At Players Championship 17, darts professional Pero Ljubic experienced a truly unforgettable match, recording the lowest average of the year by a Tour Card holder: a mere 57.78. Facing an in-form Ryan Searle, Ljubic suffered a crushing 6-0 defeat, astonishingly without even a single attempt at a double, highlighting a significant struggle on the professional circuit and raising questions about his future.
An Unprecedented Struggle on the Oche
The world of professional darts thrives on precision, nerve, and high scores. Players’ averages, calculated by dividing the total points scored by the number of darts thrown, are a key metric of performance. A top professional typically averages 90-100+ points per three darts. However, for 48-year-old Croatian dart player Pero Ljubic, Players Championship 17 delivered a stark reminder of the immense challenges on the PDC Pro Tour.
The Match That Went Wrong
Ljubic, who has yet to secure a win on the PDC Pro Tour this year, was drawn against the formidable Ryan Searle in the first round. While Searle himself delivered an exceptional performance, averaging 107.36, the opening game quickly turned into a nightmare for Ljubic.
- Final Score: Ryan Searle 6 – 0 Pero Ljubic
- Pero Ljubic’s Average: 57.78
- Ryan Searle’s Average: 107.36
This 57.78 average stands as the lowest recorded by any Tour Card holder on the Pro Tour this year. While it didn’t quite break the all-time PDC record (48.80), it certainly marked a personal low for Ljubic, reflecting a worrying trend of inconsistent play.
The Shocking Detail: Zero Attempts at a Double
What makes Ljubic’s performance particularly striking is the complete absence of attempts at a ‘double’. In darts, to win a leg, a player must finish on a double segment of the board. Thanks to Searle’s relentless scoring, Ljubic was never even close enough to attempt a double. His lowest remaining score across all six legs was 107 in the fourth leg, meaning he consistently left himself too many points to clear in a single turn.
Let’s break down his final scores left in each leg:
- Leg 1: 369 remaining
- Leg 2: 170 remaining
- Leg 3: 237 remaining
- Leg 4: 107 remaining
- Leg 5: 310 remaining
- Leg 6: 253 remaining
Only three of his six legs saw an average above 60, with the other three falling below 50. This highlights a fundamental struggle to score consistently and effectively.
A Troubled Journey Since Earning His Tour Card
Ljubic acquired his PDC Tour Card through Q-school in early 2025, a significant achievement for any aspiring professional. However, his journey since then has been fraught with difficulties. Last year, it took him 16 attempts to secure his first win on the Pro Tour, preceded by 15 first-round exits.
His struggles even caught the attention of darts legend Michael van Gerwen, who famously dubbed him a ‘Pub Player’ after an unconvincing performance at the Poland Darts Masters in 2025. This unfortunate incident, combined with his recent record-low average, paints a clear picture of a player battling to find his footing at the elite level.
What Lies Ahead for Pero Ljubic?
This performance at Players Championship 17 will undoubtedly be one Pero Ljubic wishes to erase from memory. However, it has firmly etched his name into the statistics books as the player with the worst average by a Tour Card holder this year – a record that is highly unlikely to be broken. The critical question now is whether he can overcome these consistent poor performances and find the form needed to retain his Tour Card, or if his time on the PDC Pro Tour is nearing an end.
Source: Based on an article from Darts Planet TV.
