113 Checkout in Darts — T20 → 13 → D20
At 113, the leg is decided by the quality of the opening throw more than any other single factor. The route — T20 → 13 → D20 — is built to convert that first dart into a clear path to D20. Players who finish 113 reliably treat the opening triple as the highest-consequence dart in the visit, not the double — because the double becomes straightforward when the approach is controlled, and becomes genuinely hard when it is not.
Controlling the dart toward the 5 side on the opening throw from 113 is the miss management available here. A drift into 5 leaves 108 — a manageable recovery position. The 1 side leaves 112, which creates a significantly harder continuation. The difference between those two outcomes is not small, and it is within the player's control to influence which one is more likely by building a slight directional preference into the throw preparation rather than aiming straight and hoping the miss falls the right way.
The sequence on 113 needs to be treated as three separate committed throws rather than as one connected action. Each dart in T20 → 13 → D20 should receive its own approach and its own full commitment — T20 thrown to T20, 13 thrown to 13, and D20 thrown to D20. Players who think about the double during the setup darts are splitting their attention across the visit in a way that reliably degrades the quality of the throw that needs it most.
Slow the approach down, not the throw. Walking to the oche deliberately creates time to settle. The throw itself should be exactly as fast as it always is. The gap between practice performance and match performance on 113 is always a pressure gap. Closing it requires training the pressure response, not just the throw. Control on the first dart at 113 is more valuable than any other single factor. The rest of the visit stays structured when the opening dart lands clean. There is no special technique for throwing under pressure. The technique is the same. What changes is the willingness to trust it when the result matters. Tension changes the release point. A tighter grip means the dart leaves the hand later and lands lower. That is the miss that pressure creates, and it is preventable.
The strength of this route against match pressure is its lack of weak links. T20 scores aggressively, D20 closes reliably, and even imperfect darts in the middle still produce a workable position.
Route Comparison & Target Selection
Primary: T20 → 13 → D20
treble 20 (60), single 13, closing on double 20 — high-percentage close
Alternate: T19 → 16 → D20
treble 19 (57), single 16, closing on double 20 — high-percentage close
From 113, the primary (T20 → 13 → D20) and alternate (T19 → 16 → D20) offer two equally valid paths to the close. The miss geometry on T20 is asymmetric — the 5 side leaves 108 and the 1 side leaves 112, 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.
The key miss geometry: 5 leaves 108 (workable), 1 leaves 112 (harder). Bias toward 5.
Miss Geometry, Route Structure & When to Use the Alternate
Treble 20 is flanked by the weakest neighbour pair on the board — 5 to the left and 1 to the right. Those two segments are the lowest-value singles in darts, which means any drift off the treble from 113 costs real scoring value and can leave an awkward continuing position. A miss toward 5 produces 108 remaining; toward 1, 112. Neither is a catastrophe, but neither gives the same clean route that landing treble 20 provides. The geometry here is working against you on both sides, which is precisely why the switch to treble 19 becomes the correct structural call when grouping drifts consistently below the bed. The 19 is flanked by 3 on one side and 7 on the other — both score more than 1 or 5, and both more often preserve a clean three-dart route into a finish. The switch is not a concession when drift is present. It is the geometrically stronger decision. In terms of the dart count and sequence, the route from 113 runs three darts because no scoring dart from here leaves a direct two-dart finish available. T20 creates the initial scoring position, 13 moves into the exact finish window, and D20 ends the leg. Each dart has a specific job in the sequence, and the route collapses when any one of them is thrown to the eventual close rather than to its immediate role. Particularly on 13 — the bridging dart — there is a tendency in match conditions to rush toward the double before the position has been properly set. That tendency produces worse averages on three-dart finishes than on two-dart ones, despite the extra dart. The fix is committing fully to 13 before thinking about D20. On the alternate route decision, the alternate (T19 → 16 → D20) provides a different path to the close — through T19 to D20 rather than the primary's route through T20 to D20. Both routes close the leg and both arrive at comparable finishing doubles. The alternate is the contingency for visits when the primary structure is not producing clean results: a grouping issue on T20, a leave that favours a different approach, or a visit where a fresh sequence produces better rhythm than repeating the primary. The primary is the default; the alternate is the in-visit adjustment.
When and Why to Use This Route
This is the correct route regardless of the score in the match. T20 puts pressure on the opponent while D20 gives the best possible finish. A player who uses this route consistently from this score will close more legs than one who looks for alternatives based on match state.
This approach is effective because the two components reinforce each other rather than trading off against one another. T20 creates scoring momentum and leaves the finish within reach. D20 converts it without demanding perfect execution at the close. The player who uses this route aggressively and commits to both darts will close more legs from this score than any alternative route provides.
Why Players Miss This Finish
The most common pattern in a missed 113 checkout: T20 lands cleanly, 13 is rushed or slightly off, D20 is either unavailable or approached under recovered tension. The sequence breaks down in the middle, not at the close. Players who are aware of this pattern and deliberately slow their approach to 13 — giving it the same deliberate attention as the opening dart — close 113 significantly more often. The route is three committed throws, not a strong opener followed by two consequences.
The fix is specific: before stepping to the oche on 113, decide the full route, decide the preferred miss direction on T20, and commit to both before throwing the first dart. Players who make these decisions at the line rather than before it are making them while moving — which means they are made reactively rather than deliberately. A decision made before the approach is a decision that holds under pressure. A decision made mid-approach changes the throw.
Practice
Run T20 → 13 → D20 in sets of five attempts and track how many convert cleanly in two visits or fewer. That number is more informative than raw completion rate because it reflects whether the route is working or whether legs are being closed through recovery. A high raw completion rate with low two-visit conversion means the route is closing eventually but not efficiently — the visits are running long, which means first or second dart quality needs work. A low completion rate with decent two-visit conversion means the close is the problem. The metric reveals where to focus practice.
Include recovery reps in every 113 practice session. When T20 drifts into 5, the leave is 108 — practise that score until it feels routine, because it is the most likely leave after an imperfect first dart. When T20 drifts into 1, the leave is 112 — that one deserves practice too, because a leave that has never been practised becomes a source of hesitation in a match. Building familiarity with both miss outcomes means the visit continues automatically rather than stalling after a drift on the opener.
