Beau Greaves produced a spectacular performance to defeat Fallon Sherrock and retain her Betfred Women’s World Matchplay title at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens on Sunday afternoon.
Greaves averaged almost 99 to celebrate a 6-3 success against Sherrock in Sunday’s showpiece, as the only two winners of this prestigious title went head-to-head in the Empress Ballroom.
The 20-year-old has shattered a host of records on the PDC Women’s Series circuit during the last two years, and she underlined her status as the premier player in the women’s game to pocket the £10,000 top prize.
Greaves - who saw off Katie Sheldon and Mikuru Suzuki to reach the final - kicked off proceedings with legs of 13 and 15 darts to seize the early initiative, although Sherrock was undeterred, responding with legs of 13 and 14 darts to level at two apiece.
However, Greaves’ relentless scoring power began to take its toll midway through the match, as she won the next three legs without reply to move to the cusp of victory.
This magnificent three-leg spell included legs of 15, 13 and 12 darts as her average climbed above 107, only for Sherrock to preserve her slender hopes by pinning double 16 to reduce the deficit to 5-3.
The Milton Keynes trailblazer looked poised to continue her comeback in leg nine, only for Greaves to follow up a seventh 140 by nailing double six to seal the deal.
“I played really well in that final, and I’m over the moon to win this again,” admitted Greaves, who has now sealed qualification for November’s Grand Slam of Darts and the 2024/25 World Darts Championship.
“Fair play to Fallon. She played really well, and I’m happy that we both produced a performance like that in front of the TV cameras.
“It’s nice to share this stage with Fallon. She’s achieved great things here too, so I’m grateful for this moment.
“I felt really nervous in my first game. I knew it was going to be a challenge today, but when I needed to, I raised my game.
“I’m just thankful I have the trophy back, and hopefully I have it for a few more years to come!”
Greaves began her defence of the title with a hard-fought win against Ireland’s Sheldon in the afternoon’s opener, defying a below-par performance to close out a 4-1 success.
This set up a repeat of the 2023 decider between Greaves and Suzuki, and the Doncaster darter turned on the style to dispatch her Japanese rival, landing 14, 13 and 15 darters en route to a 5-2 victory.
2022 champion Sherrock made a confident start to her campaign, producing a proficient display on the outer ring to whitewash Blackpool debutant Anastasia Dobromyslova.
However, she was forced to survive seven match darts in an extraordinary semi-final tussle against Lisa Ashton, recovering from 3-0 down to prevail in a contest dominated by missed doubles.
“Beau is a quality player, and I couldn’t keep up with her in that final,” conceded Sherrock, who fell just short in her bid for a second Winter Gardens triumph.
“I think we are the two best players in the women’s game at the moment, and hopefully our performances encourage other people to come into the game.
“I’m so excited to see how I perform in the second half of the year, because I want to be at Ally Pally, I want to get to the Grand Slam, so I’m going to take confidence from making this final.”
Despite her defeat to Sherrock, Ashton moved through to her third consecutive Women’s World Matchplay semi-final with a clinical 4-1 win against Rhian O’Sullivan, after pinning four of her eight attempts at double.
Meanwhile, 2023 runner-up Suzuki had opened her challenge with an impressive 4-2 success against Noa-Lynn van Leuven, defying two maximums from the Dutch darter to progress to the last four.