area Strength to become simply another league table where number one is "good" and number ten is "bad".

The numbers are telling us far more than that.

These Rankings Will Change

Perhaps more than any previous article in this series, this one needs to be viewed as a starting point.

Q4QS coverage isn't geographically equal yet.

Some areas have hundreds of tournaments in the database.

Others have dozens.

And there are large parts of Britain I haven't yet incorporated sufficiently to include at all.

That's changing.

As Q4QS expands, new areas will enter the comparison and existing areas will gain more tournaments and venues.

That means today's leader might not remain there.

In fact, I'll be disappointed if this table doesn't change considerably.

That's part of the fun of building it.

Final Thoughts

So, where is the toughest area to play darts?

Among the areas sufficiently represented in this first Q4QS analysis, Dorset currently takes the lead on mean Tournament Strength at 61.49.

But I'd hesitate before simply crowning Dorset and walking away.

Wiltshire has the strongest median at 63.70.

Buckinghamshire has produced a staggering 89.02 peak.

Worcestershire has reached 83.40.

South Wales combines some outstanding venues with an enormous 505-event sample.

And Bristol's comparatively low 55.89 arguably tells us as much about the breadth and accessibility of its darts scene as it does its strength.

That's what I'm increasingly enjoying about Tournament Strength.

Sometimes the most interesting number isn't the biggest one.

It's the number that makes you ask:

Why?

And as more areas join the Q4QS database, I suspect we're going to be asking that question quite a lot.

Yesterday’s Darts Results: Owen Smith Wins Huge Hangar61 Night as Humphries Fires 120.24 (3rd September 2026)

Thursday produced another excellent night of grassroots darts, with 30 tournaments from 3 September added to the Q4QS database.

The biggest South West story came from Hangar61 in Bristol, where a substantial 121-match Thursday round robin ended with Owen Smith taking the title. The same tournament also produced the biggest average anywhere in Thursday’s results, as Danny Humphries fired an extraordinary 120.24.

Elsewhere, Lee Evans combined two ton-plus averages with another tournament victory, Lloyd Sterio produced 99.25 on his way to a title, Ryan Moulder won at Evesham and Johnny Haines followed Wednesday’s spectacular scoring with another victory.

Smith comes through huge Hangar61 field

With 121 matches recorded, the Thursday Night Round Robin at Hangar61 was one of the biggest tournaments of the day.

Owen Smith eventually emerged as champion, defeating Dan Raby 3–2 in the final. Smith, Raby and Danny Humphries all accumulated seven victories, with Jacob Godber and Paul Meyer not far behind on six.

But the scoring story belonged to Humphries.

He produced an astonishing 120.24 average, then added 103.66 and 100.20 performances during the same tournament. Andrew White also hit 103.66, while Robbie Long reached 93.00.

Humphries may not have taken the title, but those three averages make his night impossible to ignore.

Evans produces two ton-plus averages and wins

Lee Evans put together one of the best complete performances of Thursday at The Wolversdene Club.

Evans won the Money In Money Out Round-Robin, defeating Jamie Kelling 3–1 in the final, after collecting eight victories across the competition.

His numbers were excellent throughout: 104.86, 103.66 and 96.97 all appeared during his winning run. Geoff James also reached 96.97, while Kelling recorded a 91.09.

Unlike several of the day’s biggest averages, Evans managed to combine the huge numbers with actually taking home the title.

Sterio edges another competitive Vault field

There was another impressive performance from Lloyd Sterio in The Bird Pre Vault Round Robin.

Sterio and Mike Huntley both finished with eight victories, but Sterio came through their deciding match to take the title.

He produced an excellent 99.25 average, while Huntley recorded 91.09, two separate 88.41s and 87.63. Ciaran Price also enjoyed a strong event with seven wins.

With Vault 19 approaching, that looks like another useful result to put into the form book.

Moulder takes Evesham U17 title

There was youth success at Evesham Darts Competitions, where Ryan Moulder won U17 Night 5.

Moulder and Lewis Clements both collected six victories before Moulder came through the final.

Clements actually dominated the highest-average list, producing 68.32, 66.31, 65.35 and 62.63, but Moulder ultimately got the result that mattered.

Haines follows 115.62 with another title

A day after Johnny Haines produced a remarkable 115.62, he was back among the winners.

Haines took the Inbetween Vault 2 title after an eight-win tournament, with Stewart Wilde finishing on seven.

Haines also topped the averages with 95.94, while Callum Weaver reached 91.09 and Wilde recorded two 88.41 performances.

That makes it an excellent couple of days for Haines.

Russell wins Cardiff Pre-Vault event

At Cardiff County Conservative Club, Joshua Russell won the Pre Vault 19 MIMO Cash Competition.

Russell finished with eight victories, one more than finalist Edward Manley, and produced averages of 93.94 and 85.08 during the event.

Josef Howlett matched Russell’s best with a 93.94, while Alec Small reached 88.98.

Quiney breaks the ton at Evesham

The senior Evesham action also produced another big number.

The export couldn’t reliably identify a tournament winner for Night Ten, so I’m not going to assign one, but Joe Quiney hit 100.20 and followed it with a 91.09.

Mitchell Leeming and Darrel Williams both reached 93.94, while Dave Honey recorded 88.41.

More huge averages further afield

Humphries’ 120.24 led the overall list, but it wasn’t Thursday’s only enormous number.

Neil Wild hit 115.62 in the Vault Style Round Robin, while Lee Evans produced his 104.86 and 103.66 and Andrew White matched Humphries with a 103.66 at Hangar61.

Toby Clements also broke the ton with 100.20 in the Hampton Thursday Premier Singles.

Wild’s performance didn’t result in the tournament title, which instead went to Mike Breckell after seven victories.

Plenty more Thursday winners

Among the other winners, Lee Evans also won the Cambrian Sports Bar Thursday Money Tournament, giving him two recorded tournament victories on the same day. He beat Liam Hughes in that event after nine wins and a best average of 91.09.

Morgan Fowler dominated the numbers as well as winning the Deers Leap Under-70, filling all five places on its leading-average list.

There were also titles for Mat Caste, John Ayris, Joey Cole, Stephen Cake, Kai Kitchen, Bradley Biddulph-Perrin and others across another deep Thursday schedule.

One of the biggest scoring nights yet

Thursday’s 30 tournaments were notable not simply for the number of events, but for the quality at the top end.

A 120.24, a 115.62, three further averages above 103 and several more around or beyond the ton mark make this one of the strongest scoring days I have seen since beginning these daily Q4QS roundups.

Yet the Hangar61 result perhaps sums up grassroots tournament darts perfectly: Humphries produced the spectacular numbers, but Owen Smith was the man who navigated the field and finished the night as champion.

And with Evans winning twice, Sterio taking another Pre-Vault title and Moulder, Haines and Russell all adding victories, there was plenty more than one huge average to take from Thursday’s results.

Where Are the Toughest Places to Play Darts South of Birmingham? Q4QS Venue Rankings 2026

 

Over the past few weeks, I've been using the Q4QS Tournament Strength database to look at darts from a slightly different perspective.

I've compared the major tours.

I've looked at the toughest individual tournaments.

I've compared ADC Vaults with recognised international circuits.

Now I'm bringing things much closer to home.

Where are the toughest venues to regularly play darts south of Birmingham?

Not which venue has produced one spectacular tournament.

Not which has the biggest names or the largest prize fund.

But if you repeatedly turned up and entered tournaments at the same venue, where would you statistically be most likely to encounter a strong field?

This is the first version of the Q4QS venue rankings. My current database coverage is strongest across the southern half of Britain, so rather than pretend it represents every part of the country equally, this opening edition concentrates on venues south of Birmingham.

I'll be expanding the geographical coverage in the very near future as more tournaments and venues are added to the database.

First – What Does Tournament Strength Mean?

As always with this series, an important explanation comes first.

Tournament Strength is NOT a tournament average.

A venue with a Tournament Strength figure of 65 does not mean its players average 65.

The Q4QS Tournament Strength Score is a calculated field-strength measure incorporating factors such as player ratings, recorded performances and the overall quality of the players taking part.

In simple terms:

Tournament average tells us how players performed.

Tournament Strength attempts to tell us how difficult the field was.

For this particular analysis, I've taken that one stage further.

Rather than ranking a venue by the strongest tournament it has ever staged, I've looked at its results across multiple events.

A venue needed at least six qualifying tournament records in the database to make the main table.

That gives us a much better indication of where strong fields appear consistently.

Q4QS Toughest Darts Venues South of Birmingham – 2026 So Far

Rank	Venue	Events	Typical Strength	Peak
1	Lindsay Constitutional Club, Cefn Hengoed	17	65.20	73.44
2	The Sartan Club, Bishopsworth	23	64.89	69.26
3	North Star Club, Calne	25	64.77	67.86
4	Bridley Moor & Batchley Social Club, Redditch	14	64.54	68.31
5	Brynmawr Social Club, Brynmawr	28	64.35	67.85
6	Dorchester Trinity Club, Dorchester	20	64.05	68.51
7	Faringdon Football Club, Faringdon	37	63.74	68.59
8	The Academy, Basingstoke	7	63.60	66.37
9	Windmill Hill Golf Centre, Milton Keynes	21	63.53	66.43
10	The Banckers Draft, Minehead	12	63.51	67.55
11	Bradmoor Farm, Aylesbury	42	63.51	68.72
12	Frimley Green Working Men's Club	6	63.39	65.21
13	County Conservative Club, Cardiff	16	63.28	69.35
14	Woodbridge Hill Working Men's Club, Guildford	7	63.28	65.05
15	Bagley Sports & Social Club, Shrewsbury	20	63.25	66.96
16	Topsham Football Club	13	63.04	66.58
17	St Johns Club, Banbury	23	62.94	66.08
18	The Cue Corner, Worcester	7	62.94	66.55
19	Chalvey WMC, Slough	19	62.93	66.96
20	Phoenix Pub, Portsmouth	12	62.79	67.34

Typical Strength is the mean Q4QS Tournament Strength of the qualifying events currently recorded for that venue. This opening ranking focuses on venues south of Birmingham where the current Q4QS database has sufficient coverage. Figures are for 2026 so far and will change as further tournaments and regions are added.

Cefn Hengoed Takes Number One

Perhaps the first surprise is that the current number one isn't one of the venues that immediately springs to mind when talking about English grassroots darts.

It's in Wales.

Lindsay Constitutional Club in Cefn Hengoed leads the rankings with a typical Tournament Strength of 65.20 across 17 recorded events.

And this isn't simply the result of one huge night.

Its median Tournament Strength is also above 64, while its strongest recorded event reaches 73.44.

That's exactly what I wanted this ranking to identify.

Not somewhere that happened to attract one exceptional field.

Somewhere that repeatedly does it.

Sartan Confirms Its Reputation

Second place probably won't surprise many people who follow the South West darts scene.

The Sartan Club in Bishopsworth scores 64.89 across 23 tournaments.

What's particularly impressive is the consistency.

Its median score is almost identical to its overall figure, and its peak reaches 69.26.

That tells us Sartan isn't being pushed towards the top by one or two exceptional competitions.

Strong fields are simply normal there.

For players around Bristol, that's probably confirmation of something many already suspected.

If you turn up at Sartan, expect a difficult draw.

Calne Might Be the Most Impressive of All

Third-placed North Star Club in Calne is particularly interesting.

Its overall figure is 64.77, but its median is actually slightly higher at 65.22 across 25 tournaments.

That's significant.

It means the typical North Star event is consistently landing around the very top of this entire venue dataset.

Its peak of 67.86 isn't the highest in the rankings.

It doesn't need to be.

North Star's strength is consistency.

There appear to be very few easy nights.

Redditch and Brynmawr Complete the Top Five

Bridley Moor & Batchley Social Club in Redditch sits fourth at 64.54, followed by another Welsh venue, Brynmawr Social Club, at 64.35.

Brynmawr is particularly convincing because that figure comes from 28 recorded tournaments.

That's a sizeable sample.

Once a venue maintains a figure above 64 across that many competitions, it becomes increasingly difficult to dismiss it as a temporary spike.

Then Comes an Interesting Group

Dorchester, Faringdon, Basingstoke, Milton Keynes and Minehead complete the Top 10.

And there's something worth noticing here.

These aren't all venues concentrated in one recognised darts hotbed.

We're seeing strong tournament environments spread across Wales, the South West, the Midlands, the South Coast and the Home Counties.

That's one of the things I've enjoyed most about building this database.

Strong grassroots darts isn't confined to the places that receive the most publicity.

Faringdon and Bradmoor Deserve Special Mention

Sample size matters.

Faringdon Football Club ranks seventh with 37 recorded events.

Bradmoor Farm in Aylesbury ranks 11th with 42.

Those are two of the largest samples anywhere near the top of the ranking.

Maintaining Tournament Strength figures of 63.74 and 63.51 respectively across that many tournaments is arguably more impressive than reaching a slightly higher figure from six or seven events.

It suggests players attending those venues aren't occasionally encountering strong fields.

They're encountering them over and over again.

And What About Paignton?

This is where comparing peak strength with regular strength becomes fascinating.

In the previous ADC analysis, 8 Ball Bar & Sports in Paignton produced the strongest ordinary Vault event I'd found:

75.08.

That's still an exceptional result.

But across its 12 qualifying events in this analysis, Paignton's typical Tournament Strength is 62.64.

That puts it just outside this Top 20.

There is no contradiction.

It simply answers two different questions.

How strong can Paignton get?

Extremely strong.

Is every Paignton tournament played at that level?

No.

And that's precisely why looking at venues over a longer period gives us a different picture.

Peak Strength Still Matters

It would be wrong to completely ignore those exceptional nights.

Some venues outside the Top 10 have demonstrated how strong they can become when the right field assembles.

Among the notable peaks are:

Paignton – 75.08

Cefn Hengoed – 73.44

Cardiff – 69.35

Sartan Club – 69.26

Bradmoor Farm – 68.72

Faringdon – 68.59

Dorchester – 68.51

Those peaks tell us something different from the main ranking.

A venue's regular score tells us what you're likely to encounter.

Its peak tells us how difficult the room can become.

Both are useful.

Wales Is Producing Some Serious Fields

One of the clearest geographical stories in the rankings is Wales.

Cefn Hengoed is number one.

Brynmawr is fifth.

Cardiff is 13th.

That's three Welsh venues inside the Top 13.

Given how much attention English grassroots darts receives, that's worth highlighting.

The data suggests there are some extremely competitive regular tournament environments on the other side of the Severn.

The South West Is Very Much in the Picture

From my usual South West perspective, there is plenty here too.

Sartan is second.

Calne is third.

Minehead is tenth.

Topsham is 16th.

And immediately below the Top 20 are venues including Paignton, Yeovil and Gloucester.

So while Wales currently supplies the number-one venue, the South West has a very strong presence throughout the rankings.

And the numbers reinforce something I've seen repeatedly while covering darts in this region:

There is an enormous amount of quality operating well below the level that receives national attention.

Does This Mean Cefn Hengoed Is the Hardest Venue to Win At?

Not necessarily.

And that's an important distinction.

Tournament Strength measures the quality of the field.

It doesn't account for everything involved in actually winning a tournament.

A 16-player tournament and a 128-player tournament can have identical field-strength ratings but present very different challenges.

Format matters.

Number of entrants matters.

Match length matters.

Seeding matters.

The draw matters.

So this isn't intended to answer:

"Where is it mathematically hardest to lift a trophy?"

It's answering:

"Which regular venues are attracting the strongest fields?"

That's a subtly different – and I think equally interesting – question.

This Is Only the Beginning

There's another important caveat to these rankings.

This isn't yet intended as a definitive ranking of every darts venue in Britain.

The Q4QS database is growing all the time, and its geographical coverage isn't yet equal everywhere.

That's why I've deliberately started with venues south of Birmingham, where I have enough data to make meaningful comparisons.

I'll be expanding the coverage in the very near future.

As more regions and tournaments are added, we'll start to see whether these venues can hold their positions when they come up against the strongest rooms elsewhere.

And that should make the ranking even more interesting.

And What About My Own Regular Venues?

I was obviously curious to see how some of the venues I regularly cover and play at compared.

Hangar 61 in Patchway comes out particularly well. Across 42 recorded events, it has a typical Tournament Strength of 61.65, with its strongest tournament reaching an impressive 70.03. That leaves Hangar just outside the current Top 20, and there have been several particularly strong fields there recently.

DartAsylum HQ produces a very different number, averaging 53.22 across an enormous 132 recorded events, but that figure needs some context.

DartAsylum runs a huge variety of competitions, including Under-55, Sub-70, junior and other restricted events, so its overall venue figure is naturally pulled down by the type of tournaments it stages. When the stronger fields assemble, the numbers can be very different – DartAsylum's peak Tournament Strength this year is an excellent 73.33.

For me, it's a useful example of why the numbers need a little interpretation. These rankings measure the strength of the tournaments being staged at each venue, rather than rating the venue itself.

Final Thoughts

Looking only at the strongest individual tournament tells us where an exceptional field has assembled.

Looking across repeated tournaments tells us something more useful.

Where is strong darts normal?

Right now, among the venues south of Birmingham sufficiently represented in the Q4QS database, the answer is Cefn Hengoed.

But Sartan and North Star are extremely close.

Redditch, Brynmawr and Dorchester aren't far behind.

And venues such as Faringdon and Bradmoor Farm are producing strong numbers across dozens of competitions.

Perhaps most importantly, the difference between many of these venues is tiny.

A player looking for tough competitive darts doesn't need to enter a PDC event.

Across the southern half of Britain, there are plenty of clubs where strong fields are turning up week after week.

And as the Q4QS database expands, we'll find out just how those venues compare with the rest of the country.

Yesterday’s Darts Results – Simon Lloyd Takes Hangar61 Title as Big Averages Light Up Thursday (27th August 2025)

 

Thursday brought another strong night of grassroots darts, with 27 tournaments from 27 August added to the Q4QS database.

For the South West, much of the attention was on Hangar61 in Bristol, where Simon Lloyd came through a competitive Thursday night round robin. Elsewhere, there were several eye-catching performances, including a 109.98 from Jack Seymour and three more averages above 100.

Lloyd takes the honours at Hangar61

Simon Lloyd was the winner at Hangar61, defeating Glenn Pearce 3–1 in the final.

Lloyd also produced some excellent darts during the competition, with a 97.57 average among his performances, but the highest number of the night at the Bristol venue belonged to Luke Harding, who fired in a superb 102.21.

There was further quality behind them too. Rich Griffee hit 93.94, Lewis Kendall 90.18 and Jamie McKinnon 89.36, making it another strong night at a venue that continues to produce competitive fields.

Seymour hits 109.98 as Cole takes MiMo title

One of the biggest averages anywhere on Thursday came at MiMo 2708 at Locks Heath Working Men’s Club.

Jack Seymour recorded a huge 109.98 average, the highest figure logged across Thursday's tournaments. He also produced a 107.36, underlining the level he reached during the event.

However, it was Joey Cole who eventually took the title, beating Seymour 3–1 in the final. Cole was impressive in his own right, with a 103.66 average among his performances.

More ton-plus darts

Seymour wasn't alone in breaking through the 100-average barrier.

Mitchell Leeming recorded 107.36 in the Night Nine, while Andy Smith produced averages of 103.66 and 101.07 during the Cressex Round Robin – Vault Break Week 2.

Smith's strong numbers didn't ultimately translate into the title, with Stuart Dutton beating Brian Rawlings 2–0 in the final.

At The Junction Inn, Jonathan Davies also joined the ton-plus club with a 100.20 average.

Small comes through Fun Cash In Cash Out

Alec Small added another victory to his record by winning the Fun Cash In Cash Out tournament.

Small defeated Lucas Milligan 3–1 in the final, while Callum Smith's 93.94 was the highest recorded average from the competition.

Moule wins at The Wolverdene

David Moule took the Money In Money Out Round-Robin Thursday title at The Wolverdene Club.

Moule came through a close final against Carlton Hope, winning 3–2, while Lee Evans produced the tournament's highest recorded average at 93.94.

There was also success for Mat Caste at Hotshots Sports Bar in Bletchley, where he defeated Dean Taylor 3–1 in the final.

Juniors in action

Thursday also brought another collection of JDC VOLTS competitions.

Among the winners were Ashton John at Arrows in Resolven, Mitchel Hunt at the Simeon Arms in Ryde and Joshua Russell at Cogan Coronation in Penarth.

Russell also produced a 90.12 average, while Cayden Evans hit 83.50 at Resolven and Hunt recorded 79.11 during his winning run on the Isle of Wight.

Another 27 tournaments into Q4QS

Thursday's results again demonstrated exactly why following the grassroots game can be so interesting.

At Hangar61 there was a 102.21 from Luke Harding but the title went to Simon Lloyd. At Locks Heath, Jack Seymour produced the day's biggest average, yet Joey Cole took the trophy. Andy Smith passed 100 twice at Cressex, but Stuart Dutton emerged as champion.

High averages tell part of the story – winning the tournament tells another.

With another 27 competitions added to Q4QS, all of these results continue to build the database behind the rankings, player form and statistics on Quest For Q School.

Yesterday's Darts Results South and South West – Saturday 15 August 2026

 

Saturday produced one of the busiest and strongest grassroots days of the week, with 32 tournaments added to the Q4QS database, ranging from major open competitions and local round robins to junior events, ADC Vaults and the PDC Challenge Tour.

The Q4QS graphic highlights Owen Bates after an excellent victory in Ilfracombe, but there was plenty more happening across the South and South West – including an impressive win for Chris Allen at Hangar 61 in Bristol, a strong junior event in Salisbury and another title for Ellie Harwood.

Bates takes the Ilfracombe Summer Open

One of the headline performances came from Owen Bates, who put together an excellent run to win the Ilfracombe Summer Open.

It was a substantial competition, with 127 matches recorded, and Bates came through with 11 victories before beating Nigel Gullon 5–2 in the final.

His scoring was impressive throughout. Bates produced the tournament's three highest recorded averages – 99.62, 97.62 and 96.97 – with the 99.62 coming against Clint Parkhouse.

Parkhouse himself hit 90.43, while Andy Steed recorded 88.41 during a run which saw him collect nine victories.

A very convincing tournament win from Bates.

Chris Allen comes through a strong Hangar 61 field

One result that didn't make the featured six on the graphic but certainly deserves attention was Chris Allen's victory at Hangar 61 in Bristol.

The Open Round Robin generated 93 recorded matches, with Allen eventually defeating Luke Harding 5–3 in the final.

Allen won nine matches across the competition and also produced the best average of the event, an excellent 94.82.

Harding had a strong tournament himself, recording eight victories and averages including 84.06 and 83.50, while Shoey Ayres also hit 83.50.

That's exactly what makes some of these local opens worth following. A big field and plenty of competitive darts can make winning one a serious night's work, and Allen came through it impressively.

Mason Beaven wins Salisbury Junior Super Series

There was plenty to like about the Salisbury Junior Super Series 3, where Mason Beaven emerged victorious.

Beaven won nine matches and defeated Riley Milligan 5–3 in the final, while also producing the tournament's highest recorded average of 86.65.

There was strong scoring elsewhere too, particularly from Reggie Woollard, who twice averaged 83.50 and recorded seven victories. Zachary Petty and finalist Milligan also collected seven wins apiece.

Another encouraging example of the standard coming through the junior game in the region.

Ellie Harwood wins again

Ellie Harwood also deserves another mention after winning Saturday's Open PR Round Robin.

Harwood recorded nine victories and beat Ryan Greenslade 3–1 in the final.

Greenslade actually produced the highest averages of the tournament, including a 79.11 and 76.42, but it was Harwood who came through the field and took the title.

That's another tournament victory to add to a very promising spell.

Huge numbers around the country

There were some enormous individual performances on Saturday.

The biggest came from Riley James, who produced a remarkable 111.33 average at the Surrey Youth Open.

Challenge Tour 18 also generated some serious numbers, with Steve Lennon hitting 107.79 and 102.77, Daniel Klose recording 103.05 and 100.79, and eventual champion Archie Self producing a 101.55.

Self ultimately beat Klose 5–4 in the Challenge Tour 18 final, completing a seven-win run to the title.

Timothy Jones fires in 107.36

Away from the Challenge Tour, one of Saturday's best performances came at The 9 Darter in Port Talbot.

Timothy Jones won all eight of his recorded matches and completed the job with a 3–0 victory over Steve Miller in the final.

Even more impressive was his 107.36 average in that final. Jones also recorded 96.97, 86.91 and 85.89 during the tournament.

That makes his performance one of the strongest Vault displays in Saturday's results.

Astbury dominant at Dawley

Daniel Astbury produced another extremely strong Vault performance at The Church Wicketts in Dawley.

Astbury won eight matches, defeated Callum Lester 3–0 in the final and averaged a superb 104.86 in the decider.

That wasn't an isolated performance either. He twice hit 96.97 and also recorded a 92.02 during his title run.

Plenty happening in the junior game

Saturday was a particularly busy day for youth darts.

Alongside Mason Beaven's Salisbury victory, Charlie Lowin won the JDC VOLTS event at Bostin Darts, producing a 91.09 along the way. George Folly won at Bushey, George Jones took the Glanyrafon Arms event and Michael Solloway was victorious at The Bullseye Bar in Lichfield.

And at the Surrey Youth Open, while Riley James produced that spectacular 111.33, it was James Butler who eventually came through the huge event to take the title.

Another packed Saturday

There was plenty more beyond the headline performances.

Paul Hogan won at Burghfield with a 98.02 in the final, Dai Lewis took the Bordon Vault, Eddie Price won at Shrewsbury and Aaron Beeney was successful at Nambucca.

Stephen Cake also won a rearranged Vault at The Top Club, with both Cake and Creed Jenkins recording 100.20 averages.

But from a Q4QS/South West perspective, Owen Bates' Ilfracombe victory and Chris Allen's success at Hangar 61 are probably the two performances I'd put right at the heart of Saturday's roundup.

Bates combined a tournament victory with consistently excellent scoring, while Allen negotiated a sizeable, competitive Hangar 61 event and produced a 94.82 along the way.

Another very strong Saturday of grassroots darts.