Draft:Ashley Coleman (darts)

Ashley Coleman (born 23 March 1997) is an English semi-professional darts player who takes part in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is currently ranked 158th on the Challenge Tour order of merit.

Personal life
Coleman is a powder coater by trade.

During an interview with darts news outlet Oche180, Coleman revealed that his favourite player was Phil Taylor, who was with Unicorn when he first got into darts and dreamt of being sponsored by Unicorn. In early 2024, Coleman signed with Unicorn.

Early career
Coleman took part in his first major darts event by entering the 2017 BDO World Masters, where he defeated Silko Visser before losing to Shingo Enomata in the last 256.

In the late months of 2019, Coleman took part in some development tours, managing to succeed in development tour 20, where he reached the last 16 by defeating tour card holder Callan Rydz before being defeated by another tour card holder, Geert Nentjes.

He entered PDC Q-School for the first time in his career in 2023, where he failed to qualify for the final stages. Before taking part in some challenge tour events, Coleman revealed on Twitter that he had signed a two-month sponsorship deal with Cuesoul to help cover his darts expenses, and after taking part in some challenge tour events, he finished 226th on the challenge tour order of merit.

In December 2023, Coleman hit a broadcasted and livestreamed nine-darter during an online darts match in preparation for his 2024 Q-School campaign.

2024
Coleman entered PDC UK Q-School for the second time in his career. He managed to qualify for the final stage via order of merit. On the opening day of the final stage, he managed to enter the green zone for a tour card with wins over Mark Dudbridge, Peter Mitchell, and Kevin Leadenham before losing to Andy Boulton. On the second day, he lost in a rematch in the opening round against Kevin Leadenham, who averaged 104.85. On the third day, he lost to Peter Mitchell in a rematch in the opening round. During the final day, Coleman defeated Fallon Sherrock 6–3, ending her run, and beat Harry Lane before losing to Justin Smith and ending his campaign for a tour card. Coleman averaged 83.48 throughout the whole of his Q-School campaign, finishing 153rd out of 861 total players in highest event averages.

On January 26, 2024, Unicorn Darts announced on X that Coleman had signed a contract to be a part of Team Unicorn. The next day after the announcement of his signing, in his first darts tournament as a Unicorn player, Coleman qualified for the 2024 UK Open after winning the Norwich Rileys qualifier. For preparation for the UK Open, Coleman played an online darts match against 13-year-old Mitchell Lawrie, both players went viral after Lawrie whitewashed Coleman with a 102.48 average, with Lawrie being labelled by fans as the next Luke Littler. The draw for the 2024 UK Open was announced on February 22, 2024, where Coleman drew Tim Wolters in the first round. Coleman lost 6–3 to Wolters ending his run at the 2024 UK Open.

MODUS Super Series
On March 21, 2024, Coleman was confirmed to make his debut at the MODUS Super Series on X in Group C with Jarred Cole, Greg Ritchie, and the three players (Michael Burgoine, Max de Jong, and Mike Warburton) who finished last in Group A for the series seven-week five line-up. Coleman made his debut on live television as the opening match for the Thursday line-up, defeating Michael Burgoine 4–2. In his next match, Coleman defeated Max de Jong 4–2. He took his first defeat against Mike Warburton, 4–1, after having trouble hitting the double. Coleman beat Greg Ritchie, who was on an unbeaten run for the day, defeating him 4–1 with a 104.10 average and taking seven minutes and thirty seconds to complete victory. In the last match of the Thursday line-up, he defeated Jarred Cole 4–1. On the second day, Coleman failed to reach finals night after losing to Greg Ritchie, Mike Warburton, and Max de Jong. He managed to finish in third place with wins against Jarred Cole and Michael Burgoine.

Coleman was confirmed for a special charitable edition of the MODUS Super Series on April 28, 2024, in a doubles knockout tournament, which consists of an influencer and a darts player teaming together. Coleman was voted to play with his friend, Jack Langston, in the doubles bracket, where they play Cameron Crabtree and Fingaldinz in the first round. They lost in the quarter-finals 3–2.