Highest Averages PDC Players Championship 31 | Luke Littler among the very best despite costly first round exit

The 31st Players Championship of the season delivered some remarkable standard in Wigan on Tuesday, with Mario Vandenbogaerde topping the averages chart on a day that also saw Jermaine Wattimena lift the title.

Vandenbogaerde produced the standout display of the event, averaging 108.18 in his 6–3 opening-round win over Thomas Lovely — the highest figure recorded all day. The 52-year-old Belgian couldn’t build on that blistering start, however, as he fell 6–5 to Martin Schindler in the following round.

Niels Zonneveld wasn’t far behind, registering a superb 108.11 in his narrow 6–5 victory against Mickey Mansell. The Dutchman went on to reach the semi-finals, where he was whitewashed 7–0 by eventual champion Wattimena, but his efforts were enough to move him up to 42nd in the PDC Order of Merit.

Third on the list was Karel Sedláček, who averaged 107.46 in a dominant 6–1 win over Gabriel Clemens before bowing out 6–5 to James Hurrell.

Luke Littler narrowly missed out on a top-three spot, sitting fourth with a 106.45 average in his defeat to Ritchie Edhouse. Despite that impressive scoring, the 18-year-old suffered a 6–4 loss and remains outside the qualification places for the Players Championship Finals.

Rounding out the top performers were Stephen Bunting (104.89), Scott Taylor (104.76), Nathan Aspinall (104.46), and Edhouse himself (104.23). Josh Rock also impressed with a 103.82 average, while Poland’s Sebastian Szaganski (103.11) and Netherlands duo Wesley Plaisier (103.03) and Dirk van Duijvenbode (101.18) all posted ton-plus figures.

Champion Wattimena’s highest mark of the day came in at 101.34, underlining his consistency across the rounds as he went on to seal his second Players Championship title of the year with an 8–2 victory over Aspinall in the final.

The PDC ProTour action resumes this afternoon in Wigan with Players Championship 32 — one of the final three events offering players the chance to secure qualification for next month’s Players Championship Finals, which take place from 21–23 November at Butlin’s Minehead.