How Henderson became Scotland's 'Highlands Hero'

Scotland

PDC Stats Analysts Christopher Kempf takes a closer look at John Henderson's contribution to Scotland's World Cup of Darts win...

John Henderson's 2020 World Cup debut, as a member of Scotland's team with Robert Thornton, did not go according to plan.

The Scots squeezed past Japan in the first round, and while Henderson played respectably against Gerwyn Price in his second round singles match, he could not recover from a 3-0 deficit and did not attempt a finish to prolong the match.

His partner having forced a pairs tie-breaker by defeating Jonny Clayton, Henderson disappointed in the doubles decider.

Through the first three legs of his doubles match, Henderson averaged 51 and hit only one treble 20 out of 24 darts thrown en route to a 0-3 deficit; only his visits of 140 and 100 in the final leg, with the outcome no longer in doubt, somewhat redeemed his performance.

The match holds a somewhat ignominious record for World Cup pairs darts: Thornton's 117 average in the contest exceeded his partner's 64 average by more than 53 points, the largest discrepancy on record for two players in a televised doubles match.

One year later, Henderson is the pride of Scotland and, unlike so many of his colleagues, a PDC televised title holder; no player hailing from a more northern latitude than 'The Highlander' has won a PDC title.

John Henderson
Henderson disappointed on his World Cup debut in 2020


His teammate, Peter Wright, paid tribute to his efforts, effusing that Henderson 'carried him' in every match. So, what changed?

On a basic statistical level, Henderson mk.II was a substantial upgrade from his beta version. In 2020 Henderson played 12 legs and averaged 83; one year later he played 35 legs and averaged 88.

He nearly doubled his double percentage relative to 2020 (21% vs 36%); eight out of 17 attempts at tops found their mark in 2021, compared to only two of eight when teamed with Thornton. The percentage of his darts drifting into the 1s and 3s dropped from 19.7% to 12.3%.

Against Price, in a rematch of the previous year's singles matchup, Henderson stole the show, firing off an 11-darter to break throw in the first leg of the match.

The Scotsman not only averaged 106 against the throw, keeping up the pressure even in the legs won by the World Champion, but also allowed no doubles attempts from Price on his own throw for the duration of the match.

Had Henderson failed to complete his 12 checkout in the second leg, or 50 in the fourth, or 44 in the sixth, the world number one, a 44% doubles hitter, could have had a minimum of 9 doubles attempts which might have led to a 2-0 sweep and a second Welsh title.

More important to winning than any statistical minutiae is the simple fact of whether or not a player, with the score tied in the final leg of the match, and under the expectation that his opponent will win the match himself if given the chance, can put his team over the line.

And indeed it was Henderson, in all four doubles matches contested by Scotland in the World Cup, who carried his team over the line.

Against the Dutch, with Dirk van Duijvenbode poised to attempt two match darts from 60, Henderson completed the 64 checkout with the last dart in his hand.

Scotland
Henderson shone in the pairs contest which saw Scotland eliminate reigning champions Wales


In a stroke of revenge against the Welsh who outplayed them in 2020, Henderson fired off a 46 checkout in two darts, denying Jonny Clayton three match darts of his own.

And it was Henderson who twice punished missed match darts from the Austrian team in the final two legs of their pairs clash, again hitting double 10 with the last possible dart to secure a point for his team - and breathing room for his teammate in his duel with Mensur Suljovic.

Henderson came to the board on 5 occasions in doubles matches in which failure to checkout would have meant guaranteed match darts thrown against Scotland; but on all 5 occasions he secured the victory. Henderson was indeed well deserving of his teammate's praise.

On the face of things, Henderson would struggle to win many tournaments with an 88 average. Peter Wright did his part to shore up the team in response to Henderson's 4-1 loss to Mensur Suljović and his partner's 75 average in the doubles match against Austria - he deserves his share of the credit, as befitting a team effort.

Henderson did not throw his best darts for much of the weekend, but when asked to deliver for his teammate and his country under pressure, he was indomitable - and that is more deserving of the World Cup title than any nine-darter or high average.