Beau Greaves makes ProTour history with Players Championship 11 triumph
Beau Greaves became the first woman to win a PDC ranking title with an historic 8-7 victory over Michael Smith in the Players Championship Eleven final in Milton Keynes on Monday.
Greaves created a further slice of darting history with a remarkable triumph at Arena MK which saw her defeat three former World Champions en route to the title..
The 22-year-old kicked off her campaign by defying a ton-plus average from Aden Kirk to prevail, before sealing victory over Thomas Lovely by the same scoreline.
Greaves then averaged in excess of 97 in her next two matches, defeating Jeffrey Sparidaans and Czech number one Karel Sedlacek to reach a third consecutive Players Championship quarter-final.
There, Greaves produced a terrific 102.5 average to edge out Cross – who averaged almost 106 in defeat – taking out an 11-dart break of throw in a scintillating last-leg decider.
The PDC Women’s Series leader then averaged 105.5 in a sensational 7-1 thrashing of Anderson, reeling off seven consecutive legs to ease past the two-time World Champion and set up a showdown with Smith.
Despite trailing 2-0, Greaves caught fire by rattling off five straight legs, all coming in 15 darts or less in a run sparked by a 121 checkout.
Smith then took out a 12-darter to threaten a comeback, but Greaves pulled out a show-stopping 170 checkout to put herself two legs from victory.
However, Smith tenaciously rallied, claiming three legs on the spin to level the contest at six apiece and set up a dramatic climax.
Both players claimed a leg each to take the match to a decider, where Greaves was first to a finish, but Smith pulled out an exceptional 142 set-up shot to leave double ten for his first ranking title in almost two years.
However, Greaves sensationally held her nerve, taking out a marvellous 142 checkout on double 11 to seal a momentous triumph for herself and the sport
“Today I played really well. I’m so happy. I cannot even describe the way I feel,” said an emotional Greaves, who registered an average of 98.13 across the tournament.
“I don’t know whether I just thought about being the first woman to win a ProTour but it caught up with me, so I honestly cannot believe I took out that 142!
“It’s unbelievable. I feel so proud of myself, because I was really struggling at the start of the year.
“Aside from winning the Lakeside, this is probably my best achievement ever. I never ever thought I’d win one of these!
“I’ve done really well on all the other tours. I know I’ve got the talent, but believing in yourself and having the confidence is another thing.
“I’m beating players I was watching growing up. I’m in disbelief! Now hopefully I can kick on and keep doing it, but it’s an amazing feeling.”
Although Smith fell short in the final, the 35-year-old had a campaign to remember, littered with resilient comeback wins.
The former World Champion began his campaign by recovering from 5-2 down against Marvin Kraft to win the last-leg shootout, surviving two match darts from the German in the decider.
The St Helens star then fought back from 5-3 down against Sebastian Bialecki to emerge from another last-leg decider, before taking five legs on the spin after trailing 4-1 to see off number two seed Chris Dobey 6-4 to reach the Last 16.
There, Smith defeated Challenge Tour leader Joe Hunt by rattling three straight legs to recover from 4-3 down, before winning yet another last-leg decider against Andrew Gilding in the quarter-finals, having initially trailed 5-4.
The former World Cup winner also reeled off six consecutive legs to defeat Kevin Doets 7-4 to reach his first ProTour final since May 2024.
Elsewhere, Anderson enjoyed a day to remember, firing in nine-darter in a 6-1 thumping of Alexander Merkx in the Last 16 as the Scot averaged north of 110.
The two-time World Champion backed up this performance with another tremendous 108 average over top seed Wessel Nijman in the quarter-finals, dumping out the Dutchman with a 6-3 win despite the 25-year-old averaging over 105.
Doets reached his fourth ever Players Championship semi-final, recording two ton-plus averages in a string of victories that included the scalps of Polish number one Krzysztof Ratajski and Irish number one William O’Connor.
Players Championship 11 Results
Monday April 27
First Round
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Connor Scutt 6-0 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Tom Sykes 6-1 Raymond van Barneveld
Nathan Potter 6-4 Chris Landman
Adam Leek 6-3 Josh Rock
Arno Merk 6-3 Tommy Lishman
Leon Weber 6-3 Ryan Searle
Jeffrey De Graaf 6-1 Ritchie Edhouse
James Wade 6-4 Carl Sneyd
Thibault Tricole 6-2 Ryan Meikle
Alexander Merkx 6-5 Cameron Menzies
Lukas Wenig 6-0 Martin Lukeman
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Maik Kuivenhoven
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Nick Kenny
Gary Anderson 6-4 Jimmy van Schie
Martijn Dragt 6-3 David Sharp
Ross Smith 6-2 Bradley Brooks
Darryl Pilgrim 6-2 Mickey Mansell
Dennie Olde Kalter 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Tyler Thorpe 6-4 Dominik Gruellich
Damon Heta 6-1 Cam Crabtree
Jack Tweddell 6-1 Scott Williams
Filip Bereza 6-4 Joe Cullen
Rob Cross 6-2 Adam Paxton
Danny Noppert 6-3 Kai Gotthardt
Jurjen van der Velde 6-3 Greg Ritchie
Karel Sedlacek 6-2 Jim Long
Owen Bates 6-5 Viktor Tingstrom
Niko Springer 6-3 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Jeffrey Sparidaans 6-3 Matthias Ehlers
Thomas Lovely 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Beau Greaves 6-4 Aden Kirk
Chris Dobey 6-1 Cor Dekker
Peter Wright 6-4 Darius Labanauskas
Michael Smith 6-5 Marvin Kraft
Sebastian Bialecki 6-4 Yorick Hofkens
Niels Zonneveld 6-4 Charlie Manby
Joe Hunt 6-4 Wesley Plaisier
Christian Kist 6-3 Martin Schindler
Benjamin Pratnemer 6-3 Richard Veenstra
Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 Mervyn King
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-4 Tytus Kanik
Gabriel Clemens 6-2 Ryan Joyce
Callan Rydz 6-4 Tavis Dudeney
Gian van Veen 6-3 Sietse Lap
Madars Razma 6-2 Maximilian Czerwinski
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Adam Gawlas
Rob Owen 6-3 Keane Barry
Ricky Evans 6-5 Stephen Bunting
Alan Soutar 6-5 Andy Boulton
Mike De Decker 6-1 Stefaan Henderyck
Cristo Reyes 6-3 Marvin van Velzen
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4 Niall Culleton
Stephen Rosney 6-5 James Hurrell
William O’Connor 6-3 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Justin Hood 6-1 Brendan Dolan
Luke Humphries 6-2 Rhys Griffin
Shane McGuirk 6-1 Oskar Lukasiak
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Samuel Price
Max Hopp 6-1 Stefan Bellmont
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-5 Derek Coulson
Tom Bissell 6-4 Adam Lipscombe
Kevin Doets 6-2 Stephen Burton
Ian White 6-5 Adam Warner
Second Round
Wessel Nijman 6-4 Connor Scutt
Tom Sykes 6-2 Nathan Potter
Adam Leek 6-5 Arno Merk
Leon Weber 6-5 Jeffrey De Graaf
James Wade 6-2 Thibault Tricole
Alexander Merkx 6-2 Lukas Wenig
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Gary Anderson 6-3 Martijn Dragt
Ross Smith 6-4 Darryl Pilgrim
Dennie Olde Kalter 6-2 Tyler Thorpe
Damon Heta 6-1 Jack Tweddell
Rob Cross 6-1 Filip Bereza
Danny Noppert 6-1 Jurjen van der Velde
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Owen Bates
Jeffrey Sparidaans 6-2 Niko Springer
Beau Greaves 6-4 Thomas Lovely
Chris Dobey 6-2 Peter Wright
Michael Smith 6-5 Sebastian Bialecki
Joe Hunt 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Benjamin Pratnemer 6-4 Christian Kist
Jermaine Wattimena 6-1 Ricardo Pietreczko
Callan Rydz 6-5 Gabriel Clemens
Gian van Veen 6-5 Madars Razma
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Rob Owen
Alan Soutar 6-5 Ricky Evans
Cristo Reyes 6-2 Mike De Decker
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4 Stephen Rosney
William O’Connor 6-1 Justin Hood
Luke Humphries 6-4 Shane McGuirk
Max Hopp 6-3 Dave Chisnall
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Tom Bissell
Kevin Doets 6-2 Ian White
Last 32
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Tom Sykes
Leon Weber 6-5 Adam Leek
Alexander Merkx 6-4 James Wade
Gary Anderson 6-3 Mensur Suljovic
Ross Smith 6-5 Dennie Olde Kalter
Rob Cross 6-4 Damon Heta
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Danny Noppert
Beau Greaves 6-2 Jeffrey Sparidaans
Michael Smith 6-4 Chris Dobey
Joe Hunt 6-5 Benjamin Pratnemer
Callan Rydz 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Gian van Veen
Cristo Reyes 6-0 Alan Soutar
William O’Connor 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Max Hopp 6-5 Luke Humphries
Kevin Doets 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Last 16
Wessel Nijman 6-1 Leon Weber
Gary Anderson 6-1 Alexander Merkx
Rob Cross 6-2 Ross Smith
Beau Greaves 6-4 Karel Sedlacek
Michael Smith 6-4 Joe Hunt
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Callan Rydz
William O’Connor 6-3 Cristo Reyes
Kevin Doets 6-1 Max Hopp
Quarter-Finals
Gary Anderson 6-3 Wessel Nijman
Beau Greaves 6-5 Rob Cross
Michael Smith 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Kevin Doets 6-1 William O’Connor
Semi-Finals
Beau Greaves 7-1 Gary Anderson
Michael Smith 7-4 Kevin Doets
Finals
Beau Greaves 8-7 Michael Smith
