Darts averages explained: 3-dart average, first 9 and MPR

October 27, 2026

On TV, there's always a number next to each player's name: the average. It's the headline stat in darts, the one that lets you compare two players at a glance. Here's how it's worked out, the variations you'll hear about, and what it tells you about your own game.

The 3-dart average

This is the average everyone talks about. It answers one simple question: how many points do you score, on average, per visit of 3 darts?

The formula:

average = points scored ÷ darts thrown × 3

It counts darts rather than visits because a finishing visit might only use one or two darts. Dividing by darts and multiplying by 3 puts everyone on a level footing.

An example

You finish a leg of 501 in 18 darts (6 full visits). You've scored 501 points:

501 ÷ 18 × 3 = an average of 83.5.

The same leg in 15 darts gives 501 ÷ 15 × 3 = 100.2. And the perfect leg, the nine-darter, gives 501 ÷ 9 × 3 = 167, the highest average possible over a leg of 501.

What counts and what doesn't

A bust visit counts its darts but scores nothing, so it drags your average down.
Darts missed at the doubles count too. A player who scores heavily but struggles to finish will see their average sink at the end of each leg.
Over a match, you add up all the points and all the darts from every leg, then apply the same formula.

The first 9 average

The first 9 average only looks at the first 3 visits of each leg, so the first 9 darts. Why? Because at that stage everyone is going for treble 20: it measures pure scoring power, without the finishing getting in the way.

Example: you open a leg with 100, 85 and 60. That's 245 points in 9 darts, so 245 ÷ 9 × 3 = 81.7.

Your first 9 average is almost always higher than your overall average. A big gap between the two tells you one thing: your scoring holds up, it's your finishing that's costing you. That's when the checkout chart becomes your best friend.

Points per dart (PPD)

In soft-tip darts you'll often see PPD, points per dart: points scored divided by darts thrown. It's the same information as the 3-dart average, divided by 3. An average of 60 is a PPD of 20.

Ballpark figures

There's no official scale, and the numbers vary depending on who you ask. As a rough guide:

Beginner: often under 30 to 35. Hitting the 20 area consistently is already a goal.
Club player: with practice the average climbs towards 40, 50, 60. The first visits of 100 or more (a "ton") start coming regularly.
Strong amateur: above 70, you're a feared player in your league.
Professionals on TV: the best sit around 90 to 100, and sometimes go over 100 across a match.

What matters isn't the raw figure, it's how it moves from one month to the next, measured in the same conditions.

In Cricket: MPR

In Cricket, you don't count down a score, you close numbers. A 3-dart average doesn't mean much there, so players use MPR, marks per round: the average number of marks per visit.

A single is worth 1 mark, a double 2, a treble 3.
The outer bull is worth 1 mark, the inner bull 2.
A perfect visit, three trebles, is worth 9 marks.

MPR = total marks ÷ number of rounds

An MPR of 1 means one mark per round on average: it takes you about three rounds to close a single number. At 2, you're closing numbers noticeably faster. Above 3, you're hitting doubles and trebles very regularly.

Track your stats with Throw

Working out your average by hand with a notebook is a chore. With Throw, the phone beside the board scores your darts on its own, and if you create a (free) account, your stats fill in with every game: your average per visit in x01 and your marks per round in Cricket. A handy way to check whether your practice sessions are actually paying off. To go further, read our tips on improving with stats.