Yorkshire’s own darts-silverware gathering machine, Beau Greaves, completed a hat-trick of Betfred Women’s World Matchplay titles in typically inconsiderate fashion this afternoon, denying Fallon Sherrock once again in a Blackpool final.
Beau & Arrow first claimed this title in 2023, repeated the trick in 2024 and, because apparently sharing is overrated, made it three after surviving a stirring Fallon Sherrock comeback.
The Queen of the Palace dragged herself all the way back to force a deciding leg, only for Greaves to slam the door shut like a Yorkshire pub landlord spotting someone asking for avocado on toast.
The 22-year-old phenomenon began the day by dispatching Finland’s Kirsi Viinikainen 5-1. Admittedly, Kirsi’s surname is considerably harder to pronounce than most of Beau’s checkouts, and probably takes longer to write than the match itself. The Finnish ace never really got a foothold as Greaves went about her business with all the emotion of someone folding laundry.
From there, things became a little less straightforward. On paper, her semi-final against Gemma Hayter looked like the darts equivalent of a pleasant Sunday stroll. Instead, it turned into one of those walks where your dog disappears into a hedge, it starts raining sideways and somebody’s forgotten the house keys.
Despite frequently launching darts towards various postcodes rather than the intended target during the opening exchanges, Hayter somehow managed to stay glued to Greaves. Somehow, the contest staggered all the way to a deciding leg, where Beau politely reminded everyone why she’s the best player on the planet by pinning a sensational 104 checkout.
Meanwhile, inaugural Matchplay champion Fallon Sherrock had reached the previous two finals only to leave with another runners-up medal. By this stage, she already has enough silverware to open a very respectable cutlery drawer, but understandably she fancied something a little shinier. Determined that history wouldn’t repeat itself for a third straight year, Sherrock arrived with revenge firmly on the agenda.
The Ceiling Smasher absolutely steamrolled her opening two matches, conceding just a single leg in total. First came a whitewash of an unusually subdued Deta Hedman, who, to be fair, has probably spent more time in airports this year than actual pilots.
Then reigning champion Lisa Ashton managed to nick just one leg before Fallon calmly carried on her merry way, looking every inch a woman with unfinished business.
Into the final, and it initially appeared Beau had already located the cruise control. The Yorkshire star edged clear and looked destined to disappear over the horizon while everyone else admired the scenery.
But Fallon had other ideas. Refusing to read the script, she clawed her way magnificently back into the contest, producing a comeback that had all the drama of a soap opera Christmas special and setting up a deciding leg worthy of the Winter Gardens stage.
Sadly for Sherrock, deciding legs against Beau Greaves currently have all the optimism of challenging a brick wall to a headbutting contest. For the second time during the afternoon, Greaves found another gear exactly when it mattered, edged her nose in front at precisely the right moment and claimed a third Blackpool crown. T
That’s three of these bad boys now in four years, another trophy in the cabinet, and another reminder to the rest of the women’s game that if you want to win anything in the Ladies game, your main obstacle is unfortunately Beau Greaves.
