105 Checkout in Darts — T20 → 13 → D16
The 105 checkout uses a three-dart route through T20, 13 into D16. At this score, controlling the first dart is the central challenge — everything else in the route depends on where T20 lands. A clean execution through T20 → 13 → D16 leads directly into D16, one of the strongest finishing doubles on the board and a consistent closer under match pressure.
The miss geometry on the opening dart favours the 5 side. A drift from T20 in that direction leaves 100 — T20 → D20, which preserves a working route. The 1 side produces 104, a harder position to continue from. That asymmetry is useful information: the pre-throw setup can subtly bias the release toward the 5 side without altering the fundamental mechanics of the throw. Knowing which direction is the preferred miss before stepping to the oche removes a decision that would otherwise be made reactively — and reactive decisions under pressure rarely favour the better outcome.
The decision about which route to use from 105 should be made before stepping to the oche — not at it, and not during the visit. Arriving at the line already having chosen T20 → 13 → D16 removes an entire category of thought from the throw. Players who are still weighing options as they step forward introduce a kind of cognitive load that does not appear in practice but is consistently present in match conditions. Deciding the route in advance and committing to it completely is the structural version of pressure management — it reduces the number of decisions that need to be made while throwing.
Control on the first dart at 105 is more valuable than any other single factor. The rest of the visit stays structured when the opening dart lands clean. Pressure reveals the quality of the routine. Players with a consistent pre-throw process handle 105 in competition almost exactly as they do in practice. Tight grip and a rushed release are the most common mechanical breakdowns under pressure on 105. Neither is an aim problem. Once the arm starts forward, commit fully. Adjusting mid-throw is the most reliable way to produce the miss that was being avoided. The pressure side of darts is not separate from the technical side. They are the same challenge. A well-rehearsed routine handles both simultaneously.
Against pressure, T20 and D16 are exactly what is needed — aggressive scoring and a reliable close. The route structure does not need adjustment for match context.
Route Comparison & Target Selection
Primary: T20 → 13 → D16
treble 20 (60), single 13, closing on double 16 — high-percentage close
Alternate: T19 → 16 → D16
treble 19 (57), single 16, closing on double 16 — high-percentage close
From 105, the primary (T20 → 13 → D16) and alternate (T19 → 16 → D16) offer two equally valid paths to the close. The miss geometry on T20 is asymmetric — the 5 side leaves 100 and the 1 side leaves 104, so the preferred drift direction is toward 5. The primary is the default by convention and structure. The alternate is the in-match adjustment — use it when the primary's approach is not producing the right grouping. Both close on comparable doubles, so the trade-off between them is neutral on close quality and positive on approach flexibility.
Bias the throw away from 1 on 105. That miss leaves 104 vs the more manageable 100 from 5.
Miss Geometry, Route Structure & When to Use the Alternate
No high-value triple has worse neighbours than treble 20. The 5 sits to its left and the 1 to its right — the two lowest singles on the board. From 105, drifting into 5 produces 100 remaining and drifting into 1 produces 104. The primary route opens here because the score structure demands it, but the miss geometry should inform how you approach the throw. A slight drift in either direction from 105 lands in a segment that scores between three and five times less than the treble itself. Treble 19, by contrast, is flanked by 3 and 7 — both higher-value, both more often leaving a route that can still close cleanly. The drift trigger for switching to 19 exists precisely because of this asymmetry: when grouping moves consistently below the treble 20 bed, the geometry of 19 becomes structurally correct regardless of its lower maximum value. On the question of how the route runs, three darts are required here because 105 resists any clean two-dart path. The sequence runs T20 to open, 13 to position, and D16 to close — each dart serving a specific function in the structure. The risk that the three-dart sequence introduces is rushing: players who hit T20 cleanly sometimes accelerate through 13 and arrive at D16 from a weaker position than necessary. Slowing the decision-making between darts — giving each throw its own committed setup before the release — is what keeps three-dart routes running cleanly under pressure. As for when to use the alternate, both routes close the leg from 105 through comparable finishing doubles — the primary on D16 and the alternate (T19 → 16 → D16) on D16. The difference is the approach: T20 versus T19 on the opening dart, and different bridging sequences to reach the close. Switch to the alternate when the primary's approach is not finding the right grouping, and treat it as an equally valid line rather than a compromise.
When and Why to Use This Route
Apply this route in any match situation. The combination of T20 for scoring and D16 as the close is designed for exactly the conditions that competitive legs create. This is the strongest available route from this score — use it without reservation.
The strength of this route is that it does not ask the player to choose between power and reliability. T20 provides the scoring efficiency needed to keep the visit aggressive. D16 provides the close quality needed to convert. The combination makes this the strongest available route from this score — and the reason it holds up under match pressure better than alternatives that lean too far in either direction.
Why Players Miss This Finish
Players miss the 105 checkout by losing control of the visit on the second dart, not the first. T20 lands well and the position looks good — then, instead of committing fully to 13, the player is already thinking about D16. The second dart becomes distracted: aimed partly at 13 and partly at the result it will produce. That distraction costs accuracy. The dart lands somewhere other than intended, and the close on D16 is either harder than it should be or no longer available. Players who drop 105 regularly from a clean T20 are almost always losing the leg on dart two, not dart three.
Players who close 105 most reliably have solved the same problem: they have made the response to an imperfect dart automatic. When T20 lands slightly off, the right response is to read the new score immediately and throw the best available continuation without hesitation. That response is not instinctive — it is trained. Practising the recovery from the two most likely miss positions on T20 is the most direct way to reduce the number of legs dropped from a recoverable position on 105.
Practice
Practise the 105 checkout as a complete sequence — T20 → 13 → D16 — rather than drilling each dart in isolation. The rhythm between darts is as important as the accuracy of each individual throw. Players who practise T20 separately, then 13 separately, then D16 separately, and then combine them in a match often find the transition between darts is the problem, not the darts themselves. Run the full route in sets: three successful completions before stopping, or a conversion rate target like two clean legs in five attempts.
Recovery practice is not supplementary to 105 training — it is essential to it. The two most likely recovery positions from a miss on T20 are 100 (via 5) and 104 (via 1). Practising both of these scores alongside the full 105 route produces a player who can continue the visit without recalculation after an imperfect first dart. That continuation speed — the automatic response to a slight drift — is one of the most valuable and least-practised skills in club-level 501.
