Three Players Who Caught My Eye This Week (6-12th September 2026)

 

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.

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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.

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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.

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.

JDC Advanced Tour Weekend Preview (13th/14th June 2026)

 

The JDC Advanced Tour returns this weekend with another stacked field of emerging talent, and there is one name everyone will be looking at: Mitchell Lawrie.

Lawrie arrives as the clear form player after winning the last two Advanced Tour events, posting tournament averages of 96.78 and 92.62 respectively. His recent victories over players such as Jack Nankervis, Owen Bryceland and Jack Johnson underline just how difficult he will be to stop.

However, this is far from a one-man show.

Ben Townley continues to impress on the PDC Development Tour, recently reaching a semi-final with a superb 96.83 average and following it up with a strong Last 32 run against senior opposition.

Archie Self also arrives with momentum after a Development Tour semi-final and a 9W-1L recent record, while Kaya Baysal has been collecting titles across Europe and looks one of the most dangerous players in the draw.

Elsewhere, former Advanced Tour winners Jack Johnson and Owen Bryceland have both shown they can go deep in these events, while players such as Christian Ennis, Arthur Allston and Lewis Cook will fancy their chances of producing another big weekend.

With Development Tour experience, international youth success and recent JDC titles all represented in the field, this looks set to be one of the strongest Advanced Tour weekends of the season.

Six To Follow

Mitchell Lawrie

Back-to-back JDC Advanced Tour champion and the man everyone must beat.

Ben Townley

Development Tour performances suggest he is capable of winning this outright.

Archie Self

Nine wins from his last ten matches and improving rapidly.

Kaya Baysal

International title winner who keeps finding deep runs wherever he plays.

Jack Johnson

Already a JDC Advanced Tour winner this season and always dangerous.

Christian Ennis

Fresh from a semi-final run and looks ready for another breakthrough.

Future Stars of Darts: 9 Young Players Set to Shine

 With Gian van Veen retaining the World Youth Championship and the JDC holding it's World Championship currently,  it’s a great time to reflect on how important this tournament has become for shaping future stars. 

Since its current format began in 2011, winners like Michael Smith, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Josh Rock, Gian van Veen, and Luke Littler have all gone on to claim major TV titles and some big names have made finals including Nathan Aspinall and Michael van Gerwen This platform being used as a springboard to success.

Clearly, the youth system,alongside the Junior Darts Corporation (JDC) and Development Tour and provides a solid grounding for players aiming for the top. So, who might we be talking about in the next few years? Here are nine names to watch:

Archie Self (England)

Currently the JDC World No.1, Archie has dominated the Advanced Tour with multiple titles and finals appearances. He also won the WDF Boys’ World Championship and reached the senior England Open semi-finals at just 15. His scoring power and composure under pressure make him a standout prospect.

Jack Nankervis (England)

Jack burst onto the scene by winning six Foundation Tour events at age 12 and three Advanced Tour titles at 13. He’s already challenged Luke Littler in the MVG Masters final and posted a 101 average in the Winmau Junior Open. Expect him to be a Development Tour force very soon.

Tergel Khurelkhuu (Mongolia)

A trailblazer for Asian darts, Tergel topped the JDC Advanced Tour rankings and has produced mid-90 averages on big stages. His rapid rise and fearless approach suggest he could become a global ambassador for the sport.

Lex Paeshuyse (Belgium)

Lex made history as the youngest JDC World Champion at 13, averaging over 90 in the final. Belgium has produced stars like Dimitri Van den Bergh, and Lex looks ready to follow in those footsteps.

Owen Bryceland (Scotland)

At just 10 years old, Owen won the JDC Scotland Masters and is already drawing comparisons to Luke Littler. His natural talent and early success make him one to watch for the long term.

Jack Johnson (England)

Jack claimed the JDC Super 16 title in 2025, defeating Jayden Walker in a high-quality final. His ability to handle pressure and produce big finishes is impressive for his age.

Jayden Walker (England)

Runner-up in the Super 16, Jayden hit a 101 average and a 14-darter during the event. His scoring power and temperament suggest he’ll be a regular name on youth leaderboards.

Colton Dunn (CAN)

North America’s brightest youth talent, Colton topped the CDC Junior Evolution Tour and earned a spot at the JDC World Cup. His progress could help ignite darts in the U.S. market.

Rebecca Allen (England)

Female talent is also emerging strongly, and Rebecca Allen is leading the charge. She’s been making waves in JDC events and is tipped as a future star who could inspire more women and girls to take up the sport.