Beau Greaves – A mercurial talent who belongs with the very best

Beau Greaves once again travelled to Milton Keynes on Monday to compete in Players Championship 24 and will likely do so once again today in event 25.

There are 34 behind-closed-doors Players Championship events in a season, which involve all 128 Tour Card holders – with a reserve list in play when some cannot make it

Greaves does not yet possess a Tour Card having been unable to obtain one through Q-School, but her Challenge Tour ranking puts her as one of the first reserves should some players withdraw.

In what was only her fifth Players Championship event yesterday, she reached the last 32 before running into reigning World Champion Luke Littler – losing a last leg decider to the teenage prodigy despite averaging over 100 herself.

En route, she whitewashed Dennie Olde Kalter with a 107.36 average and dumped out Dutch icon Raymond van Barneveld.

This comes off the back of winning all four Women’s Series titles at the weekend, topping that order of merit with £29,600 in ranking money – nearly £20,000 ahead of second-placed Fallon Sherrock.

Her talent is undeniable. But what lies ahead of the Doncaster native remains unknown.

Greaves a dominant force in ladies darts

It’s far from controversial to label Greaves the best female player in the world. Really, it's as close to a fact as a subjective opinion can get.

As I said before, no woman has come close to matching the 21-year-old’s dominance on the Women’s Series, and she has captured three consecutive WDF Women’s World Championships plus the previous two WDF Women’s World Masters.

Her only recent blip came when surrendering her Women’s World Matchplay crown to Lisa Ashton last month whilst seeking a hat-trick.

She has also won four PDC Development Tour titles and two PDC Challenge Tour titles, which are events open to all genders.

The sport has seen some unbelievable female players over the decades.

Trina Gulliver is a ten-time World Champion, whilst Ashton has four World Championships of her own and added a recent World Matchplay trophy.

The 65-year-old trailblazer Deta Hedman was recently awarded an OBE for her contribution to the sport and holds the distinction of being the most decorated darts player of all time in terms of sheer number of titles won – even breaking Phil Taylor’s record.

Despite the achievements of the aforementioned players, though, I would already hail Beau Greaves as the greatest female player of all time.

Her accomplishments at such a young age are staggering and she will undoubtedly continue to break new ground in the months and years ahead.

Can Greaves thrive in a male-dominated world?

Though the PDC have created more opportunities for female players since Fallon Sherrock’s World Championship heroics in 2019, the sport remains dominated by men.

Only two females have ever held a PDC Tour Card and none of the current 128 Tour Card holders are women.

The natural next step for Greaves is to earn her Tour Card and climb her way up the rankings – but she’s previously shown a reluctance to do this.

After her World Matchplay triumph in 2024, ‘Beau-N-Arrow’ admitted she doesn’t look forward to playing in the Grand Slam of Darts because she has to play against men, stating that women are not as good as men and the two should remain separate in the sport.

Her comments generated headlines considering her talent and stature in the game, and perhaps gave a glimpse into her mindset moving forward.

The youngster has snubbed the PDC World Championship on more than one occasion in favour of competing in the WDF Women’s World Championship.

Players are not allowed to compete in both tournaments in the same year following a legal Tomlin order passed in 1997.

Has Greaves had change of heart?

In 2025, Greaves has shown more of an interest in competing against men and has experienced success.

She made an unsuccessful return to Q-School at the start of the year but has captured three PDC Development Tour titles in 2025, as well as two PDC Challenge Tour crowns.

The talented youngster has also competed in five Players Championship events, only failing to go beyond the first round once.

On top of that, she made waves in Minehead in March by reaching the fourth round on her UK Open debut.

The man to eventually stop her was world number one Luke Humphries, winning 10-7, despite Greaves holding a 7-5 lead and threatening a stunning result.

Her success and impressive performances against the opposite sex seem to have inspired her, and in Blackpool she suggested a return to Alexandra Palace may be on the cards for her in the first ever £1million World Championship.

Dartitis battles makes Greaves' rise more remarkable

Though Greaves has hoovered up titles since she first picked up a dart at the tender age of 10, she has often battled the dreaded Dartitis.

Dartitis is a psychological condition that affects a player releasing the dart. The condition can be debilitating and has affected Eric Bristow, Mensur Suljovic and Gian van Veen to name a few.

Greaves sat down with me in 2023 and spoke candidly about her battle with the condition, opening up on the torment it has caused her and how she copes with it.

Pressure can be a key contributing factor to the onset of a Dartitis attack, and naturally there is more pressure when the stakes are higher.

Though this may be a concern, Greaves admitted that she is a different player to the one that toed the Ally Pally stage in 2022 and is no longer as nervous in high-pressure situations.

No matter which path Beau Greaves decides to take in her young career, expect success – because winning is just what she does.