Jonny Clayton may not lead a single scoring category, but the Welshman's ruthless finishing has made him one of the most effective players on the PDC circuit. Ahead of the Dutch Darts Championship, PDC statistician Christopher Kempf examined the form of the top players across their last 200 legs, and the results show that the players with the highest averages do not automatically win their matches most efficiently.
Clayton, fresh from claiming the Swiss Darts Trophy title in Basel last weekend with an 8-4 final win over Luke Humphries, recorded a checkout percentage of 43 per cent across his last 200 legs. That puts him ahead of both Humphries and Luke Littler, and among the top ten Tour Card holders in that category. His big-finish numbers are even more striking: Clayton took out a finish of 99 or at least 101 in 21 of his last 200 legs, a tally no other player on the PDC circuit can currently match. Despite an average of 96.09 that ranks sixteenth, his OChE rating — measuring expected performance in legs won — sits above 57, placing him seventh in the PDC rankings. The Welshman, who recently celebrated his 52nd birthday, shows that a high average is not the only measure of success.
Luke Littler remains the PDC's leading 180 hitter, producing 89 maximums across his last 200 legs — a tally below the level he reached after the World Matchplay but still enough to top the rankings. His doubles tell a less convincing story, with the reigning world champion ranking only 36th in that category. That creates a clear contrast with James Wade, who hit 45 per cent of his doubles across his last 200 legs, ahead of both Littler and Clayton. Gerwyn Price, meanwhile, tops the three-dart average standings and outperforms Humphries in almost every statistical category, with Humphries holding only a narrow lead in 180s thrown — one more than Price. Their head-to-head results show statistical superiority does not automatically lead to victories, as Humphries came from behind to win their recent World Grand Prix final meeting. According to Kempf, four players can currently lay claim to the top spot in the form rankings: Littler, Humphries, Price and Wade each stand out in different areas, but no player is dominating across the board to the extent once expected of Littler.
One of the most striking names in the analysis is Beau Greaves. The Englishwoman has dominated the Women's Series for some time, but across her last 200 legs she averaged 96.35 — slightly ahead of Clayton's 96.09 — and hit 65 maximum 180s. Based on her current level, an average PDC ProTour opponent would be expected to win just 44 per cent of the legs against her, meaning Greaves would statistically win around 56 per cent. Her current performances rank above the recent form of players including Gian van Veen and Stephen Bunting. While her statistics do not automatically make her a favourite against players such as Littler and Humphries, they show she has reached a level where she can compete with a large part of the professional circuit, with numbers comparable to those of Ross Smith, winner of the World Series of Darts Finals, and Clayton.
Kempf's analysis makes clear that the leading players are currently very closely matched, making it difficult to name one clear form leader. With the Dutch Darts Championship and the remaining major televised tournaments of 2026 coming up, the top stars will have the chance in the coming weeks to turn their recent numbers into more titles.
