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Bolton’s Lisa Ashton seals success at the PDC Women’s Series in Wigan

Mikuru Suzuki, Lisa Ashton, Fallon Sherrock and Beau Greaves all managed to secure titles in the double header weekend of women’s darts at the Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan.

The Women’s Series — tournaments open exclusively to women and played without spectators — offer the players the opportunity to earn ranking money, which in turn can mean qualification for TV major championships.

There have been 24 of these tournaments scheduled for 2023, with 16 of them having already been played. Over the weekend, Events 17-20 were contested.

Suzuki started the weekend brightly by clinching victory against Bolton’s Lisa Ashton, five legs to one, in the final of Event 17 early on Saturday afternoon.

The Japanese star dropped just one leg in each of her quarter-final, semi-final and final games, which included an 100.65 average to defeat Maria O’Brien in the last four.

Her triumph solidifies her position in second place in the Women’s Order of Merit, with the top two qualifying for the World Championships at the Alexandra Palace this Christmas time.

Despite her defeat to Suzuki, Ashton made amends in Event 18, convincingly overcoming the number one women’s player in the world Beau Greaves in the quarter finals, before recovering from 4-1 down to stun Fallon Sherrock in a hard-fought 5-4 comeback victory in the semi-finals.

The Lancashire Rose made it her first women’s series victory for 15 months, whitewashing Russia’s Anastasia Dobromyslova in the final of the second tournament of Saturday’s double-header.

After failing to win an event in back-to-back women’s series tournaments for just the second time in 2023, Beau Greaves quickly resumed normal proceedings with a victory in Event 19 on Sunday.

Beau ‘n’ Arrow won five legs without reply against Natalie Gilbert in the last eight, before beating Dutch player Noa Lynn van Leuven in the semi-finals.

It was the second loss in a final in as many days for Dobromyslova, as the nineteen-year-old Greaves defeated her 5-2 to claim Event 19. It is her twelfth Women’s Series victory this year.

Fallon Sherrock then earned a crucial win in the final event of the weekend to keep hot the tail of Suzuki in the race for qualification for the World Championships.

The 29-year-old lost just one leg in her games leading to the quarter finals. She beat Finland’s Kirsi Viinikainen and then Rhian O’Sullivan to tee up a final against Greaves.

Despite an inferior average, Sherrock managed to win the nine-leg battle 5-4, with all nine legs going with throw.

The Yorkshire-born Greaves has already secured her place at the Worlds in a secure position at top of the Order of Merit, but Sherrock’s win keeps the race alive for second place, which would entail qualification.

However, the Queen of the Palace still has work to do. She will have to make up a deficit of £2,200 to overtake Suzuki in the rankings and secure a first-round tie at the Ally Pally.

The current prize money for the women’s events is £2,000 for winning, £1000 for runner up and £500 for semi-finalists and there are only four remaining Women’s Series Events this year.

These four tournaments will take place in a similar style double header weekend on the 14 and 15 October in Wigan.

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