Bolton darts star Lisa Ashton has been given a very challenging draw for this weekend's Grand Slam of Darts.

The event, which begins this Saturday, is being held at the Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton, with José de Sousa looking to defend his title.

Lisa Ashton, 51, will be up against three-time Grand Slam champion Michael Van Gerwen, and will be hoping to gain her first victory on TV against a male opponent.

The 'Lancashire Rose' has lost her last six appearances at the Grand Slam of Darts but has some big wins under her belt this year.

She triumphed with a 6-2 win against world number 11 Nathan Aspinall, a former UK Open winner and World Championship semi-finalist on her way to the last 16 of the fifth Players Championship event of the season in Milton Keynes back in March.

Ashton then impressively knocked off a former world champion Adrian Lewis 6-3 before losing to Michael Smith in the next round.

The four-time women’s world champion joins Fallon Sherrock in the order of play on Saturday, who is coming up against former world champion Peter Wright.

This tournament puts 32 players into eight groups of four with Ashton also set to face Joe Cullen and Scotsman John Henderson at this stage.

As well as qualifying for this event, Ashton will has also qualified for the William Hill World Darts Championships held over the new year.