Lilly Wheeler was the winner of Event 4 on the JDC Girls Series, beating Taylor Field 4-1 in the final as she bounced back from her semi-final defeat 24 hours earlier.
The 14-year-old from the Faringdon Darts Academy in Oxfordshire had breezed through the round-robin stage on Saturday unbeaten – but lost 3-2 by eventual winner Lexi-Jayne Rooksby in the last four.
She showed an abundance of character and quality in Coventry on Sunday, bouncing back to take the event title after getting revenge on Rooksby in another thrilling semi-final.
Wheeler was a 3-1 quarter-final winner against Ruby Hares, losing the opening leg before winning three on the spin to claim victory, hitting four ton-plus scores as she booked her spot in the semis.
The last four was a repeat of Saturday’s semi-final – and Wheeler turned the tables by winning 3-2, having trailed 1-0 and 2-1. She scored well throughout the contest, firing in three 140s and two further ton-plus scores.
For the third knockout match in a row, she trailed 1-0 in the final – but again found her composure to reel off four straight legs against Field and win the match in style.
Again Wheeler scored well, hitting at least one ton-plus score in every leg and taking out a 78 checkout en route to her first Girls Series event win, having only started playing darts two years ago.
Field deserves credit for her performances during the day, too, notably her 3-2 semi-final win against Lacey Hughes. She stated her intentions by opening with back-to-back tons, and scored well throughout, following a 121 with a 100 in the second leg as she drew level at 1-1.
For the third leg in a row, Field hit back-to-back tons, and her 137 to leave 2 in the fourth leg was her highest score of the match. The semi-final ebbed and flowed but Field closed out the win to reach her first final of the Girls Series.
Field had earlier produced one of the performances of the day when she beat Maya Day – a finalist on Saturday – 3-0 in the round-robin stage. Field opened the match with back-to-back 100s and took out 116 for an 18-dart leg as she went on to finish the round-robin stage unbeaten as Wheeler had the day before.
After four events of eight, Rooksby leads the rankings with 7 points, with Paige Pauling one behind on 6 and Wheeler on 4. The next events take place on May 18-19.
Quarter-finals:
Taylor Field (Eng) 3-0 Evie Strong (Eng)
Lacey Hughes (Eng) 3-0 Maya Day (Eng)
Lilly Wheeler (Eng) 3-1 Ruby Hares (Eng)
Lexi-Jayne Rooksby (Eng) 3-2 Lauren Stokoe (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Taylor Field (Eng) 3-2 Lacey Hughes (Eng)
Lilly Wheeler (Eng) 3-2 Lexi-Jayne Rooksby (Eng)
Final:
Lilly Wheeler (Eng) 4-1 Taylor Field (Eng)
