Turner on boost to ladies darts at WDF World Championship: "It's great to have some positive news especially with the women's game being in such limbo"
Laura Turner became the first WDF European champion in 456 days when the action resumed in Gibraltar last weekend alongside the MAD and JDC Virtual events which took place.
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Turner, a former BDO World Championship quarter-finalist and known on both sides of the former darting divide for her commentary on Sky Sports Darts claimed the ladies title but was disappointed at the turnout with only eight players involved.
"I had a few reasonable games. The JDC Virtual event was a round robin to start off with, I won two of my games so I was quite pleased under the nerves, first game back and I had Dyson and on the streaming board as well," said Turner on the Inside the WDF podcast.
"But you get thrown in the deep end and see how you deal with it and I got through that bit, kind of slipped up in the Last 32 but quite glad to get a few wins and a few doubles under your belt.
"There was eight which was unbelievably disappointing. In the scheme of things, it was a last minute thing for the Gibraltar to tag it onto the MAD event, a lot of the people that qualified for the virtual they were guys. It was only me and one other woman actually playing in the adults version. It's disappointing but in the same thing, you've got to still beat the people in front of you.
"I'm still quite pleased to have just even a small field just to have got through a few games so hopefully as we get further along with the Covid crisis and things start levelling out, obviously there will be more and more people at future events."
'Big boost' to ladies darts announced - reaction from Turner
The WDF World Championship was announced recently which of course Turner will be vying to play in even more so now with a 'big boost' to the prize fund for ladies darts mooted by Chief Development Officer, Richard Ashdown on the same podcast recently.
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While still sceptical on the fine details, Turner is glad to see some positive aspects of the ladies game after the demise of the BDO saw it go into limbo.
"It's great to have some positive news especially with the women's game being in such limbo. It'll be good going forward to see the qualification criteria but at the moment just to have a date and a target and a rough idea of what we have to do before, it'll be good. Having more women and more exposure is fantastic but it's how they fit that into that week period, it's really interesting."
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
OUT NOW | Episode 54!
Guests 🗣️:
@LauraTurner180
Gavin Smith
🌍 First European ranking event in 456 days
😢 Low turnout for the Ladies' competition
🤝 Father and son playing at the World Masters
🔗: insidethewdf.podbean.com/e/inside-the-w…