The truth behind ton-plus checkouts: Why Luke Littler, Rob Cross and Michael Smith each dominate in their respective fields

In the world of professional darts, there is one statistic that often causes spectacle: the ton-plus checkouts - all finishes from 100 and above. The crowd goes wild when a player throws out a 170-finish, and the commentators like to make a highlight of it as well. But a closer look reveals that not all high finishes say as much about a darter's class.

In fact, the way the PDC and other statistics followers present these figures, they shortchange some achievements and overestimate others.

Why the 100-finish gets too much weight

A checkout of exactly 100 is statistically one of the least impressive ton-plus finishes. Top darters often work it off in two arrows (T20, D20) and succeed within three darts almost half the time. That gives the 100-finish a disproportionate weight in the statistics, because it is relatively easy compared to, say, a 161- or 170-finish, which requires three perfect darts.

This undervalues the most difficult checkouts, where there is no room for error. After all, a 167 finish is a masterpiece of precision, but is given the same status in statistics as a routine 100.

The problem of data and context

To paint a fair picture of a player's checkout skills, one should actually look at the number of attempts it took to complete a finish. A player who attempts 161 ten times and throws one out shows a very different picture than someone who pulls off that trick in three out of 10 attempts.

Besides, a reliable picture requires a lot of data. But darts is a sport of form peaks and valleys: a player who struggled with 132-finishes in 2021 may suddenly be much sharper in 2025. A striking example is Simon Whitlock: between 2017 and now, the Australian recorded an impressive 14% 132-finish percentage. But now that he has lost his PDC Tour Card, the data to accurately measure his level in 2025 is still lacking.

Classification into difficulty categories

To gain more insight, analysts have tried to group finishes by difficulty. In doing so, we distinguish roughly four categories:

1. Treble-treble-bull finishes (TTB) Think 161, 164, 167 and the iconic 170, which require two triples and the bullseye.
2. Treble-treble-double finishes (TTD) For example 131, 133, 134 and all finishes between 136 and 160, which require two triples followed by a double.
3. Treble-single-bull finishes (TSB) The 121 through 130. There is room for a slight deviation here, as a missed triple can often be corrected via the bull.
4. Treble-single-double finishes (TSD) The lower triple-digit finishes (99 to 120, excluding 100). Here, a player can vary routes, such as 116 via T19 or T20.

This classification creates a more nuanced picture of what players really excel at.

Littler versus the rest

Not surprisingly, Luke Littler also leads the way in these statistics. The 18-year-old Englishman is known for his devastating 170-finishes - he has already thrown eight this year. That puts him at an astonishing 7.1% percentage on TTB finishes, almost three times better than the PDC average of 2.6%.

Still, Littler is not untouchable. On TTD finishes (131-160), he is only sixth, while Josh Rock, Jonny Clayton and Cameron Menzies lead here. They even achieve more than 10% success on this category. Interestingly, it is precisely the seemingly "easy" 160-finish that is thrown out more often, while rarer options such as 131 and 133 score much lower.