BOLTON star Lisa Ashton came up short in her bid to progress beyond the group stages of the Grand Slam of Darts.

Alongside Japan’s Mikuru Suzuki, the Lancashire Rose is flying the flag for women’s darts in an event that sees the stars of both the Professional Darts Corporation and British Darts Organisation come together in Wolverhampton.

Drawn in a tough Group E, Ashton went down 5-2 to 2018 World Champion Rob Cross on Saturday before losing 5-1 to Jamie Hughes on Sunday.

The 49-year-old is one of eight BDO representatives at the event with women represented in the cross-code tournament for the first time since 2010.

The four-time world champion plays her final game against Dave Chisnall on Monday night, the Morecambe ace qualifying for the next stage with a 5-3 win over Cross on Sunday.

That forces the world number two into a shoot-out with Hughes, also on Monday.

“I'm happy to get the win," said Cross after his victory over Ashton.

"It was probably the most nervous I've been; Lisa's a great player .

“The crowd got behind her and it was nice, but it was good just to win.”

Hughes then needed to land four 180s to secure his victory over Ashton, who is appearing on the PDC stage for the second time after qualifying for last year’s World Championships at the Alexandra Palace.

There the Bolton ace made a stunning start with a 107 average seeing her win the opening set against Jan Dekker, only to go down 3-1.

She then came up short in her bid for a fifth Lakeside title in January as she lost to champion Suzuki in the opening round.

After facing Chisnall, Ashton’s attentions will turn to trying to book her place at the PDC’s version of the World Championships again on November 25, a women’s spot available at the qualifying event in Wigan.

Fellow Bolton players Scott Taylor and Joe Murnan will also be looking to qualify.