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The darts sensation pulled off a dramatic last-leg decider to overcome the reigning world champion 6-5 in the semifinal round of the PDC world youth championship held in Wigan.

Encounter Overview

Greaves, who obtained a professional tour spot for the upcoming seasons, took an early lead at 2-1 in the critical match. Her opponent fought back with three consecutive legs, following a prior win in the World Grand Prix final where he overcame competitor his main rival 6-1 in the earlier event.

Doncaster’s Greaves, a two-time women’s major event winner, staged a recovery to level the match at 4-4 and once more at 5-5, forcing a last-leg shootout. Greaves clinched victory with an 80 checkout as the world No. 2 experienced an uncommon loss despite a scoring average of over 107, while his opponent averaged 105.

Van Veen’s Path

Reigning titleholder Van Veen progressed from the opposite half of the knockout draw, defeating his semifinal opponent 6-4. The final is set for 23 November at Butlin’s Minehead Resort, which will simultaneously stage the season-ending Players Championship event.

Player’s Packed Calendar

Instead of taking a break after what he described as a “grueling” double-start event in Leicester, the young star was back in action at the Wigan venue on Monday afternoon as part of the 128-strong field.

The 18-year-old, who has claimed victory in the UK Open and major Matchplay event this season, easily progressed from the group phase, where players were split into 32 groups of four and the top two moved on to the knockout rounds.

Path to the Semis

Littler overcame Tom Garfield 6-2 with an scoring rate of 102, then beat Ireland’s Ronan McDonagh 6-1 to reach the last 16. Charlie Manby, ranked fourth on the PDC Development Tour, led 5-3 before Littler won the final three legs to progress.

His last-eight match against another opponent was less dramatic, as Littler built on a fast start to claim a decisive win. However, a expected rematch of the 2023 final with the defending champion was denied by her outstanding display, making her the first woman to make the world youth championship final.

Her Path to Victory

She won her round-robin pool with three wins from three matches, then swept an early knockout foe in her initial knockout round. The young star defeated Dutchman Danny Jansen 6-2 in the last 16, but had to overcome a two-leg deficit against her next opponent, taking four consecutive games to move forward.

In her quarter-final, Greaves overcame a brief rally from Germany’s Liam Maendl-Lawrance to secure a 6-2 victory and set up the high-stakes match against the world champion. The pair could meet again at the upcoming Grand Slam event, which she has earned a spot in by leading the PDC Women’s Series Order of Merit this year.

Sportsmanship Display

The darts star posted online to praise Greaves on her win and wish her well for the championship match. Writing on his Instagram story, Littler stated: “I threw two 10-darters, was close to a nine-darter and still couldn’t win. Well done to Beau. Good luck in Minehead. Incredible skill.”