PDC stats analyst @ochepedia compares the tournament averages of the World Cup of Darts quarter-finalists against their last 200 legs played on the ProTour... 👉 bit.ly/WCODStats
Pair averages compared with Pro Tour averages: Who came out on top at the World Cup of Darts?
PDCFriday, 23 June 2023 at 16:00
PDC statistician Christopher Kempf scrutinised the statistics of the World Cup of Darts and compared the quarter-finalists' averages with his averages in their last two hundred legs played on the Pro Tour.
The World Cup - now a 100% doubles event - has tested players' cooperative skills like never before. The PDC has never included a full pairs tournament in its tournament schedule and so players who have spent years building their careers in the PDC system have never had to play in a team to earn a substantial income.
This is a difficult format to get used to, especially since you have to wait three times as long to throw your darts. Not surprisingly, most players perform below their average during the World Cup of Darts when the team averages are cut loose into individual averages.
Which players are a counterexample to this trend and are doing well in the pair matches favouring their country? The Polish team of Krzysztof Ratajski and Krzysztof Kciuk produced a remarkable result by winning 5-1 against Lithuania in the group stage thanks to an average of 118.10.
In doing so, they broke a nine-year-old record, previously held by the illustrious Dutch team of Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld (117.88) out of the history books. Nevertheless, Van Gerwen's individual average of 125.56 from that match remains the highest televised average in the history of darts.
Yet if you look at the averages of the Polish darters over the entire tournament, they performed below their Pro Tour averages. Only four Tour Card holders who participated in the World Cup of Darts threw an average during the nations event that was higher than their average in their last two hundred legs on the Pro Tour.
The biggest over-performance came from Simon Whitlock, who ranked 55th among Tour Card holders over their last 200 legs with an average of 91, but the Australian produced the fifth-highest average out of the 80 players at the World Cup of Darts. For no other player was the difference so great in positive terms; 96.17 to 91.43.
Whitlock's contribution went far beyond high averages (although his teammate Damon Heta averaged 11 points less than him). With one dart left in his hand and a finish possible, Whitlock threw out the leg in six out of 12, while Heta managed it in just three out of 15.
Van den Bergh was also one of four players to exceed his ProTour average at the World Cup. The Belgian recorded 156 scoring trebles during the tournament, an average of 2.79 per leg. That average was the highest of all players who were in the semi-finals of the Nations tournament.
If there is one individual player who can be said to have contributed the most to his team, it is Jonny Clayton. His individual tournament average of 99.09 was higher than that of any team or individual.
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- Am not outraged and as said above i dont like anyone from any country doing it to anyone from any country. Whoever is going for a double should have best of order.Mysstree17-11-2024
- Say what? It happens in other countries; Littler in January - this year (Holland), go and watch the evidence on YouTube. If it is going to be done to English players, then we are more than entitled to dish the same back when players face off in England. When it happened to Littler in Holland in January... where was your outrage then? ABE attitude.MrYnyslas197117-11-2024
- I dont like individuals or crowds trying to put any player off when they are trying to check out, how anyone can think its okay for the crowd to whistle or shout as someone is throwing for a double is beyond me but it does seem to have become part and parcel of the modern game. I no longer play now, darts is as good as dead at a local level round my way but when i did play many years ago, no matter how intense the rivalry you never shouted out or whistled when an opponent from the other team was throwing for a double.Mysstree17-11-2024
- The pundits glossing over the other factor at play in that match. They appear to be somewhat constrained in what they can say publicly.
UndartedWaters16-11-2024 - So, you don't like Littler, then? I was cheering him on, being a fellow Englishman. Honestly, some of us get far too offended nowadays. If you want to see crowd passion... watch a match when German and Dutch players face off... that can be just as bad if not worse for crowd noises. It happens, I have watched and heard Littler being jeered - Dirk van Duijvenbode in Holland, January this year. Where was your outrage then? Yes, I can clearly see what is going on here.MrYnyslas197116-11-2024