Beau Greaves (Photo PDC)
Beau Greaves became the first woman to win a PDC ranking title with a historic 8-7 victory over Michael Smith in last night’s Players Championship Eleven final.
Greaves won seven straight matches in Milton Keynes which included a sensational deciding-leg victory over Smith in the showpiece to seal a landmark victory in darts history.
The two-time Women’s World Matchplay champion took down a trio of former World Champions en route to the title, including Rob Cross, Gary Anderson and Smith in her final three matches of the event.
The 22-year-old kicked off her campaign by defying a ton-plus average from Aden Kirk with a 6-4 win, before sealing victory against Thomas Lovely by the same scoreline.
Greaves then averaged in excess of 97 in her following two triumphs, defeating Jeffrey Sparidaans and Czech number one Karel Sedlacek to reach a third consecutive Players Championship quarter-final.
There, Greaves produced a sparkling 102.56 average to edge past Cross – who averaged almost 106 in defeat – taking out an 11-dart break of throw in a scintillating last-leg decider to advance to her first ProTour semi-final.
The PDC Women’s Series leader then averaged 105.56 in a sensational 7-1 thrashing of Anderson, reeling off seven consecutive legs to ease past the two-time World Champion and set up a pivotal showdown with Smith.
Despite trailing 2-0, Greaves caught fire by rattling off five straight legs, all coming in 15 darts or less in a run sparked by a 121 finish.
Smith then took out a 12-darter to threaten a comeback, but Greaves pulled out a show-stopping 170 finish to put herself two legs from a consequential victory.
However, Smith tenaciously rallied, claiming three legs on the spin to level the contest at 6-6 and set up a dramatic three-leg shootout.
Both players claimed a leg each to take the match to a last-leg decider, where Greaves was first to a finish, but Smith pulled out an exceptional 142 set-up shot to leave double ten for his first ranking title in almost two years.
However, Greaves sensationally held her nerve, taking out a marvellous 142 checkout on double 11 to seal a momentous triumph for herself and the sport in claiming the Event Eleven title.
“Today I played really well. I’m so happy. I cannot even describe the way I feel,” professed an emotional Greaves, who produced a stellar average of 98.13 across the tournament.
“I don’t know whether I just thought about being the first woman to win a [ProTour] title but it caught up with me, so I honestly cannot believe I took out that 142!
“It’s unbelievable. I feel so proud of myself, because I was really struggling at the start of the year.
“Aside from winning the Lakeside, this is probably my best achievement ever. I never ever thought I’d win one of these!
“I’ve done really well on all the other tours. I know I’ve got the talent, but believing in yourself and having the confidence is another thing.
“I’m beating players I was watching growing up. I’m in disbelief! Now hopefully I can kick on and keep doing it, but it’s an amazing feeling.”
Although Smith fell short in the final, the 35-year-old had a campaign to remember, littered with resilient comeback wins.
The former World Champion began his campaign by recovering from 5-2 down against Marvin Kraft to win the last-leg shootout, surviving two match darts from the German in the decider.
The St Helens star then fought back from 5-3 down against Sebastian Bialecki to emerge from another last-leg decider, before taking five legs on the spin after trailing 4-1 to see off number two seed Chris Dobey 6-4 to reach the last 16.
There, Smith defeated Challenge Tour leader Joe Hunt by rattling three straight legs to recover from 4-3 down, before winning yet another last-leg decider against Andrew Gilding in the quarter-finals, having initially trailed 5-4.
The former World Cup winner also reeled off six consecutive legs to defeat Kevin Doets 7-4 to reach his first ProTour final since May 6, 2024, despite falling short to Greaves in the showpiece.
Elsewhere, Anderson enjoyed a day to remember, reeling off a nine-dart leg in a 6-1 thumping of Alexander Merkx in round four as the Scot averaged north of 110.
The two-time World Champion backed up this performance with another tremendous 108.10 average over top seed Wessel Nijman in the quarter-finals, dumping out the Dutchman with a 6-3 win despite the 25-year-old averaging over 105 himself.
Doets reached his fourth ever Players Championship semi-final, recording two ton-plus averages in a string of victories that included the scalps of Polish number one Krzysztof Ratajski and Irish number one William O’Connor.
RESULTS
Last 16
Wessel Nijman 6-1 Leon Weber
Gary Anderson 6-1 Alexander Merkx
Rob Cross 6-2 Ross Smith
Beau Greaves 6-4 Karel Sedlacek
Michael Smith 6-4 Joe Hunt
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Callan Rydz
William O’Connor 6-3 Cristo Reyes
Kevin Doets 6-1 Max Hopp
Quarter-Finals
Gary Anderson 6-3 Wessel Nijman
Beau Greaves 6-5 Rob Cross
Michael Smith 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Kevin Doets 6-1 William O’Connor
Semi-Finals
Beau Greaves 7-1 Gary Anderson
Michael Smith 7-4 Kevin Doets
Final
Beau Greaves 8-7 Michael Smith
