The 2023 PDC Women’s Series gets underway this weekend, with a record 141 players set to compete in the opening four events of the year at Leicester’s Morningside Arena.
The expansion of the PDC Women’s Series in 2023 will see 24 events held across six weekends, including a total prize fund of £240,000 - doubling the prize money per event to £10,000.
The women’s game made further progress in 2022, with the inaugural staging of the eight-player Betfred Women’s World Matchplay taking place in Blackpool last July.
Fallon Sherrock’s victory at the Winter Gardens saw her feature in last year’s Cazoo World Championship alongside Lisa Ashton and Beau Greaves, as three women competed in the sport’s flagship event for the first time.
The trio will headline this weekend’s action at the Morningside Arena, as Events 1-4 take place from February 25-26, with £40,000 in prize money up for grabs.
Four-time Women’s World Champion Ashton claimed seven Women’s Series titles in 2022, which saw her top the Order of Merit for a second time in three years.
The 52-year-old has won a record 14 Women’s Series titles since the tour’s inception in 2020, and she made her fourth Alexandra Palace appearance in December – more than any other female player.
Elsewhere, teenage sensation Greaves is bidding to maintain her astonishing winning run on the Women’s Series, after scooping eight consecutive titles to round off the 2022 season.
The 18-year-old chose not to compete in the first 12 events last year, although she comes into this weekend looking to extend her unprecedented winning streak, which currently stands at 52 games.
Having narrowly missed out on a PDC Tour Card at UK Q School last month, Women’s World Matchplay champion Sherrock will also be aiming to continue her bright start to 2023 in Leicester.
Sherrock celebrated a hat-trick of Women’s Series titles in 2022, while also overcoming Katie Sheldon, Lorraine Winstanley and Aileen de Graaf to prevail in last summer’s Blackpool showpiece.
Winstanley was one of two other players to secure a maiden Women’s Series title in 2022, with ten-time Women’s World Champion Trina Gulliver also enjoying success.
The experienced duo will feature in Events 1-4 alongside former Cazoo World Championship qualifier Deta Hedman and Japanese trailblazer Mikuru Suzuki – a five-time finalist on the Women’s Series circuit last year.
Three-time Women’s World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova will be amongst the high-profile names in attendance, alongside Dutch star De Graaf and Australia’s Corrine Hammond.
Meanwhile, Laura Turner, Rhian Griffiths, Chloe O’Brien and Sheldon – all of whom competed in the inaugural Women’s World Matchplay last July – are also amongst the 141 entrants.
Events 1-2 will take place on Saturday February 25, before Events 3-4 round off the weekend’s action on Sunday February 26, with live coverage available on PDCTV.
The top two players from the final PDC Women's Series Order of Merit will qualify to compete in the 2023/24 World Darts Championship, alongside the winner of the 2023 Betfred Women's World Matchplay.
The top eight players on the rolling Women's Series Order of Merit after Event 12 will qualify for the 2023 Betfred Women's World Matchplay, which takes place on Sunday July 23 at the Winter Gardens.