Beau Greaves narrowly missed out on becoming the second woman in history to win a match at the World Darts Championship after a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Daryl Gurney at Alexandra Palace.
Greaves has dominated the PDC Women’s Series, secured her PDC Tour Card and beaten Luke Littler in the World Youth Championship semi-finals during a memorable campaign, with the 21-year-old coming close to a famous victory against the 22nd seed.
She won more legs, scored more 180s and fired a higher average than her opponent, with Greaves twice battling back from a set down to take the first-round clash to a final-set decider.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Greaves took out 128 superbly as she went on to take the second set against Gurney
Gurney clawed back momentum with a stunning 144 finish before closing out victory in the next leg, booking ‘Super Chin’ a second-round meeting with Callan Rydz and keeping Fallon Sherrock – who reached the third round in 2020 – as the only woman to win a match on the Alexandra Palace stage.
“She’s the best woman darts player on the planet,” Gurney told Sky Sports. “If there’s going to be a darts player that can win the World Championship or any majors, that’s the player.
“Even from a man’s point of view, that woman has some cajones. What a dart player, honestly what a dart player. Everyone said she was favourite coming into the game but sometimes I show my class and my composure and I got over the finish line.
“The only thing that separated us was the 144. When I went 2-1 up [in the final set] I thought ‘don’t give her a sniff’. I missed some doubles but fair play to Beau. All this crowd should respect her because next year she’s going to be a force to reckon with.”
Greaves narrowly lost out to Gurney
How Gurney pipped Greaves in final set
A nervy opening set saw Gurney hold throw with a 90 checkout and capitalise on Greaves busting on the wrong score to break in the next, with ‘Super Chin’ wasting set darts to allow his opponent to break back before winning the final-leg decider.
Greaves burst into life during the second set – where she averaged over 108 – as she followed a 15-dart leg with a 128 finish on the bullseye to break throw, then delivered a 10-darter to claim a third straight leg and level the match.
A topsy-turvy third set saw Greaves find a 13-dart break but then miss a dart for the set on tops for a 102 finish, allowing Gurney to win the last leg and go within a set of victory, only for the women’s No 1 to fire back by racing through the fourth set in straight legs.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Gurney landed a 144 finish under huge pressure
Greaves missed a dart to win each of the three legs in that set but responded strongly during the final set, where he pulled momentum back his way with a stunning 144 finish to break and then overcame missing match darts to secure a nervy victory.
More to follow…
O’Connor on statement win: I’m ready for Van Gerwen!
William O’Connor delivered a 102.36 average – the highest of this year’s tournament so far – in a statement performance during his straight-sets victory over Poland’s Krzysztof Kciuk.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
William O’Connor came out to the song ‘Zombie’
O’Connor’s ‘Zombie’ walk-on received a huge reaction from the Alexandra Palace crowd and he got them on their feet again with a stunning 167 checkout in the opening leg, before surviving Kciuk missing a set dart on the bullseye to take the opening set in a final-leg decider.
The Irishman raced through the next two sets in consecutive legs to complete an emphatic victory, where he fired seven 180s, to set up a second-round clash with Michael van Gerwen.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
O’Connor won the first leg against Krzysztof Kciuk thanks to a 167 checkout
“I feel like I’ve got more to give,” O’Connor told Sky Sports. “I’m very happy with how my doubles went but I know my scoring can go a little bit better, but at the same time I’m very happy with my performance.
“The next game is going to be very, very hard and I know I’m going to have to play at least like that, if not better – I can’t have those slack darts. No matter who I’m playing on this stage, it’s one of the best players in the world, so bring it on – I’m ready for them!”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
O’Connor cannot wait for his second-round encounter with Michael van Gerwen after easing past Kciuk
Rock ‘underestimated’ Hayter during tough victory
Josh Rock booked his place in the second round after overcoming a late fightback from Gemma Hayter to claim a 3-1 victory.
Rock raced into a two-set advantage but saw Hayter respond by winning the third, with the Englishwoman taking the fourth set to a final-leg decider before the world No 11 closed out victory.
Josh Rock was tested by Gemma Hayter during his first-round victory
“I was definitely nervous,” said Rock, who will now play Joe Comito. “I let off the pedal a wee bit, maybe underestimating her, that’s not me being disrespectful, that’s just the way I was thinking. I’m a numpty for thinking that way! I will give myself a kick up the backside because I can’t do that again.”
Ryan Meikle thrashed Argentina’s Jesus Salate in straight sets and Kevin Doets claimed a 3-1 win over Matthew Dennant, while Leonard Gates edged out Mickey Mansell in a final-set epic.
An intriguing contest included Mansell winning a 33-dart leg in the fourth set to take the match to a decider, where Gates prevailed.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Mickey Mansell and Leonard Gates struggled to finish off a leg, which ended up seeing 66 darts thrown!
Second round starts on Saturday
Ryan Searle kicks off Saturday’s afternoon session when he faces Brendan Dolan, before Andreas Harrysson plays Motomu Sakai, Dirk van Duijvenbode takes on James Hurrell and Dave Chisnall plays Ricardo Pietreczko.
Former world champion Michael Smith opens the evening session against Niels Zonneveld ahead of Chris Dobey playing Andrew Gilding, before Stephen Bunting plays Nitin Kumar.
Jonny Clayton was due to face Dom Taylor in the final match of the day, but the Welshman has received a bye to the third round after Taylor was suspended by the Darts Regulation Authority for failing a drugs test.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live all the way through until Saturday January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407). Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
