Damon Heta battled his way into the second round of the Flanders Darts Trophy with a tense 6-5 victory over Beau Greaves in Antwerp, then jokingly claimed the draw is rigged after meeting the English star for the sixth time in 2026. The Australian looked in control for much of the contest, opening up a 5-2 lead, but Greaves refused to go away and dragged the match right to the wire.
Heta admitted he was far from relaxed on stage. "No, why? I don't understand. Man, I was nervy as hell. At times I was nervy. I thought, oh yeah, I was comfortable. Then I wasn't, and then there was some crap, and there was some good," he said. As Greaves mounted her comeback, the Australian's anxiety grew. "I'm like, 'Oh no, that's all I need: a 5-5 against Beau.'"
Despite the wobble, Heta held his nerve in the deciding leg, sealing the win with a decisive 102 checkout. "At the end of the day, I got the win and I muscled out that 102 at the end there, so I'm absolutely stoked to be fair." The match was the sixth meeting between the pair in 2026, with five of those coming at Players Championship events before this European Tour clash was added to the list. Heta was surprised to be paired with Greaves again so early. "Man, these draws are rigged, I'm telling you. I meet her in the early rounds a lot. I don't know, the algorithms are meeting us all the time. But you know the class of Beau Greaves. Everyone knows the class of Beau Greaves."
That respect for Greaves was central to Heta's mindset throughout the contest. "When you're up here, it's different levels, and you need to just try and stick to your own game, and that's what I just kept telling myself. I said, Just get your chance; take the chance." He added: "Obviously, I missed a lot of them, but eventually I took the one that mattered in the end of the day. I'm really stoked with myself to get the win."
After the serious analysis, there was a lighter moment when a spectator pointed out that someone in the crowd wanted to grow the same distinctive moustache as Heta. His advice was simple: "He probably needs to grow up a little. Yeah, let it hang down a little, mate. Yeah, let it hang down. You'll be fine." Heta left the stage with a victory, a huge sense of relief and a smile — far from convincing, but in a tournament like the Flanders Darts Trophy, only progression matters.
