Kirsi Viinikainen’s Women’s World Matchplay place survived the final Wigan squeeze after Eleanor Cairns turned Event 16 into a brutal late qualification twist.
The PDC Women’s Series weekend had already tightened the Blackpool field, but Cairns’ maiden title carried the decisive consequence. The 22-year-old beat Angela Kirkwood in the Event 16 final, denying Kirkwood the result she needed to force her way into the eight-player Winter Gardens line-up.
That left Viinikainen holding the eighth and final qualifying spot for the 2026 Women’s World Matchplay, joining Beau Greaves, Lisa Ashton, Fallon Sherrock, Gemma Hayter, Vicky Pruim, Deta Hedman and Rhian O’Sullivan in the confirmed field.
For more Blackpool context, NineDartNews has also covered Beau Greaves’ top-seed status and Lisa Ashton’s draw picture.
Cairns changed the cut without taking the place
The edge in the story is that Cairns did not claim the final Matchplay berth herself. Instead, she controlled who could still reach it.
According to the PDC’s official report, Lisa Ashton won Event 15 by beating Greaves 5-1, while Cairns followed by landing Event 16. Darts Nerd’s results breakdown listed Cairns’ win as the result that preserved Viinikainen’s position, after Kirkwood’s last route to Blackpool closed.
It adds a sharper edge to the Matchplay bracket. Ashton arrives as defending champion with a fresh title over Greaves, Greaves remains the dominant top seed, and Viinikainen enters Blackpool as the player who survived the final-day pressure rather than cruising through it.
For Cairns, the title was still the landmark. Her first Women’s Series crown did more than decorate the weekend; it redrew the final qualification line.
MAIDEN TITLE FOR CAIRNS! Eleanor Cairns claims her first PDC Women’s Series title.
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) June 21, 2026
