17 January 2020

'Queen of the Palace' Fallon Sherrock and four-time world champion Lisa Ashton miss out on securing PDC Tour card on day one of Q-School despite impressive displays

Women's darts stars Fallon Sherrock and Lisa Ashton fell short in their bids to secure PDC Tour cards on the first day of Q-School in Wigan.

Sherrock thrilled fans of the sport last month with her run to the third round of the PDC world championships, while Ashton narrowly missed out on a fifth BDO women's crown as she was beaten by Mikuru Suzuki in the final.

Yet despite Suzuki overcoming her English opponent in the BDO showdown, it was Ashton who excelled more in the curtain-raiser in Greater Manchester.

The four-time world champion reached the last 32 with some impressive darts, while Suzuki was dumped out by Terry Roach earlier on in the day, losing in a thrilling 5-4 contest.

Meanwhile, one of the newest and most popular faces of the sport, Sherrock, put together victories over Billy Gallie, Ray Campbell and Paul Nicholson, before eventually coming unstuck in the round of 64 to Daryl Pilgrim.

Jason Lowe, a builder from Cradley Heath, and Gary Blades, who competed in PDC events before taking an eight year hiatus, were the two players who picked up Tour cards on the opening day of the Q-School.

Three days remain of the tournament as Sherrock and Ashton look to improve on their positive opening performances as they continue to return to the oche in search of a priceless PDC Tour card.

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