The single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCN) yield as a function of the gas flow velocity for different catalyst contents in a furnace-based pulsed laser evaporation method is shown to depend sensitively on the size distribution and growth conditions of the condensed catalyst nanoparticles in the gas phase. In particular, accelerated particle coarsening should be avoided. Consequently, a high number density of small catalyst nanoparticles leads to a high nanotube yield within the timescale of a few hundred milliseconds. Hence, the attainment of enhanced particle growth control will enable a high yield evaporation-based synthesis of high-quality SWCNT.