Lorraine Winstanley on "majorly exciting" PDC World Championship expansion

Lorraine Winstanley is among the many players with newly increased chances of reaching the PDC World Championship.

The PDC's historic expansion added 24 spots to the World Championship, the biggest increase since the event's foundation. 22 of those new spots will benefit members of the ProTour and Development Tour, as well as regional qualifiers. Two positions will be filled by female players, the first occasion in which women have been guaranteed an Ally Pally berth.
One player will enter from the UK qualifiers, played in Milton Keynes in November. The second, a Rest of the World representative, will emerge from a qualifying event in Dusseldorf. BDO number one Winstanley will be in Milton Keynes.
"It's exciting, isn't it? Majorly exciting," she told Sky Sports.
"It's a brilliant step forward for ladies' darts."

Tough competition

As the current world number one, the Buxton native will be the favourite to claim the UK spot. Close friend Anatasia Dobromyslova, who has appeared in the PDC World Championship before, is hotly tipped to take the Rest of the World spot. But with the depth in quality growing on a yearly basis, women's darts is no open book. Winstanley even concedes that a complete unknown could usurp the big names. "Yes, that could happen. You can only play the person that you're told to play," said the 2017 World Masters champion. "There is an awful lot of talent out there, who don't do the tours or even play county darts. There's talent that we don't get to see much of, because if they don't travel, then we don't come across each other. There will be dangerous players that we've never heard of. "I need to be on the ball, on top of my game, and hope for the best."

Photo: David Gill/DG Media

Priceless experience

Winstanley, whose husband Dean famously threw an Ally Pally nine-darter, is ready to create her own memories in London. The prospect of playing the likes of Michael van Gerwen or Rob Cross is titillating, but the overall experience is the real draw.
"It's an experience that money can't buy. It's so exciting and would be brilliant to get up there. But if we do, it doesn't matter who we face. It's just about getting there," she said.
"I didn't think anything like this would happen.
"The standard of the game has risen so much over the past few years, this is a reward.
"The environment will be so different to what we're used to in the BDO. The PDC is rowdy all the time, and the crowds are much bigger. More razzmatazz, a bigger show. It will be quite scary, but an opportunity that you wouldn't say no to."

No interference

At the time of her interview, Winstanley hadn't had word of the BDO's view on female players competing for a spot. Since then, the PDC's rival organisation has to take part in qualifiers without a Lakeside spot being put at risk. The lack of information didn't faze Winstanley - even the PDC's announcement was an unexpected surprise. "I saw somebody post something on Facebook, then went onto the PDC website to see it was real. You can't believe everything you read on Facebook! There was no inside-information, it came out of the blue. "Realistically it would make good business sense for the BDO to back it, and use it to promote their World Championship - that's how I feel, anyway."

No difference

The 2012 Lakeside semi-finalist dismissed the idea of a chasm in ability between men and women, and suggested that the different genders have their own advantages.
"Men don't like playing women. And they certainly don't like playing women who can really play," Winstanley pointed out.
"I think the difference is mentally. I think men can switch off more than women.
"The pressure is on them. We stand at the same distance, we throw whatever weight of dart you choose. We all have three darts to throw at a round thing on the wall. Physically, there is no difference."
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