On Saturday, Archie Self delivered one of the most impressive victories in recent years during
Development Tour 18. The Englishman swept aside Valerie Niederführ 4-0 in the first round, doing so with scarcely believable numbers.
Self averaged a remarkable 111.33, while his German opponent was restricted to just 40.71. The gap between the two averages was therefore a staggering 70.62 points, a margin that undoubtedly ranks among the largest ever recorded in an official PDC match.
The one-sided nature of the contest is also evident from the scores remaining when Self sealed his legs. Niederführ was left on 321, 278, 362, and 351 points. In other words, he never came close to a checkout in any leg. While Self rattled in maximums at pace and found his doubles with ruthless efficiency, Niederführ struggled to find any rhythm at all.
For Self, it was a match where everything seemed to click. An average of 111.33 is already elite, but the contrast with his opponent’s 40.71 made the performance even more striking. On top of that, he embellished his display with a
nine-darter, giving the tie an immediate place in
Development Tour history.
Exceptionally wide margin
Although the Development Tour is known as a circuit where rising talents and less experienced players meet, gaps of this magnitude are exceptional. Averages over a hundred against opponents around 75 or 80 are not uncommon, but a difference of more than seventy points is almost never seen in a fully completed match.
For Valerie Niederführ, this will be a match to forget quickly. The German never got into the game and watched as Self delivered an almost flawless exhibition of top-level darts from the very first leg.
By contrast, for Archie Self it was a performance that will be remembered for a long time and may go down as one of the most dominant displays ever produced on the Development Tour.