Stephen Bunting’s 109 average leads the Players Championship 21 standings from Ross Smith, Greaves and Dobey the standout performers

The best averages from Players Championship 21 came in the same round. The list is topped by a certain Stephen Bunting who averaged a whopping 109.48 in his third round match.

‘The Bullet’ averaged 101 in three of his games, but none of them make it into the top 15, showcasing the quality on display. While his level would decrease later in the day resulting in a lacklustre quarter-final exit, his extraordinary showing gave Shane McGuirk no chance in a brutal 6-1 defeat.

In that same round, Ross Smith mustered up the second best display of the day. The Players Championship 20 champion was a common theme in that list but only appears once after a cracking 107.88 average was produced.

In the end, it was needed. Michael Smith was his opponent, and he averaged 105.32 in that same game, bringing back flashbacks of the vintage ‘Bully Boy.’ He would lose the Smith derby amid the sensational display which put him fifth on the list.

Not a name that has been familiar in these lists, Kai Gotthardt was a player in form in Wigan. The pick of the crop was his 107.09 in the first round. While he only appears once, a third of this list is split between Chris Dobey and Beau Greaves.

Throughout the day Dobey was the better player, getting averages in of 105.09, 105,04 and 103.69. In similar fashion to Smith, his highest average of the day was all in vain.

Throughout the day Greaves was finding her stride. She averaged below 90 in her first three games, but that was followed by a 102.23 average, bettered further in the quarter-final thriller against Dobey. Greaves put in the fourth highest average of the day in the form of a 105.90.

There were some positive signs from the Aussie duo of Damon Heta and Adam Leek. The pair were a massive disappointment in Frankfurt at the World Cup of Darts, losing their two group stage matches and exiting the tournament with a whimper. However, some of their performances were a huge improvement. Heta averaged 104.98 in the first round, while Leek put in a 102.05 in a second round triumph to just squeeze in the top 15.

Some other notable displays came in the first round. Luke Woodhouse began proceedings with a 103.09 average. He won his match, but Connor Scutt fell short against Dobey despite averaging 102.53. Callan Rydz’s best performance of the day also ended in a defeat. 102.59 was slightly higher than the 102.33 Dirk van Duijvenbode produced in the last-64.