Beau Greaves etched her name into darts history by becoming the first woman to secure a victory on the PDC European Tour. The 22-year-old from Doncaster overcame Daryl Gurney 6-4 in the first round of the Czech Open in Prague, breaking a 15-year barrier on the tour.
Gurney had previously defeated Greaves in a deciding set at the PDC World Championship in December. He took an early 3-1 lead in Prague, but Greaves responded with a dominant display, winning three consecutive legs featuring finishes of 14, 13, and 11 darts to take a 4-3 lead. Although Gurney leveled the match at 4-4, Greaves held her nerve to seal the win.
“It feels amazing,” Greaves said. “It’s just so nice to win a game. I was so nervous at the start, I don’t know why. It took me so long to get settled, but luckily I did enough to win the game.”
The victory adds to a impressive list of achievements for Greaves. In April, she became the first woman to win a PDC ranking title by defeating Michael Smith. Earlier in February, she made history again by becoming the first woman to hit a nine-dart finish on the PDC ProTour in a win over Mensur Suljovic. Most recently, she secured her third Women’s World Matchplay title in July by beating Fallon Sherrock.
Greaves now prepares to face world number two Luke Humphries in the second round on Saturday. “I’ve played Luke on the big stage before so I know what to expect, he’s world class so I’m going to have to play a lot better than I did tonight,” she noted. “What more do you want than on a Euro Tour to play one of the best players in the world? I’ll look forward to it and I’ll be ready. “
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