Beau Greaves makes history with first PDC ranking title
Beau Greaves accomplished a major milestone by becoming the first woman to secure a PDC ranking title after defeating Michael Smith 8-7 in the Players Championship 11 final in Milton Keynes.
The 22-year-old sealed her victory with a 142 checkout in the deciding leg, finishing with a double 11 against the former world champion.
Greaves displayed remarkable skill throughout the tournament, including a 170 checkout in leg nine. She achieved an impressive 80% checkout success rate and maintained an average score of 96.49.
Prior to her win in the final, Greaves defeated Rob Cross 6-5 in the quarter-finals and Gary Anderson 7-1 in the semi-finals. Her recent successes add to a series of achievements in her burgeoning career, such as a 114-match winning streak in the PDC Women’s Series and being the first woman to hit a nine-dart finish on the PDC ProTour.
Expressing her joy after the historic win, Greaves stated, “I’ve had a great year, but I never thought I’d win one of these, never ever. Today I played really well. I’m so happy, I can’t even describe the way I feel. I feel so proud of myself.”
Looking towards the future, Greaves added, “I beat Gary Anderson – I can’t believe it. Even beating Michael – I’m beating players I watched growing up. Hopefully I can kick on and keep doing it.”
In other results from the tournament, world number two Luke Humphries exited in the third round 6-5 to Max Hopp, while Premier League Darts players Stephen Bunting and Josh Rock were eliminated in the first round.
Notably absent from the event were world champion Luke Littler and top players such as Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price, and Nathan Aspinall.
The Players Championship features a total of 34 events throughout the year, culminating in the finals in Minehead, Somerset from 26-30 November, where the 64 best-performing players will compete.
Following her historic win, Greaves currently holds the fifth position in the Players Championship order of merit.
