Although her 2025
Grand Slam of Darts campaign ended in the group stage this year,
Beau Greaves left Wolverhampton with her head held high.
The 21-year-old from Doncaster, already regarded as one of the most gifted female players the sport has ever seen, closed out her tournament with a 5–3 win over Germany’s
Niko Springer – and plenty of belief in what lies ahead. Her performances, attitude and growing composure showed a player ready for the next step: a full season as a PDC Tour Card holder.
“A strange tournament, but I’ll take confidence from it”
After her final group game, Greaves reflected honestly on her week. “It’s been a weird tournament,” she admitted. “I played well in the first two games, and that was a strange one, but it’s always nice to finish on a win and go out of the tournament on a high. It’s been positive – I’ll take confidence from it and move on.”
Her victory came after two narrow defeats to darting greats Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson. Despite the frustration, she remained grounded. “I’ve thrown some good darts, I’ve just had some bad timing,” she said. “I’ve not hit the right shots at the right time, but other than that I’ve enjoyed all three games. I’ve played well, just not got the results.”
“I know now that I’ve got the game”
For Greaves, this Grand Slam was about more than results – it was about proving she could compete with the best in the world.
“It’s the unknown, isn’t it?” she explained. “When you’re sort of tinkering outside the Tour Card spots, you wonder: are you good enough to go on and keep one? I think I am. I’ve shown it in little bits. I know I’ve got a long way to go, but I feel good, I feel confident, and I’ve just got to push on towards the end of the year and into the next couple of years.”
Living under the spotlight
With her performances and calm stage presence, Greaves has become a fan favourite. The crowd and social media attention are impossible to ignore, but she tries not to get caught up in the noise. “Some of it’s good, some of it’s bad, but I don’t really care,” she said. “I know what I want to do. I listen to my family and I’m not really interested in what anyone else says. I’ve had a good tournament – I didn’t get through the group, but it’s not like I threw badly. It’s all positive.”
During her final group match, the crowd was overwhelmingly on her side – something Springer couldn’t help but notice. “I did say to Niko, like, I’m sorry about the crowd, but I can’t do anything about it,” Greaves admitted. “There were so many people there and it is what it is. He was already through, so there wasn’t much for him to lose.”
Greaves showed against Van Gerwen and Anderson that she belongs at this level. “When I won the bull against Michael, I thought, if I can just hold my throw, I’ve got a chance,” she said. “But there’s a little bit of my game that’s missing. I need to somehow improve on that. Against the ladies I might get away with it, but playing the top men, it’s not going to happen. That’s something I need to work on – but that’s a good thing, not a bad one.”
“Losing is part of learning”
For someone used to winning almost everything in the women’s and youth game, losing is a new experience. “I don’t enjoy losing,” she said candidly. “But sometimes when you’re playing someone that good, you just have to take it on the chin. It is what it is. The last two legs I had – the deciders – could I have done better? Absolutely. But will I get better at that? Probably, yeah. That’s why I see it as a positive. They’ve been doing it for that long and I’m only just getting into it. It’s nothing negative – it’s all positive, and I’m looking forward to the next one.”
There was also a lighter moment in her match against Springer, when the German reacted cheekily to the booing crowd. “I thought it was funny,” Greaves laughed. “I didn’t think it was disrespectful. They were on his back – why not give a bit back? Even if he hadn’t done that, they’d still have been on him anyway. I tried to concentrate on my game, but I couldn’t help but laugh.”
Still, she admits she’s not a fan of hostile atmospheres. “I’m not a massive fan of the crowd being like that,” she said. “Obviously there’s always someone they want to win, but it is what it is. That’s just darts. It happens, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
The irony of the group stage
After two excellent matches averaging over 100, Greaves produced a much lower average in her final game – but finally got the win. “Pretty much sums up group-stage darts,” she smiled. “I did feel a bit flat coming into tonight, just because there was nothing to play for really. It was a strange feeling, just playing for the sake of it. I didn’t play very well, but I got over the line, and that’s that. Sometimes you play well and lose, sometimes you don’t play well and win – that’s just darts.”
With her PDC Tour Card secured for 2026, Greaves now looks ahead to the future. “I just feel confident with my game,” she said. “I know I’m not at the top yet, and that’s fine. I just want to play, learn, and enjoy it.”
Earlier in the tournament,
Gerwyn Price had joked that a Premier League spot for Greaves would be “a joke” – but she’s not paying attention to any outside noise. “I don’t need people telling me I’m not ready,” she said firmly. “I know that myself. It’s about my own journey – me and my family, and no one else.”