PDC Form Guide: Is Luke Humphries unofficial World No.1? as Stephen Bunting and Callan Rydz surprisingly impress

Luke Humphries has underlined his impressive form once again. Not only did the Englishman successfully defend his title at the US Darts Masters in New York by seeing off Luke Littler in a thrilling final, the latest Form Guide from PDC statistician Christopher Kempf also shows that “Cool Hand Luke” is currently the benchmark in professional darts.

The PDC Form Guide, based on the last 200 legs played by each Tour Card holder, provides a detailed picture of the top players’ current performances. It looks not only at averages, but also at metrics such as scoring power, doubles, checkouts, and the so-called OChE rating (Overall Checkout Efficiency), a measure that indicates how efficiently a player actually wins legs.

Humphries leads both the average and the OChE ranking and is currently the only player within the PDC to average over 100 across his last 200 legs. That has even given him a comfortable lead over his biggest challenger, Luke Littler, who has also posted impressive numbers in recent months.

Strikingly, Littler is still slightly more efficient when legs are decided within four visits. The reigning world champion finishes 14.5 percent of his won legs in twelve darts or fewer, compared to 13.1 percent for Humphries. Yet the balance clearly tips in favor of the former world champion as soon as a leg lasts a touch longer. Humphries wins as many as 61 percent of his legs within fifteen darts, while the average among all Tour Card holders sits at just 29 percent. No other player outside Humphries and Littler even comes close. Wessel Nijman follows as best of the rest with 47.7 percent.

That consistent efficiency also translates to the OChE rating. Although it dipped slightly in June, Humphries still stands at an impressive score of 68. According to Kempf’s model, that means the Englishman, based on his current level, wins roughly two legs for every leg he loses against an average opponent on the PDC circuit.

The fact that Humphries and Littler are setting the pace right now does not mean other players haven’t had an excellent month. Stephen Bunting may be the best example. “The Bullet” reached at least the semi-finals at two consecutive Players Championship events. With nine match wins and more than £10,000 in prize money, he steadily climbed the metrics.

At the US Darts Masters, Bunting also showcased his class on the checkouts by producing a fine 164 checkout. As a result, he now shares top spot on the list for the most checkouts of 99 and 101 points or more over the last 200 legs, alongside Wessel Nijman. Thanks to that strong combination of scoring power and efficient finishing, Bunting has risen to sixth on the OChE ranking. Notably, he sits above several players who score heavier on average, which underlines once more how vital chance conversion is.

The biggest climber in June, however, is Callan Rydz. The Englishman won his board final twice at Players Championship events and took out established names such as Gerwyn Price and Rob Cross along the way. His average has risen by almost five points in just one month, an exceptionally large improvement at this level.

Even so, Rydz remains one of the most unpredictable players on the ProTour. Right after his fine wins over Price and Cross came defeats to Adam Leek and Richard Veenstra, players who, based on the Form Guide, are rated significantly lower. His doubles in particular remain a major point of focus. Of all players who rank in the top sixteen by average, Rydz has the lowest checkout percentage on the doubles. Precisely at the key moments his finishing still lets him down too often, causing potential deep tournament runs to end early on a regular basis.

For Dirk van Duijvenbode, the picture looks less positive. The Dutchman has long been considered one of the most explosive scorers within the PDC, and the numbers still confirm that. With 77 maximums in his last 200 legs, he trails only four players on the list for most 180s. Of those four, only Luke Littler also qualified for the most recent Premier League Darts.

Yet that scoring power is currently yielding too little return. At the inaugural Slovak Darts Open, Van Duijvenbode suffered his fifth first-round exit at a European Tour event this season. As a result, he currently sits outside the qualifying places for the European Championship, despite having taken part in all nine Euro Tour events of 2026.

According to Kempf, Van Duijvenbode has also experienced the biggest drop in OChE rating of all PDC players in recent weeks. That has everything to do with his return on the doubles and the big checkouts. In his last 200 legs, the Dutchman has recorded only six checkouts of 100 points or more, while his success on the doubles has fallen to just 35 percent. That means he is leaving many chances on the table to actually convert his excellent scoring power into match wins.

The latest Form Guide thus confirms what the results of recent months already suggested. Luke Humphries is currently the most complete player on the circuit, combining an unprecedented scoring level with exceptional efficiency at the key moments. Luke Littler remains his biggest challenger and continues to impress with his scoring power, while players like Stephen Bunting and Wessel Nijman are knocking loudly on the door. At the same time, the numbers show that Callan Rydz is on a notable rise, while Dirk van Duijvenbode will need to find more return on the doubles to reconnect with the absolute elite.