Beau Greaves came within a whisker of making history on her European Tour debut, narrowly losing 6-5 to Rob Cross in a thrilling first-round clash at the Hungarian Darts Trophy in Budapest.
The 22-year-old, who became the first woman to qualify for a PDC European Tour event after beating Tom Bissell last month, traded legs with the former world champion in a tense encounter. Cross took the opening leg, but Greaves responded to lead 2-1, and the pair continued to exchange legs as the match swung back and forth.
Greaves moved 5-4 ahead and stood on the brink of becoming the first woman to win a European Tour match. However, needing just 70 to seal victory in the deciding leg, she made two costly errors and Cross punished her to snatch the win.
The narrow defeat continues a remarkable rise for Greaves, who in February became the first woman to hit a nine-dart finish on the PDC ProTour and in April became the first woman to win a PDC ranking title.
Meanwhile, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen are set to enter the tournament in the second round, while world champion Luke Littler is not competing in the event.
