Beau Greaves etched her name into the darting history books on Friday night in Prague, becoming the first woman ever to win a match on the European Tour. The 22-year-old Englishwoman defeated Daryl Gurney 6-4 in the opening round of the Czech Darts Open, a landmark moment in her already impressive career.
The victory came just a week after Greaves made her European Tour debut at the Hungarian Darts Trophy, where she lost a last-leg decider to Rob Cross. This time, she seized the moment. It didn't start well, though, as Gurney stormed into a 3-1 lead, punctuated by a stunning 144 finish — the exact checkout he used to eliminate Greaves from the last World Darts Championship.
But Greaves showed remarkable composure, reeling off three straight legs with darts of 14, 13, and 11 to turn the match around and lead 4-3. Gurney, a former major winner, levelled again, but Greaves held her nerve, breaking her opponent's throw and sealing the historic win on double 1. In doing so, she became the first female player in the European Tour's fifteen-year history to win a match.
"It feels amazing," said Greaves. "It's just so nice to win a game, I was so nervous at the start, I don't know why. It took me so long to get settled, but luckily I did enough to win the game." She also praised the Prague crowd: "It means loads to me, the crowd's fantastic. It's such a tight stage and you feel so much from the crowd. I'm really enjoying it and loving the experience."
Greaves now faces a blockbuster second-round clash against world number two and three-time Czech Darts Open champion Luke Humphries. "I've played Luke on the big stage before so I know what to expect, he's world class so I'm going to have to play a lot better than I did tonight," she said. "What more do you want than on a Euro Tour to play one of the best players in the world? I'll look forward to it and I'll be ready."
