What is a good 3-dart average in darts? Casual, club and pro benchmarks

A good 3-dart average depends on your level. A casual player typically averages 40 to 60, a competent club and league player 70 to 90, and professionals routinely average over 100, with the elite posting match averages above 110. Anything over 100 is genuinely strong, and a 100 average across a full match is the professional benchmark.

If you have started tracking your darts, or you have heard a number quoted on the wall at a Sky broadcast and wondered where you sit, the 3-dart average is the metric that places you. It is the single number that compares two players honestly, and it is the same statistic the professionals are measured by. This guide defines it precisely, gives you honest tiers, explains the two numbers that matter alongside it, and tells you what to practise to move up a band.

What a 3-dart average actually measures

Your 3-dart average is the average number of points you score per three darts thrown, measured across a whole leg or match. It is not points per dart, and it is not your best single visit. The math is simple: total points scored, divided by total darts thrown, multiplied by three.

So if you play a 501 leg and finish it in 18 darts, your average is 501 divided by 18, times 3, which is 83.5. Finish the same 501 in 15 darts and your average is 100.2. The fewer darts you take to clear 501, the higher the number. That is why the average and the number of darts per leg move together: a 15-dart leg in 501 is a 100+ average leg by definition.

One thing trips people up. The average is calculated on actual darts thrown, including the finishing visit, even if that visit used only one or two darts to hit the winning double. Different scoreboards handle the final partial visit slightly differently, but the standard, and the one used in professional broadcast stats, divides total points by total darts and scales to three. The app scores every turn for you and computes this the same way, so the number on your screen is the same metric you would see quoted for a pro.

Honest tiers: where do you actually stand?

Here is the realistic ladder. These bands are how players, leagues and statistics sites talk about standard. Be honest with yourself: your true average across many legs is almost always lower than the one good leg you remember.

For context on the top end: the highest averages tracked across a recent professional season sit comfortably above 105, with the very best players posting season-leading numbers in the 110-120 range across full matches on statistics databases like Darts Orakel. A three-figure average sounds routine when you watch a televised final, but remember those players are the top fraction of one percent of everyone who throws.

Why one good leg is not your average

This is the most common self-deception in darts. You hit a 14-dart leg, do the mental math, and tell your mates you "average around 100." You do not. You averaged 100 for that leg.

A real 3-dart average is the aggregate across everything: the slow starts, the visit where you threw 26 (5, 1, 20), the busted scores, the three darts at a double that all missed. Those drag your number down, and they happen every session. Guessing your average is always flattering because memory keeps the highlights and quietly deletes the rubbish. The only way to know your true number is to measure every leg, which is precisely the case for tracking it automatically rather than estimating.

The two numbers that matter alongside it

The 3-dart average is the headline, but it hides where legs are actually won and lost. Two players can share an 80 average and not be remotely the same player. The two stats that explain the difference are your first-9 average and your checkout percentage.

First-9 average

Your first-9 average is your 3-dart average measured only across the opening three visits of a leg, before the finish complicates things. It isolates raw scoring power. A high first-9 means you get into a finishing position fast. Professionals often post first-9 averages well above their overall average because the early darts are pure scoring with no awkward setups. If your first-9 is strong but your overall average sags, your problem is the back end of the leg, not the scoring.

Checkout percentage

Your checkout percentage is how often you successfully take out a finish when you have at least one dart at a double. A player who scores well but checks out at 20% will lose to a weaker scorer who checks out at 40%, because legs are won at the double. In double-out X01 the last dart must land in a double (or the 50 bull) to win the leg, the rule set used by the PDC and the World Darts Federation. That is why the finish is its own skill, separate from scoring.

The app tracks all three together so you can see the full picture: it scores every turn, computes your average, your first-9 and your checkout percentage, and it suggests the checkout route for you when you reach a finishable score, so you spend your attention on the throw rather than the arithmetic.

How averages connect to finishing

A higher average earns you more darts at a double, sooner. To turn that into won legs you need to recognise and finish the common checkouts cleanly. A few worth knowing by heart, all valid double-out routes on a standard board:

Notice that 159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168 and 169 cannot be checked out in three darts at all, and 170 is the ceiling. Leaving yourself a finish you can actually take out, ideally an even number that divides into a comfortable double, is the difference between a high average and a won leg. For the complete list of every finish from 2 to 170, see the printable checkout chart linked below.

What to aim for next

Pick the next band up, not the dream number. If you average 55, target a consistent 65 by cutting the wasted visits rather than chasing the treble-20 every dart. If you sit around 75, the gains are usually at the finish: practise your checkouts so your checkout percentage climbs, and your won legs climb with it. If you are knocking on 100, you are already an exceptional amateur, and from there it is pure consistency under pressure.

Whatever band you are in, the rule is the same: you cannot improve a number you do not measure, and the number you guess is always kinder than the number you earn. Score honestly, watch the trend over weeks rather than legs, and let the average tell you the truth.