Young guns sparkle with highest averages of Players Championship 13

While Damon Heta took the title in Rosmalen with an 8-6 win over Nathan Aspinall, the real intrigue at Players Championship 13 lay beneath the surface — in the numbers.

The standout statistic of the day belonged to a Dutchman. Wessel Nijman delivered a whitewash 6-0 victory over Robert Owen in the opening round, racking up a stunning average of 111.33 — the highest of the entire tournament. As if that wasn’t enough, Nijman also hit a perfect leg with a nine-darter in the same match. His run eventually ended in the quarter-finals with a 6-4 defeat to Andrew Gilding, but the impression he left was undeniable.

Chasing Nijman in the averages leaderboard was Josh Rock. The 24-year-old Northern Irishman posted a 109.51 average in his 6-4 win over Connor Scutt in the last 64. Rock’s campaign ended in the last 16 following a narrow 6-5 loss to Karel Sedlacek — but his scoring power was among the day’s very best.

Completing the top trio was Jermaine Wattimena. 'The Machine Gun' fired in a 107.73 average during a 6-3 win over Darius Labanauskas in the last 32. He fell in the next round to eventual champion Heta, but not before leaving his mark on the stats sheet.

With the Players Championship rolling straight into its 14th edition today in Rosmalen, the question lingers — who will be the next to produce something spectacular?