BOLTON-based world champion Lisa Ashton will kick off her campaign for the BDO World Darts Trophy with a first-round match against Swedish qualifier Maud Jansson.
The "Lancashire Rose" will be cheered on by a loyal local support at the tournament, which will be played at EventCity next to the Trafford Centre.
She is in fine form after defending her BDO world crown at Lakeside earlier this month, where Ashton registered the highest ever finish –156 – seen in the ladies game.
The tournament will begin on Thursday, February 26, with Ashton playing her first match the following day.
Bolton’s finest is third seed in the women’s competition, behind top seed Anastasia Dobromyslova and Deta Hedman, but she has beaten them both on her way to the world title over the past two seasons so will go into the competition in confident mood.
It is only the second year the BDO has staged the competition, with the inaugural event held last year in Blackpool.
It will feature 48 of the best darts players in the BDO, fighting it out over four days of competition.
For tickets, priced from £16 for a standard single day pass to £89 for a premier single four-day pass, are available by visiting www.ticketline.co.uk or www.bdoevents.co.uk or calling 0844 888 9991.
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