Greaves Debut Halted By O'Connor | Darts World Magazine

William O’Connor delivered an eye-catching performance on Friday night to record a straight-sets victory over Greaves, who made history on her Alexandra Palace debut.

The Magpie produced what could be described as a masterclass in concentrating on the job at hand and not being phased by external factors.

Greaves – the youngest woman to compete at the World Darts Championship – impressed despite the scoreline, producing a brace of brilliant ton-plus finishes in defeat.

The 18-year-old scooped eight consecutive Women’s Series titles and won 52 successive matches to seal her place in the sport’s biggest event, but it was a contest decided by fine margins.

Greaves showed no sign of debut nerves, raising the roof with a 120 checkout in the opening leg, although it was O’Connor who drew first blood in a high-quality first set.

The Doncaster darter missed double 16 for a 105 set-clincher, but she responded by producing a magnificent 122 finish on double seven to kick off set two.

Greaves almost levelled proceedings with her third ton-plus finish – wiring the bull for a spectacular 161 kill – and O’Connor duly capitalised by reeling off three straight legs to double his cushion.

The Irishman appeared unfazed by the partisan atmosphere, and he landed a clinical 107 finish en route to wrapping up set three without reply, capping off a high-quality display.

“I’m happy to get the win,” reflected O’Connor, who was full of praise for Greaves after setting up a second-round clash against Germany’s number one Gabriel Clemens.

“Beau played absolutely brilliantly. She has got a huge future ahead of her, and hopefully this is the last time I play her for a long time!”

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Image: Taylor Lanning / PDC

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