The Groups π― Here's how the groups shape up ahead of the 2023 @MrVegas_Casino Grand Slam of Darts π π November 11-19 β° Starts 1300 GMT π bit.ly/GSOD23Draw
Beau Greaves feels she would have only been 'making up the numbers' if she'd taken part in the PDC's World Darts Championship. She ultimately chose not to go to Alexandra Palace but to compete at Lakeside, where the Women's World Championship is being played.
There she became world champion last year and in some style too, conceding only one set in four matches. She beat Kirsty Hutchinson 4-0 in the final thanks to an average of 92.02, a record for a woman at Lakeside.
Greaves qualified for the PDC's World Darts Championship this year by winning the Women's World Matchplay in July. Both the PDC's World Darts Championship and Lakeside take place in December. The PDC decided that participants who compete at Alexandra Palace should not also compete at Lakeside. Besides Greaves, this also affected Haupai Puha, Ben Robb, Luke Littler and Berry van Peer.
In late September, the WDF proudly announced that Greaves' choice was Lakeside. In conversation with Sky Sports, the 19-year-old Englishwoman gives a detailed explanation of this choice.
"It was one of those because ever since I started playing darts I wanted to be a World Champion and I did that and now I want to go and defend it," Greaves stated bluntly. ''I just enjoy Lakeside a lot more and I felt as if I needed to be there as the defending champion. If I wasn't then maybe I would have considered going to the PDC Worlds but it was literally what I wanted to play in so I ended up choosing Lakeside."
At Lakeside, Greaves is certain of 1,500 pounds of prize money. However, the towering favourite for the overall victory, she's highly likely to earn 25,000 pounds with a women's world title. To collect the same amount at the PDC World Darts Championship, Greaves would have had to reach the third round at Alexandra Palace.
"Money is money," she says of that. "I think right now it's one of them where I'm not desperate for money. I don't need to chase it and think 'where am I going to earn more'. I was just thinking about my darts and how I was going to feel. I could go to Lakeside, lose first round and get nowhere near what I would earn at Ally Pally. I've considered it all and on the Women's Series I will hopefully get to Ally Pally next year, but then I could be in the same position every year if I do well. It's all about weighing up my options at the time and making the choice really."
The teenager from Doncaster, England, previously stated that she prefers to play against her female peers rather than her male darters. She said it is something that ''does not appeal'' to her.
Greaves, nicknamed "Beau 'n' Arrow," reigned supreme on the Women's Series circuit this year with 12 titles in 24 tournaments, while thus also taking the Women's World Matchplay title.
"I prefer playing ladies' darts because playing the men all the time isn't something that appeals to me but at the same time it's where the money is, so I have to think in the long run what's going to be better for me financially, but at the minute I get more enjoyment out of playing ladies' darts," she explains.
"When I played at Ally Pally I felt as if I was just making the numbers up. I know I'm not because I earned my place there and I had every right to be there. I just feel comfortable playing the WDF and playing ladies' darts so I just found it out of my comfort zone. But the more I do it, hopefully the better I'll be."
The Groups π― Here's how the groups shape up ahead of the 2023 @MrVegas_Casino Grand Slam of Darts π π November 11-19 β° Starts 1300 GMT π bit.ly/GSOD23Draw