BOLTON darts star Lisa Ashton impressively knocked off a former world champion on her way to the last 16 of the fifth Players Championship event of the season in Milton Keynes.

The four-time women’s world champion was too good for Adrian Lewis, who won at the Alexandra Palace in 2011 and 2012, in round three at the Marshall Arena.

Ashton prevailed 6-3, her victory including a sensational 125 finish of bull-25-bull in the eighth leg that took her one away from a fine triumph.

Having equalled her best performance in a Players Championship event, the 50-year-old would then lose 6-0 to Michael Smith who lost to Brendan Dolan in the final.

The Northern Irishman took the spoils with an 8-6 win, picking up his eighth PDC title.

Ashton had kicked off Tuesday with a 6-2 win against world number 11 Nathan Aspinall, a former UK Open winner and World Championship semi-finalist.

She would then get the better of Aaron Beeney by the same scoreline having seen off the 37-year-old in identical circumstances at the UK Open earlier in the month, setting a women’s scoring record in the process.

That set up the meeting with Lewis and ‘Jackpot’ may not be at the peak of his powers, but the win for Ashton was a supremely impressive one as she looks to make a real mark on her second year on the PDC Pro Tour having become the first woman to win a tour card at Q School.

Having lost out in the first round of the opening four events on home soil in Bolton, the outing in Milton Keynes represented the start of the second ‘Super Series’ of the season.

Three more events will take place at the Marshall Arena this week.