Hayter clinch Women's Series titles in Wigan
Gemma Hayter and Robyn Byrne claimed their second PDC Women’s Series titles on a day of upsets at Wigan’s Robin Park Tennis Centre.
The year’s penultimate weekend of Women’s Series action drew to a close with another double-header on Sunday, with Hayter kicking off proceedings by doubling her title tally in 2024.
The 31-year-old claimed a host of big scalps to pocket the £2,000 top prize in Event 19, overcoming Sweden’s Vicky Pruim and Dutch star Aileen de Graaf before closing out a 4-2 win against Fallon Sherrock in the last 16.
Hayter continued her march towards glory with back-to-back whitewash wins against Sharona Veld and Lisa Ashton, before clinching the title with a 5-1 victory against Japan’s Mikuru Suzuki.
Ashton had completed a fine comeback from 3-1 down to defeat Noa-Lynn van Leuven in the last 16, while Lauryn Salter halted Beau Greaves’ 18-match winning run on the Women’s Series circuit with a shock 4-1 victory in the last 64.
Greaves opened Event 20 with a 99 average in her 4-1 thrashing of Roos van der Velde, although she suffered another early exit at the hands of Hayter, who made it eight wins without reply with a terrific 4-1 success.
However, Byrne emerged victorious in Sunday’s second event, defeating Lorraine Winstanley 5-2 to become only the seventh player – alongside Hayter – to win multiple PDC Women’s Series titles.
The 27-year-old won through gruelling encounters against Jan Robbins and Aurora Fochesato to kick off her campaign, before overturning a 3-1 deficit against Pruim in a compelling third round contest.
Byrne then followed up a 5-1 thrashing of Ashton in the quarter-finals with a first career victory against Sherrock in the last four, before proving too strong for Winstanley in the Event 20 showpiece.
Byrne’s first title of 2024 catapults her up to eighth on the Women’s Series Order of Merit, with Greaves still boasting a £8,200 lead over her closest challenger Van Leuven.
Greaves has already confirmed her qualification for the 2024/25 World Darts Championship, therefore the next two top-ranked players from the final PDC Women’s Series Order of Merit will feature at Alexandra Palace in December.
Van Leuven is also poised to join Greaves in November’s Grand Slam of Darts, after establishing a £2,200 cushion over third-placed Sherrock ahead of the year’s remaining four events.
The sixth and final weekend of 2024 PDC Women’s Series action will take place next month, as Leicester’s Mattioli Arena plays host to Events 21-24 on October 19-20.
Coverage throughout the weekend will be broadcast live on PDCTV, with play getting underway from approximately 1000 BST in the East Midlands.
See full event draws and results in the Match Centre.
Click here for match stats & results through DartConnect.
2024 PDC Women's Series
Sunday September 8
Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan
Event 19
Quarter-Finals
Robyn Byrne 5-0 Denise Cassidy
Mikuru Suzuki 5-4 Angela Kirkwood
Lisa Ashton 5-3 Steph Clarke
Gemma Hayter 5-0 Sharona Veld
Semi-Finals
Mikuru Suzuki 5-3 Robyn Byrne
Gemma Hayter 5-0 Lisa Ashton
Final
Gemma Hayter 5-1 Mikuru Suzuki
Event 20
Quarter-Finals
Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-4 Aileen de Graaf
Lorraine Winstanley 5-3 Rhian O'Sullivan
Fallon Sherrock 5-3 Trina Gulliver
Robyn Byrne 5-1 Lisa Ashton
Semi-Finals
Lorraine Winstanley 5-2 Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Robyn Byrne 5-2 Fallon Sherrock
Final
Robyn Byrne 5-2 Lorraine Winstanley
