I have been a little behind with the website so far this year so to catch up here is a summary of the year to date.

Open Bremen aka German Gold Cup.

Irina retained her title this year beating Karin krappen in the final.

Dutch Open.

A disappointing Dutch Open this year, losing out in the singles to Tamara Schuur and together with Carina Ekberg she failed to retain her pairs title which they won in 2008.

Dortmund Open.

Despite having a chance of 12 darts in the final leg, Irina missed the doubles and lost 3 - 2 to Heike Jenkins in the last 8.

Scotland Open.

Irinas first time at the tournament and finishing in 3rd place, a good performance overall. She went on to win the pairs title with World Champion Francisca Hoenselaar.

Isle of Man Open.

A good weekend overall. Fifth in the ladies pairs with Scotlands Louise Hepburn, 3rd in the singles, and together with Tony O`Shea won the mixed couples.

The thrid place moves Irina up to second in the BDO invitation table.

Overall, despite not qualifying for Lakeside, the year has been Irinas best year yet. Making no fewer than 8 WDF/and or BDO ranked tournament finals, winning 4 of them. On top of that, winning non ranked tournaments such as Open Holland and the Primus Masters have made the year the most successful that Irina has had to date. Finishing second in the WDF ranking is also the highest position she has ever achieved and had she been correctly invited to the Zuiderduin Masters that position could have been one place higher.

Irina`s start for the 2009 campaign to qualify for Lakeside is already the best start she has ever had and hopefully she can maintain her consistency throughout the coming months.

Finally a special mention for a few players/friends on the circuit..

Francis Hoenselaar -  congratulations on your WDF number 1 placing and also on the Winmau triumph, Irina looks forward to some more battles in the coming year.

Carla Molema  - who Irina has shared some superb finals with, producing some of the highest averages and best performances of the year.

Karin Krappen - for some great matches and proving to be a good travel partner as well as Super League team mate.

Tony O`Shea - probably the best mixed coubles partner Irina has had, playing in two opens and winning both.

Last but not least to Anastasia, we wish you every success in your new venture and you will be missed as Irinas  Russian partner at all the events.