Keane Barry endured the lowest average of the day at Players Championship 20 in Milton Keynes, with 'Dynamite' rooted to the bottom of the averages list after a difficult opening round performance. Barry averaged just 71.83 in his first round defeat to Ricardo Pietreczko, on a day where several familiar names were caught out by the unforgiving nature of the Pro Tour floor.
In truth, Pietreczko himself did not need to find anything close to top gear, with the German who has been battling his own well documented struggles, averaging 80.50 in a 6-2 victory. The list of lowest averages at PC20 featured several recognisable players, underlining how quickly a ProTour campaign can unravel when scoring disappears early.
Thibault Tricole recorded the second-lowest average of the day with 75.02 during his 6-3 defeat to Jack Tweddell, while Tavis Dudeney was next on 77.22 after losing 6-1 to Marvin van Velzen. Ryan Joyce, who reached a European Tour final as recently as last weekend in Kiel, also endured a difficult outing, averaging 77.57 in a 6-0 whitewash defeat at the hands of Owen Bates. Niall Culleton followed on 77.63 after his 6-2 loss to Karel Sedlacek, while Mickey Mansell averaged 78.31 despite beating Leon Weber 6-4.
Ricky Evans also appeared on the list with a 79.44 average in his defeat to Andy Boulton, while Weber completed the sub-80 group with 79.94. The numbers offered a sharp contrast to the top end of the tournament, where Ross Smith went on to win the title with an 8-5 victory over William O'Connor in the final, averaging 107.01.
PC20 was another reminder of the extremes of the Players Championship circuit. One match can produce a title-winning surge, another can end a player’s day before any rhythm has been found. For Barry and several others, Milton Keynes proved especially punishing.
