Rising darts star Beau Greaves has been described as “world class” by the game’s top player, so how far can she go on the biggest stage?
The 21-year-old begins her PDC World Championship campaign against 22nd seed Daryl Gurney at Alexandra Palace in London on Friday evening.
And despite losing on her only previous appearance at the tournament, she is rated odds-on favourite by bookmakers to beat Gurney, a World Cup winner with Northern Ireland, and reach the second round.
Greaves hit the headlines when defeating world champion Luke Littler in October to reach the World Youth Championship final. Interest in the contest was such that visitors almost crashed the online system offering score updates.
That came amid an unbeaten run of 86 matches in the Women’s Series, which has provided five competitors in an expanded 128-player world championship.
Littler admitted he hoped to avoid the woman nicknamed ‘Beau ‘n’ Arrow’ when the draw was made.
“Beau Greaves is definitely one that I wouldn’t want to play,” Littler, who became the youngest world darts champion aged 17 in January, told BBC Sport.
“She’s world class, that’s why she’s won the Women’s World Championship three times.
“She’s been dominating the Women’s Series for two or three years now and she’s only going to get better and better.”
Five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld has predicted a good run in the Worlds could see Greaves invited to the eight-player Premier League – although 2021 world champion Gerwyn Price described that suggestion as “a joke”.
Only one woman has won matches on the world stage at the Ally Pally – Fallon Sherrock twice in December 2019 – while Greaves’ debut three years ago ended in a first-round defeat by William O’Connor.
