PDC to expand commitment to women's darts in 2023

Lisa Ashton & Fallon Sherrock (Lawrence Lustig, PDC)

The PDC can confirm that the Betfred Women's World Matchplay will be held in 2023, while the PDC Women's Series will also expand to 24 events next year.

Women's darts has enjoyed a boost in recent years, with the inclusion of qualifiers in the PDC's World Championship and Grand Slam of Darts accompanied by the creation of the PDC Women's Series.

The eight-player Women's World Matchplay has been introduced in 2022, with the likes of Lisa Ashton, Fallon Sherrock and Lorraine Winstanley set to face off on Sunday July 24 in Blackpool.

The PDC's commitment to women's darts will increase further in 2023, with £145,000 in prize money to be on offer in total.

The Women's World Matchplay will again be held alongside the Betfred World Matchplay in Blackpool in July, with qualification to be from a 12-month Order of Merit commencing from the Women's Series events in August 2022.

The 12-month Order of Merit will include eight events across the remaining two Women's Series weekends of 2022 as well as an expected 12 events in the first half of 2023.

The Women's Series itself is set to expand to 24 events across six weekends next year, with each tournament worth £5,000 in prize money.

"We've been hugely encouraged by the increased interest in the PDC Women's Series this year, with entries up by 50 percent to 100 on average, and there's a lot of excitement ahead of the Betfred Women's World Matchplay on Sunday," said PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter.

"The Women's World Matchplay will feature a great mix of experienced players and emerging faces, and it's going to be fascinating to see them on stage at the Winter Gardens challenging for that title.

"With players also competing in the Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts and Cazoo World Championship, the opportunities for women within the PDC have never been greater and it's a boost that we can continue to grow this aspect of the sport in 2023."

The PDC Women's Series will continue with Events 13-16 in Hildesheim, Germany on August 27-28 ahead of the year's final weekend in Wigan on October 29-30, which will feature Events 17-20.

Dates for the 2023 PDC Women's Series will be confirmed in due course.

Entries for the remaining PDC Women's Series events in 2022 are available now.

Entry, costing £25 per event, is still available through the PDC Entry System. Entries close at 1400 UK time on the Wednesday before each event.

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 from one board throughout each event.