Beau Greaves cruised to a second WDF World Championship title as she defeated the Netherlands’s Aileen de Graaf 4-1.
‘Beau n Arrow’ came into Sunday’s final as the massive favourite, buoyed by a string of solid performances through the week. But de Graaf too was there on merit, having got the better of four-time champion Lisa Ashton in the semi-final stage and quietly ploughed away throughout the week.
Greaves did not exit second gear in the early stages of the game, taking the first leg before some scrappy doubling in leg 2 provided de Graaf the chance to strike level.A double 16 was not long followed by Beau’s first maximum of the night, enough to carry her on her way to a one-set lead.
The second set seemed to slip away from de Graaf, the Dutchwoman always seeming one visit behind the defending champion who cruised to a 3-0 win in games.After going a leg behind, a reassuring hold of throw from de Graaf kept another set from running away with her.
The first-time finalist then stole the throw of Greaves, putting her just one game away from halving the deficit, but an impressive break of throw steadied the 19-year-old.
Keen not to rue her missed opportunity, Aileen’s resolve was not tested too significantly. Set 4 saw the glimmer of another chance, Aileen 2-1 up and Beau with the throw, the pair going blow for blow on scoring.
A well-executed checkout, a 3-dart 70 out, helped her to sneak the set and ensure the final would not be a whitewash.After having worked so hard to get the match back within reach, the former World Masters and World Trophy winner might have hoped her time had come.
But Greaves had soon enough got her scoring boots back on, easing to the first two legs in set 5.A double 12 for what would have been a classy 141 out to finish went missing, but after de Graaf missed a chance at 132, it was Beau’s moment again.
A second final and a second title: the leading woman on tour is not messing around.“Aileen is a great player but I got ahead at the right moments and I am just so happy to be here,”
Beau told presenter Jo Ankier after the match.“When I went off in the break, I knew I needed to get ahead as Aileen was going to push me all the way. Once I got back on the stage, I just wanted to get on with it.”
Greaves now joins the aforementioned Ashton, Trina Gulliver, Anastasia Dobromyslova and Mikuru Suzuki as a multiple women’s world champion.
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Images: Chris Sargeant / WDF
