The Women’s World Matchplay of Darts Lisa Ashton and Fallon Sherrock face off in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Women’s World Matchplay The Women’s World Matchplay is one of the most high-profile darts tournaments in the ladies’ game. First held in 2022, the Women’s World Matchplay is put on by the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) every July at the iconic Winter Gardens in Blackpool. The 2024 edition of the Women’s World Matchplay marks the third staging of the competition and will take place on Sunday July 21. Although still a relatively new addition to the darts calendar, the PDC Women’s World Matchplay has quickly become established as one of the premier tournaments in women’s darts. Setting The Stage The Women’s World Matchplay darts is held in Blackpool at the Empress Ballroom, which is part of the Winter Gardens complex. It is a historic venue in darts, having hosted the World Matchplay since its inception in 1994. With over 30 years of history, the World Matchplay is one of the PDC’s flagship events and will feature the likes of Luke Humphries, Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen this year. Find out more about the tournament with our ‘World Matchplay’ blog. Women’s World Matchplay Format Japan’s Mikuru Suzuki reached the final of the Women’s World Matchplay on her debut in 2023 The Women’s Darts World Matchplay format differs from the World Matchplay as it does not require the match to be won by two clear legs. The tournament is played from start to finish with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final all completed in one action-packed session. The tournament is likely to evolve in the future as the sport continues to grow and more female players emerge onto the scene. With the strength in depth of the women’s game improving each year, there is already calls for the competition to be expanded from eight to 16 players. Here is a breakdown of the Women’s World Matchplay’s current format:- Quarter-finals – first to 4 legs Semi-finals – first to 5 legs Final – first to 6 legs How To Qualify For The Tournament The Women’s World Matchplay is one of the hardest competitions to qualify for with the field limited to just eight players. The top eight players on a one-year Order of Merit based on earnings won in PDC Women’s Series events over a 12-month period qualify for the tournament. The lineup for the 2024 Women’s World Matchplay:- Beau Greaves Fallon Sherrock Lisa Ashton Mikuru Suzuki Noa-Lynn van Leuven Rhian O’Sullivan Anastasia Dobromyslova Katie Sheldon* * NB: Aileen de Graaf, who finished in eighth place on the final Order of Merit, ruled herself out of the tournament due to a prior commitment. Katie Sheldon, in ninth place, takes her spot. Prize Money The Women’s World Matchplay is one of the most lucrative tournaments to win in the ladies’ game, with a winner’s prize of £10,000 The prize money for the Women’s World Matchplay stands at a total of £25,000 – the same since its first staging in 2022. It is one of the biggest cash prizes in the women’s game, with the winner going home with £10,000. Below is the Betfred Women’s World Matchplay prize money breakdown for 2024:- Winner - £10,000Runner-up - £5,000Semi-finalists - £2,500Quarter-finalists - £1,250 A Brief History The Women’s World Matchplay was only launched in 2022 but has already seen some exciting moments in its brief history. The inaugural Women’s World Matchplay was held on July 24, 2022 and saw five nations represented with players from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Netherlands all qualifying. Lisa Ashton and Fallon Sherrock looked to be on course to meet in the final in Blackpool, as the top two seeds advanced through their opening round ties against Chloe O’Brien and Katie Sheldon. But in the first semi-final, Aileen de Graaf edged past Ashton 5-4 to book her place in the decider, where she played Sherrock after ‘The Queen of the Palace’ defeated Lorraine Winstanley in the other tie in the last four. De Graaf opened up a 3-2 lead in the final, before Sherrock hit back with four straight legs, and featured a 142 finish, to prevail 6-3 and be the first name on the trophy. The 2023 edition of the tournament saw the debuts of former Women’s World Champions Beau Greaves and Mikuru Suzuki, and the duo would meet in the final. Greaves defeated Suzuki 6-1 in the decider to become the tournament’s second ever winner. Both previous champions, Sherrock and Greaves, have qualified for the 2024 Women’s World Matchplay and will aim aim to write more history. Will we see the first multi-time winner, or a new name added to the roll of honor? Meet The Women’s World Matchplay Qualifiers The qualifiers for the 2024 Women’s World Matchplay have now been confirmed and it is one of the strongest lineups yet, with four former world champions in the field. Ahead of the tournament taking place in Blackpool on July 21, get the lowdown on all eight players competing at the Winter Gardens… Beau Greaves Widely regarded as the best female darts player on the planet, Beau Greaves returns to the Winter Gardens this summer as the defending Women’s World Matchplay champion and the number one seed. Born in Doncaster, ‘Beau ‘n’ Arrow’ started playing in tournaments from an early age and cleaned up on the girls’ circuit before making the jump to the women’s events in 2019 at the age of just 15. Greaves became the youngest women’s world champion in history, winning the WDF Women’s World Championship in 2022 at 18. She made her return to the PDC Women’s Series later that year and went on an incredible 70-match winning run to secure a debut at the PDC World Darts Championship. The England international continued to dominate the women’s game in 2023, picking up the Women’s World Matchplay on her debut and retaining the Women’s World Championship at the Lakeside. Greaves topped the Order of Merit to qualify for the 2024 Women’s World Matchplay with £25,100 in prize money, which included eight title wins over the 24 Women’s Series events. Fallon Sherrock One of the most instantly recognizable players in the world of darts, Fallon Sherrock wrote her name into the history books when she became the first woman to beat a man in the PDC World Darts Championship. In the 2020 tournament, historic wins against Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljovic earned Sherrock the nickname of ‘The Queen of the Palace’. The Milton Keynes-based player broke more ground in 2021, reaching the final of the Nordic Darts Masters and the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts – both firsts for a female player. In 2022, Sherrock made more history when she won the inaugural Women’s World Matchplay, beating Aileen de Graaf in the final to be the first name on the trophy. Sherrock’s title defense in Blackpool last year ended in a 4-3 defeat to Lisa Ashton in the quarter-finals, but she returned to form at the back end of 2023 and won four Women’s Series titles on the spin. Another two tournament victories in early 2024 helped her qualify for this year’s Women’s World Matchplay as the number two seed. Lisa Ashton Lisa Ashton has cemented her place as one of the all-time greats in the ladies’ game, having won four Women’s World Championship titles in the BDO. ‘The Lancashire Rose’ has racked up more than 100 tournament wins in her career, but one of her biggest triumphs came when there were tour cards rather than titles at stake. In 2020, the Bolton-based player made history as the first woman to win a PDC tour card at Q-School, which earned her two years of playing on the professional circuit. Ashton dominated the early years of the PDC Women’s Series, finishing first, second and first on the Order of Merit in 2020, 2021 and 2022 to earn a trio of appearances at the PDC World Darts Championship. Ashton’s bid for Women’s World Matchplay glory, one of the few titles she has not won in the ladies’ game, has fallen short at the semi-final hurdle in each of the last two years. She returns to Blackpool this summer as the third seed and in good form after picking up back-to-back Women’s Series titles last month. Mikuru Suzuki Mikuru Suzuki will be aiming to go one better at the Women’s World Matchplay this year after reaching the final on her debut in 2023. ‘Miracle’ made an instant impression on the Winter Gardens stage 12 months ago, averaging 92.16 in a quarter-final win against Aileen de Graaf – the highest match average so far in the tournament’s history. The Japanese star then saw off home favorite Lisa Ashton 5-3 in the semi-finals, before losing 6-1 to the top seed Beau Greaves in the final. Suzuki was back winning titles not long after her Blackpool bow, claiming another Women’s Series crown in September last year. The two-time Women’s World Champion added two more Women’s Series titles to her collection in the early months of 2024, helping her to qualify for a second appearance at the Women’s World Matchplay as the number four seed. She is well known for her ‘Baby Shark’ walk on, which she hopes will be played at least three times again inside the Winter Gardens this summer. Noa-Lynn van Leuven Noa-Lynn van Leuven has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the world of darts after winning titles on the Challenge Tour and Women’s Series so far in 2024. The Dutch thrower had a debut to remember on the Challenge Tour in March this year, going all the way to win Event 6 and averaging 100.97 in her victory over Tytus Kanik in the final. Van Leuven followed her maiden PDC title success with a pair of victories on the Women’s Series, which saw her qualify for a second Women’s World Matchplay as the number five seed. In 2023, van Leuven made her debut in Blackpool as the first trans woman to play in a televised PDC competition. Her debut at the Winter Gardens ended in a 4-0 defeat to the tournament favorite Beau Greaves. Van Leuven has since got the better of Greaves on the Women’s Series, including a victory over the youngster in the final of Event 5 in April this year, where she averaged 90.65 to outline her credentials. Rhian O’Sullivan Rhian O’Sullivan is one of the top contenders in the women’s game and returns to Blackpool this summer with plenty of confidence. The Wales captain came out on top in the recent Ladies Week at the MODUS Super Series, defeating Fallon Sherrock in the final to earn a spot in the regular series later this year. O’Sullivan first made a name for herself with back-to-back BDO Women’s World Championship finals in 2010 and 2011, losing out on both occasions to the legendary Trina Gulliver. After taking a break from the women’s circuit, she made her return and was soon lifting silverware in PDC and WDF events. The Welsh ace picked up her maiden Women’s Series title in 2023, which helped her to qualify for the Women’s World Matchplay last year. O’Sullivan was edged out 4-3 by Robyn Byrne in the quarter-finals, in one of the games of the tournament. A run to another Women’s Series final last month saw O’Sullivan book her spot in Blackpool again this year as the number six seed. Anastasia Dobromyslova The only debutant in the 2024 Women’s World Matchplay, but a name that many darts fans will recognize. Anastasia Dobromyslova has blazed a trail in ladies darts, winning three BDO Women’s World Championship titles and countless other events during her career. Born in Russia, and nicknamed ‘From Russia With Love’, Dobromyslova became only the second women’s world champion in history when she ended Trina Gulliver’s unbeaten run at Lakeside in 2008. A year later she made more history when she beat Vincent van der Voort in the Grand Slam of Darts – the second time ever that a woman had beaten a man in a PDC televised major competition. Dobromyslova then returned to Lakeside and claimed two more world titles in 2012 and 2013, before completing the set of BDO majors with victories at the World Masters and World Trophy. Back-to-back finals on the Women’s Series in September played a part in securing a debut at the Women’s World Matchplay this summer, entering as the seventh seed and starting the tournament with a mouth-watering quarter-final clash with Fallon Sherrock. Katie Sheldon The youngest player in the Women’s World Matchplay field at 20 years of age, Ireland’s Katie Sheldon is already making a name for herself in the ladies’ game. A winner of the World Youth Masters in 2018, Sheldon has since progressed into the senior ranks and impressed with several eye-catching performances. In 2022, Sheldon reached her first final on the Women’s Series and qualified for the inaugural staging of the Women’s World Matchplay as the number seven seed. The youngster pushed Fallon Sherrock close in their quarter-final encounter at Blackpool, losing 4-2 to the eventual title winner. A second appearance in a Women’s Series final followed in February 2024, which helped the Irishwoman to clinch a return to the Winter Gardens this year. Sheldon finished ninth on the final Order of Merit, but received an invite to Blackpool after Aileen de Graaf, in eighth spot, turned down her place in the field due to having a prior commitment on the weekend that the tournament will take place. Warming up for the Women’s World Matchplay of Darts 2024! The third staging of the Women’s World Matchplay is just around the corner as eight of the top female players get ready to battle it out for the trophy. The 2024 Women’s World Matchplay takes place on July 21 at the Winter Gardens, in Blackpool, and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland. Get in touch with us and let us know who you think will win this year’s Women’s World Matchplay. Tweet us your predicted winner on X (Twitter) or leave a comment on our Facebook page. You can keep up to date with the Women’s World Matchplay darts results in the ‘Darts News’ section of our blog. Read our ‘Female Darts Players: Redefining The World Of Darts’ blog for a closer look at some of the most famous professional women’s players competing right now. Pictures: PDC Alex Moss is a content creator for Darts Corner and the co-host of the Weekly Dartscast podcast. Alex co-founded the Weekly Dartscast in 2017 and has helped produce 350+ episodes of the podcast, with their list of previous guests on the show a who’s who in the world of darts. Alex also writes content for the Darts Corner blog, including the weekly darts news round-ups and how-to guides.
