BEAU Greaves added a further two Women’s Series titles to her impressive total as Dutch legend Aileen De Graaf finally added her name to the list of winners on the PDC Tour.
Greaves secured a record-extending 24th PDC Women’s Series title on Saturday, as Aileen de Graaf celebrated a landmark maiden win in Niedernhausen.
Saturday’s double-header saw 85 players in action at the H+ Hotel, as the biggest names in the women’s game returned to action for the first time since July’s Women’s World Matchplay.
Greaves successfully retained her title at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens last month, and she extended her lead at the top of the Women’s Series Order of Merit with Event 13 victory in Germany.
The 20-year-old averaged 95.74 to defeat Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-1 in Saturday’s opening final, conceding just four legs in six matches to clinch her fourth Women’s Series title of 2024.
Greaves recorded a trio of whitewash wins in advancing to the last eight, dispatching Fiona Roberts, Priscilla Steenbergen and Kelly Streef before sweeping aside Daniela Schug 5-2 in the quarter-finals.
The Doncaster darter continued the procession with a 5-1 thrashing of Natalie Gilbert in the last four, before converting a stunning 148 checkout to wrap up victory over Van Leuven by the same scoreline.
Van Leuven also impressed in advancing to a third Women’s Series final of 2024, averaging 90 and 92 in wins over Kim Holden and Aurora Fochesato.
The Dutch star then overturned a 4-2 deficit against Robyn Byrne in the last eight, and reeled off four consecutive legs from 4-1 down to dump out De Graaf in the semi-finals.
However, De Graaf avenged that result on her way to a maiden PDC title in Event 14, which she sealed with a hard-fought 5-2 success against Anca Zijlstra.
De Graaf – a Women’s World Matchplay runner-up in 2022 – had lost in all five of her previous Women’s Series finals, but she finally broke that duck to become the seventh different winner on the circuit in 2024.
Following convincing wins over Sandy Wolf, Laura Patton and Tanja Klueners, De Graaf survived match darts in the last 16 to thwart Greaves’ bid for back-to-back titles.
The 34-year-old then ran out a 5-2 winner against Van Leuven in the quarter-finals, before seeing off four-time Lakeside Women’s Champion Lisa Ashton in a heavyweight semi-final showdown.
Zijlstra dumped out two-time Lakeside Women’s Champion Mikuru Suzuki and former women’s world number one Lorraine Winstanley in her run to the Event 14 decider, only to fall short against her compatriot.
2024 PDC Women’s Series
Saturday August 10, H+ Hotel, Niedernhausen
Event 13
Quarter-Finals
Beau Greaves 5-2 Daniela Schug
Natalie Gilbert 5-4 Rhian O’Sullivan
Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-4 Robyn Byrne
Aileen de Graaf 5-2 Laura Turner
Semi-Finals
Beau Greaves 5-1 Natalie Gilbert
Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-4 Aileen de Graaf
Final
Beau Greaves 5-1 Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Event 14
Quarter-Finals
Anca Zijlstra 5-1 Lorraine Hyde
Lorraine Winstanley 5-2 Aletta Wajer
Lisa Ashton 5-1 Neuza Araujo
Aileen de Graaf 5-2 Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Semi-Finals
Anca Zijlstra 5-4 Lorraine Winstanley
Aileen de Graaf 5-2 Lisa Ashton
Final
Aileen de Graaf 5-2 Anca Zijlstra
Noa-Lynn van Leuven and Beau Greaves claimed a title apiece in Sunday’s PDC Women’s Series double-header in Germany.
Van Leuven and Greaves contested both finals in Niedernhausen on Sunday, with the Dutch star coming out on top in the Event 15 decider, before Greaves avenged that result to triumph in Event 16.
Greaves also prevailed when the pair went head-to-head in Saturday’s Event 13 showpiece, and they again took centre stage as the year’s fourth weekend of Women’s Series action drew to a close at the H+ Hotel.
Van Leuven defied a stirring fightback from Greaves to win a thrilling Event 15 final, producing a 13-dart hold to celebrate victory in a last-leg shoot-out, despite racing into a 4-0 lead.
The 27-year-old claimed a host of major scalps in clinching a third Women’s Series title of 2024, kicking off proceedings with victory over Event 14 runner-up Anca Zijlstra.
Van Leuven then overcame Gemma Hayter and Aileen de Graaf – title winners on the Women’s Series circuit this year – before overcoming Ireland’s Robyn Byrne in the last eight.
This was followed by a 5-1 thrashing of Rhian O’Sullivan in the semi-finals, and she capped off a memorable win by edging out Greaves in a dramatic affair.
Greaves had posted a ton-topping average to see off Fallon Sherrock in a heavyweight last 16 clash, although the Doncaster darter returned to winning ways in Sunday’s second event.
The 20-year-old dispatched Talita Biagetti, Byrne and Rose Mort without conceding a leg, and she continued her serene progress with a 5-2 win against Paige Pauling in the quarter-finals.
The Women’s World Matchplay champion then fended off a late rally from Kim Holden to claim a 5-3 win in the last four, before defeating Van Leuven by the same scoreline in a high-quality Event 16 final.
There was nothing to separate the duo after six legs, but Greaves delivered the goods in the latter stages, following up a 72 finish with a 16-dart break to clinch her fifth Women’s Series title of the campaign.
Greaves boasts a £6,400 lead at the top of the Women’s Series Order of Merit, while Van Leuven has climbed to second, establishing a £2,000 cushion over Sherrock in third position.
2024 PDC Women’s Series
Sunday August 11, H+ Hotel, Niedernhausen
Event 15
Quarter-Finals
Mikuru Suzuki 5-1 Paige Pauling
Beau Greaves 5-2 Lisa Ashton
Rhian O’Sullivan 5-2 Lorraine Hyde
Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-3 Robyn Byrne
Semi-Finals
Beau Greaves 5-1 Mikuru Suzuki
Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-1 Rhian O’Sullivan
Final
Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-4 Beau Greaves
Event 16
Quarter-Finals
Kim Holden 5-1 Fallon Sherrock
Beau Greaves 5-2 Paige Pauling
Lorraine Winstanley 5-4 Lisa Ashton
Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-4 Gemma Hayter
Semi-Finals
Beau Greaves 5-3 Kim Holden
Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-4 Lorraine Winstanley
Final
Beau Greaves 5-3 Noa-Lynn van Leuven
The top two ranked players from the final PDC Women’s Series Order of Merit – aside from Greaves – will qualify for the 2024/25 World Darts Championship, with the top-ranked player also assured of a place in November’s Grand Slam of Darts alongside Greaves.
The 2024 PDC Women’s Series continues next month, as Events 17-20 take place at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan from September 7-8.
—–ENDS—-
Images: PDC
