The 2026 World Cup of Darts has set a new standard for quality, with a tournament average of 86.57 points per visit — the highest since the introduction of the full pairs format. According to data shared by analyst TheRedBit, this year's average comfortably surpasses recent editions: 84.80 in 2025, 84.07 in 2024, and 84.92 in 2023.
While a difference of one or two points may seem modest, at the sport's highest level it is significant. When an entire tournament, with dozens of matches and hundreds of legs, shows such a rise, it says a lot about the overall quality of the field. The numbers confirm what many darts fans already observed during the event: more and more countries have players who regularly produce high averages, and the gap between traditional darts nations and smaller countries is narrowing steadily.
The current format, where all matches are played as pairs, may also play a role in the rising figures. Teams that are well attuned to each other can lift one another to a higher level, regularly producing matches in which both players exceed their usual level and post impressive joint averages. Additionally, darts is currently in an exceptionally strong period, with the world elite deeper than ever and top players delivering exceptional performances week after week at major televised events.
The Netherlands reached the final at the 2026 World Cup of Darts, losing 10-5 to England. Although the tournament average does not tell the full story of an edition's strength — factors such as the draw, match length, and stage at which certain countries go out can influence the final figure — the conclusion is hard to dispute: the 2026 World Cup of Darts has so far delivered the highest standard of the full pairs era.