Dubbed a 'pub player' by Michael van Gerwen Pero Ljubic throws lowest average by a Tour Card holder this year at Players Championship 17
PDCMonday, 18 May 2026 at 17:48
Pero Ljubic, the Croatian Tour Card holder, did not leave a very strong impression on Monday during Players Championship 17. In his opening match against Ryan Searle, Ljubic failed to even average 60 in one of the worst performances of the year and one that was punished.
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Against the Englishman, Ljubic managed an average of just 57.78 — the lowest average of all Tour Card holders in official matches in 2026. The Croatian did not get a single dart at a double in any leg.
Searle won the match convincingly 6-0 and himself produced an excellent average of 107.36, roughly forty points higher than Ljubic’s average. Ljubic came somewhat close to winning a leg in the fourth leg, when he left a score of 107 after six visits.
History of being called pub player by Van Gerwen
Last year, Ljubic was dismissed by Michael van Gerwen as a “pub player.” The two faced each other in the first round of the Poland Darts Masters.
“It wasn’t a good game at all. Pero needs to be happy that he won one leg. Pero is not a good player. Pero is a pub player — we all know that," he said last year “I’m not harsh, he is a lovely man but when you throw treble 12 for treble 20 then you need to go back to the dartboard.
“Did you ever see me do that? I can only blame myself, I didn’t play well. I’m the one to blame. But I made Pero look good today. Pero won a few legs and it feels like his birthday!
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🇭🇷 Pero Ljubic has just averaged 57.78 despite not having a single go at a double, the lowest he got down in a leg was 107. This is the lowest recorded average by a Tour Card Holder this year
— Tom Nankivell (@dartingupdates) May 18, 2026
His opponent 🏴 Ryan Searle averaged 107.36 and beat him 6-0... no mercy pic.twitter.com/9q9vlbgxaw
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