Irina Armstrong
Encyclopedia
Irina Armstrong is a Russian darts
player, nicknamed Ice Baby. She is currently one of the top ladies' dart players in the BDO
circuit.
until she was pregnant and decided to pick up darts. From then, she has quickly risen to be one of the top lady players in the world. She picked up wins in the singles and pairs events in the Belgium Open and Finland Open, and followed it up with a win in the German Open pairs with Carina Ekberg of Sweden
,. Her greatest achievement to date came at the 2007 WDF World Cup in Rosmalen
, Netherlands
, where she won the Ladies' Pairs title with Anastasia Dobromyslova
.
Her performances in 2008 included wins in the French Open, Dortmund Open, German Gold Cup, Open Holland, and the Primus Masters. She was also the runner-up of the England Open, Swiss Open, and the Danish Open, and moved to as high as 3rd in the world rankings.
Despite her successes during 2008, Irina was surprisingly overlooked for a place in the Zuiderduin Masters
, a BDO major held in Holland. Having missed out initially on an automatic place for the tournament by just one place, an spot was made available after Anastasia was forced to withdraw from the competition after Dutch authorities prevented her from playing in the event because of her visa problems, but it was given to Lisa Ashton
, who would go on to win the tournament. Still hoping for a wild card, this was then handed to German player Monique Lessmeister, who at the time was ranked 66 places below her in the world rankings.
Irina continued her good form into 2009 and secured qualification for the Lakeside World Championship
by winning the England Open. She also made up for last year's disappointment by ensuring qualification for the Zuiderduin.
, Germany
and previously lived in Holland. She is fluent in German and English.
'
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
player, nicknamed Ice Baby. She is currently one of the top ladies' dart players in the BDO
BDO
* BDO International, the world's fifth largest accountancy network* BDO Kendalls, Australia* Banco de Oro, one of the largest banks in the Philippines* Barton, Durstine & Osborn, the former name of advertising agency BBDO* Behavior Detection Officer...
circuit.
Career
Irina started out playing ten-pin bowlingTen-pin bowling
Ten-pin bowling is a competitive sport in which a player rolls a bowling ball down a wooden or synthetic lane with the objective of scoring points by knocking down as many pins as possible.-Summary:The lane is bordered along its length by semicylindrical channels Ten-pin bowling (commonly just...
until she was pregnant and decided to pick up darts. From then, she has quickly risen to be one of the top lady players in the world. She picked up wins in the singles and pairs events in the Belgium Open and Finland Open, and followed it up with a win in the German Open pairs with Carina Ekberg of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
,. Her greatest achievement to date came at the 2007 WDF World Cup in Rosmalen
Rosmalen
Rosmalen is a city in the province of North Brabant, in the south of the Netherlands. It is located near 's-Hertogenbosch and has belonged to its municipality since 1996. In 2005 the city began construction of a new neighbourhood, De Groote Wielen...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, where she won the Ladies' Pairs title with Anastasia Dobromyslova
Anastasia Dobromyslova
Anastasia Dobromyslova-Martin is a professional darts player. She is a former winner of the Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation, winning it in 2008...
.
Her performances in 2008 included wins in the French Open, Dortmund Open, German Gold Cup, Open Holland, and the Primus Masters. She was also the runner-up of the England Open, Swiss Open, and the Danish Open, and moved to as high as 3rd in the world rankings.
Despite her successes during 2008, Irina was surprisingly overlooked for a place in the Zuiderduin Masters
2008 Zuiderduin Masters
The 2008 Zuiderduin Darts Masters was a darts competition held from December 12 to December 14, 2008, in Egmond aan Zee, the Netherlands, run by the British Darts Organisation and the World Darts Federation...
, a BDO major held in Holland. Having missed out initially on an automatic place for the tournament by just one place, an spot was made available after Anastasia was forced to withdraw from the competition after Dutch authorities prevented her from playing in the event because of her visa problems, but it was given to Lisa Ashton
Lisa Ashton
Lisa Ashton is an English female darts player.Ashton reached the quarter finals of the 2007 Women's World Masters, beating 1996 finalist Heike Ernst of Germany in the last 16 before losing to Rilana Erades...
, who would go on to win the tournament. Still hoping for a wild card, this was then handed to German player Monique Lessmeister, who at the time was ranked 66 places below her in the world rankings.
Irina continued her good form into 2009 and secured qualification for the Lakeside World Championship
World Professional Darts Championship
The World Professional Darts Championship is one of the most important tournaments in the darts calendar. Originally held as an annual event between 1978 and 1993, players then broke off into two separate organisations after a controversial split in the game...
by winning the England Open. She also made up for last year's disappointment by ensuring qualification for the Zuiderduin.
Personal life
Irina is married to an Englishman named John Armstrong, with 2 children, son Christian and daughter Ksenia. She currently resides in GangeltGangelt
Gangelt is a municipality in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the border with the Netherlands, approx. 10 km east of Sittard and 10 km south-west of Heinsberg. Gangelt was the town in which Gerard Kremer, better known as Gerardus Mercator,...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and previously lived in Holland. She is fluent in German and English.
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