Macy Gibbons won another Girls Series event to stay top of the rankings – and there was a first event win for Abbi Ettridge in her debut season.
Gibbons, 16, is the JPL and Girls Series leader – and continued her fine form when she won the second event of the weekend on Sunday afternoon.
Earlier in the weekend, however, 14-year-old Ettridge from the TMG Academy in Sussex had announced her arrival on the scene by winning Event 5.
After six events, Gibbons has a six-point lead at the top of the rankings, with Rebecca Allen in second.
EVENT 5
Abbi Ettridge claimed her first Girls Series event win with a 4-3 victory Rebecca Allen in the final in Bristol.
The 14-year-old had not previously got past the quarter-final stage on the Girls Series but enjoyed an excellent run as she collected her first event win.
She breezed through the round-robin phase, dropping only one leg in wins against Emily Purse (3-0), Kayleigh Webster (3-0) and Evie Strong (3-1).
In the knockout phase, she beat Zenna Pengelly 3-0 before coming through a last-leg decider against Brooke Warren in the last eight, having led 2-0 and been waiting on double 2 when Warren took out 110.
In the semis, Ettridge beat Lexi-Jayne Rooksby 3-0, kicking off with an 18-dart leg that featured scores of 134, 100 and 99, before advancing to the final to meet defending champion Allen.
The final was a thrilling contest, in which Ettridge trailed 3-2 before winning the last two legs to seal the event win.
The first two legs went against the throw, before Allen held for a 2-1 lead. Ettridge levelled things up, only for Allen to hold to move within one leg of the title. But Ettridge held by taking out 56 at the first time of asking, before sealing the win with a 16-dart break, in which she opened with a 137 and 180.
Allen came agonisingly close to a first event win of 2026 – and must have thought it was her day when she beat Macy Gibbons 3-2 in the last 16, before wins over Celyn Saunders (3-0) and Lola Wheeler (3-1).
RESULTS
Final:
Abbi Ettridge (Eng) 4-3 Rebecca Allen (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Abbi Ettridge (Eng) 3-0 Lexi-Jayne Rooksby (Eng)
Rebecca Allen (Ire) 3-1 Lola Wheeler (Eng)
EVENT 6
Macy Gibbons bounced back from her Event 5 disappointment in typical fashion, beating Abbi Ettridge 4-1 to claim the Event 6 title.
Gibbons was in control of the final when she followed up her opening-leg hold with a break – and then held again for 3-0. Ettridge held throw to prolong the contest but Gibbons wrapped up the win by hitting double 8 in the fifth leg.
Arguably her best performance of the knockout phase came in the semi-final, when she beat Lilly Wheeler 3-0 with a 76.42 average. Gibbons kicked off with a hold of throw before breaking her opponent’s throw in 14 darts, which included a 140 followed by a maximum. She then took out 81 to seal the win.
Gibbons had beaten Lilly’s sister, Lola, 3-1 in the quarter-finals, sealing victory with a brilliant 151 checkout.
Ettridge reached her second final of the weekend after another last-leg decider against Rebecca Allen, beating the defending champion 3-2 in the semis. Ettridge led 2-0 before Allen levelled, only for Ettridge to hold throw in the fifth leg and reach the final.
RESULTS
Final:
Macy Gibbons (Eng) 4-1 Abbi Ettridge (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Macy Gibbons (Eng) 3-0 Lilly Wheeler (Eng)
Abbi Ettridge (Eng) 3-2 Rebecca Allen (Ire)
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