Wes Newton back on world stage at Lakeside

Wes Newton will make his debut in the BDO World Championship in the New Year after securing the final qualification place.The Fleetwood 41-year-old joined the British Darts Organisation this year after ending last season outside of the top 64 in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).Newton has reached three BDO semi-finals this year but looked set to narrowly miss out on a place in the organisation’s January showpiece at Lakeside Country Club in Surrey after Adam Smith-Neale knocked him out of the standby spot by winning the World Masters.However, with no Asian representative at Lakeside this time due to no Asian qualifying event taking place, Newton has won the available place as the next listed player on the ‘BDO Invitation’ table.The 2019 BDO World Championship takes place in Frimley Green from January 5-13 and will be shown live on Eurosport and Quest. Newton will begin his campaign in the preliminary round and the drew is expected early next month. Defending champion Glen Durrant will be bidding to become the first player since Eric Bristow in 1986 to win three consecutive BDO world titles, though last year’s beaten finalist Mark McGeeney is the top seed.As a PDC player, Newton was a UK Open and European Championship finalist, also reaching the quarter-finals in the World Championship and at the World Matchplay in Blackpool.He twice qualified for the Premier League as one of the world’s top eight.