Things are about to get very interesting in the Women’s Series. All of a sudden it won’t be all about the top two names and the top two places
Those who doubt the PDC’s commitment to the Women’s game should spend a little time looking back through the history of how it developed both its main program but also its exhibition/promotion circuits and its progression tours.
What they all have in common is maximum use of the idea’s strongest features, tie-ups with trusted commercial partners, and a full-on media and promotion support campaign. All these elements are here once more.
There are qualification places for the Betfred Women’s World Matchplay on the line at the third PDC Women’s Series weekend of the year, which will take place from June 25-26 in Barnsley.
The Women’s World Matchplay will see the PDC stage its first televised women’s tournament, with eight players competing in a knockout tournament on the afternoon of Sunday July 24 at the iconic Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
With just four Women’s Series events remaining before the cut-off, it promises to be a decisive weekend at the Barnsley Metrodome, as a host of big names eye a spot in the new £25,000 tournament.
The top eight players on the PDC Women’s Series Order of Merit following next weekend’s action will seal their place in next month’s showpiece, which offers the winner a spot in the 2022 Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts.
Lisa Ashton leads the way after winning five of the first eight events, and the former Tour Cardholder will be back in action as she bids to extend her lead in the Order of Merit.
Fallon Sherrock is also poised to make her Blackpool bow following a brace of titles in 2022, though she could miss Saturday’s double-header if she progresses to the Dutch Darts Masters quarter-finals in Amsterdam.
Ten-time Lakeside champion Trina Gulliver (pictured) picked up her first PDC Women’s Series title in Event Five, and she’s among the eight provisional qualifiers ahead of Events 9-12.
Lorraine Winstanley, Laura Turner, Rhian Griffiths, Jane Densley, and Aileen de Graaf make up the current top eight, with former Lakeside World Champion Mikuru Suzuki still in contention.
Putting it simply, you could through a blanket over another group of players, including Roz Bulmer. Marie O’Brien, Prescilla Steenbergen and Natalie Gilbert, who, if they could find an event win, would be able to snatch a place in Blackpool.
Will new WDF Champion Beau Greaves return to the PDC events and attempt to qualify? Or will another lesser-known name storm through the field?
The joy of this weekend will be that, like most others within the PDC system, anything will be possible and a much wider group of players will be ‘in it to win it’.
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Fancy testing your skills in the PDC Women’s series? Look below for details:
Entry, costing £25 per event, is still available through the PDC Entry System. Entries close at 1400 BST on Wednesday June 22.
New players must register their details at this link. Following your registration, you will receive an email to confirm that you are available to enter tournaments, and at this stage you can login to make your entry to the relevant events. This verification may take up to 48 hours.
The PDC Women’s Series will be streamed through PDCTV with coverage throughout each event on June 25 & June 26.
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Images: PDC
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