Beau Greaves secured qualification for the Cazoo World Darts Championship in sensational style on Sunday, extending her winning run on the PDC Women’s Series to 52 matches with two further titles in Wigan.
Greaves claimed back-to-back titles in Events 17 & 18 to set up a thrilling finale in the race for World Championship qualification, as she trailed Fallon Sherrock by £250 ahead of the year’s final two Women’s Series events.
However, Greaves maintained her unstoppable form to seal an Alexandra Palace debut, prevailing in Events 19 & 20 to qualify alongside Order of Merit leader Lisa Ashton.
Greaves remarkably didn’t feature in the year’s first 12 events, but after winning four consecutive titles in Hildesheim back in August, she repeated the feat in Wigan to create more history with eight tournament victories in a row.
“It’s a brilliant day for me,” said Greaves, who will become the youngest woman to feature at the World Darts Championship in December.
“I did not think I would get to Ally Pally at all. I felt like such an underdog and I’m still in shock. It hasn’t sunk in yet.
“You have got to beat the best to be the best. I’m so happy. It’s such a massive achievement.”
Greaves kicked off Sunday’s action with a record-breaking Event 19 victory, posting the highest average by a female player to defeat Sherrock in a spectacular final.
The teenage sensation averaged 107.86 to close out a thrilling 5-3 victory, extending her winning run to an astonishing 45 games in the process.
Sherrock shared the opening six legs of a high-quality final, although she missed her chance to break when needing 81 in leg seven.
Greaves took out a brilliant 148 to hold throw and then followed three 140s with an 81 finish for an 11-darter to wrap up another title – her seventh in succession.
The Doncaster darter was imperious throughout Event 19, averaging 94 across seven matches to scoop the £1,000 prize.
Greaves followed a whitewash win over Debra Watling by averaging 99 in a 4-2 victory over Evonne Taylor, before breezing past Sarah Roberts and Corrine Hammond to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.
She then battled past Kirsty Hutchinson 4-2 in the last eight, and a 94 average was enough to complete a 5-3 success against Natalie Gilbert in the semi-finals
Greaves’ Event 19 success gave her a £150 cushion over Sherrock – with Ashton, who succumbed to Sherrock in the last four, already assured of her place at Alexandra Palace.
Sherrock’s defeat to Mikuru Suzuki in the last 16 of Event 20 ended her hopes of qualification, but Greaves continued her charge, storming through to the final for the loss of only three legs.
The 18-year-old dispatched Lorraine Hyde, Annmarie Potts and Rachel Brooks in four straight legs, while battling past Christine Readhead 4-2 to seal her spot in the last eight.
Greaves then produced her second ton-plus average of the afternoon in a 4-1 victory over Ashton, averaging 102 and landing five 180s in as many legs to cap off another sublime display.
Greaves’ five-leg demolition of Ireland’s Robyn Byrne in the semi-finals set up another showdown against Suzuki – the fifth time they’ve contested a final in the last eight events.
She raced into an early 2-0 lead courtesy of back-to-back 14-darters, and although Suzuki avoided the whitewash, Greaves followed up her second 180 with a two-dart 64 kill to triumph with another 14-dart leg.
Ashton – who scooped seven Women’s Series titles in 2022 – will make her fourth appearance at the World Darts Championship, while Greaves will become the seventh different woman to feature in the sport’s biggest event.
Sherrock ended the year with £6,950 on the Women’s Series Order of Merit, while Lorraine Winstanley finished fourth with £5,050 after picking up her maiden title during 2022.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PDC WOMEN’S SERIES ORDER OF MERIT.
See match stats with DartConnect.
2022 PDC Women’s Series
Sunday October 30, Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan
Event 19
Quarter-Finals
Fallon Sherrock 4-2 Anca Zijlstra
Lisa Ashton 4-1 Robin Byrne
Beau Greaves 4-2 Kirsty Hutchinson
Natalie Gilbert 4-2 Anastasia Dobromyslova
Semi-Finals
Fallon Sherrock 5-3 Lisa Ashton
Beau Greaves 5-3 Natalie Gilbert
Final
Beau Greaves 5-3 Fallon Sherrock
Event 20
Quarter-Finals
Robyn Byrne 4-0 Aileen de Graaf
Beau Greaves 4-1 Lisa Ashton
Mikuru Suzuki 4-3 Lorraine Winstanley
Rhian O’Sullivan 4-1 Trina Gulliver
Semi-Finals
Beau Greaves 5-0 Robyn Byrne
Mikuru Suzuki 5-3 Rhian O’Sullivan
Final
Beau Greaves 5-1 Mikuru Suzuki
ENDS
