Reigning European Champion Gian van Veen is already in Minehead this weekend, now left with one burning mission: defend his PDC World Youth Championship crown in what promises to be a scintillating, pulse-hammering showdown with darting phenomenon Beau Greaves. If you were looking for a final drenched in narrative, tension and pure tungsten theatre — congratulations, you’ve found it.
Last year on the Butlins main stage, Van Veen survived a Dutch civil war of epic proportions, edging compatriot Jurjen van der Velde in a nerve-shredding classic. Having already suffered heartbreak at the hands of Luke Littler the year before, Van Veen was desperate to carve his name into the trophy beside major winners like Luke Humphries, Michael Smith and Dimitri van den Bergh. Victory tasted sweet — but the agony for Van der Velde was unmistakable.
The young Dutchman squandered match chances, slumping in despair while Van Veen, respectfully embraced a countryman who had just felt the very same pain he endured twelve months earlier.
Now the 23-year-old marches into his third straight final, poised once again under the Minehead lights — but this time, he walks toward a different storm entirely: Beau Greaves. A phenom. A record-breaking wrecking ball. A three-time Lakeside World Champion who plays the game with ruthless serenity and frightening precision. Both tore through elite fields at Wigan’s Robin Park to earn their place on the sport’s grandest youth stage.
Van Veen’s route was a marathon of quality. After dispatching a pair of fellow Dutchmen early on, he squeezed past Aidan O’Hara, swept aside Development Tour runaway leader, Cam Crabtree, and outclassed Polish danger-man Sebastian Bialecki to stamp his ticket to Minehead.
Greaves, meanwhile, bulldozed her way to the final with the clam confidence of a born champion. She obliterated Coby Jones-Swanson, breezed through Danny Jansen, then dispatched Tyler Thorpe and Liam Maendl-Lawrance to move within touching distance of history. But the final hurdle was a monster: Luke Littler. In a match that will echo for years as one of the greatest youth showdowns ever witnessed — both players averaging somewhere in the stratosphere — it was Beau who snatched the decider to set up a mouthwatering duel with the defending champion.
Sunday’s final sits perfectly sandwiched between the Players Championship semi-finals and the main event finale. There was a moment when Van Veen could have been staring down three matches in a row, but his second round loss to Krzysztof Ratajski now grants him the luxury of total focus — all eyes locked on the Youth Championship crown.
As for the final, it carries history in both hands. If Van Veen triumphs, he joins Dimitri van den Bergh as only the second player ever to win the World Youth title twice. Should Greaves be successful … she becomes the first female to ever lift it. Either way, Minehead is about to witness what should be a classic.
——ENDS—–
Images: PDC
