Leighton Bennett has moved into the provisional men’s seeds for the 2020 BDO World Championship, after reaching the Antwerp Open semi-finals at the weekend.
The 13-year-old, who won the BDO World Youth Championship at Lakeside in January, is enjoying a fine first year on the men’s circuit, with his run to the last four in Belgium the fifth time he has reached a ranking semi-final in 2019.
Those extra 12 points have pushed the teenager up from 20th to joint 14th on the seasonal invitation table, with now less than seven weeks to go before the cut-off.
Meanwhile, there was two changes to the provisional field for the men’s event following the weekend’s results. Gary Stone has moved into a qualifying spot, and is on course to appear in his first World Championship since 2013, after a run to the final of the Antwerp Open on Saturday, and then the last 16 of Sunday’s Belgium Open.
Simon Stainton also moved into a provisional spot, and a potential World Championship debut, after a run to the Antwerp Open semi-finals.
The two players to drop out of the provisional places for the Indigo at the O2 are Mal Cuming and Aaron Turner.
In the ladies’ provisional field, the only changes following the weekend were between the 13 players already occupying the 13 qualifying places.
The top four of Lisa Ashton, Aileen de Graaf, Fallon Sherrock and Deta Hedman, remain the same, but reigning world champion Mikuru Suzuki is up to fifth.
Laura Turner has slipped one place to sixth, Lorraine Winstanley and Anastasia Dobromyslova have each dropped a place to seventh and eighth, and Tori Kewish has swapped with Paula Jacklin from 13th to 12th.
Picture: Dartfreakz.nl Bas van den Berk
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