"Man, these draws are rigged, I'm telling you": Damon Heta jokingly laments facing Beau Greaves again after close call in Antwerp
PDC
Damon Heta secured his place in the second round of the Flanders Darts Trophy after a hard-fought victory over Beau Greaves. The Australian looked to be on course for a relatively comfortable win for much of the match but saw Greaves fight her way back into the contest. Heta eventually came out on top 6-5. Afterwards, the Australian honestly admitted that he had felt anything but relaxed on stage.
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Heta made a strong start to the match and opened up a 5-2 lead. It appeared that there was little to worry about for the Australian, but Greaves was obviously not prepared to give up. She fought her way back and brought the tension fully back into the match. Heta ultimately had to pull out all the stops to get the victory over the line.
"No, why? I don't understand. Man, I was nervy as hell. At times I was nervy. I thought, oh yeah, I was comfortable. Then I wasn't, and then there was some crap, and there was some good.
When Greaves began her comeback, the Australian started to feel increasingly that he could be in trouble. "I'm like, 'Oh no, that's all I need: a 5-5 against Beau.'"
Nevertheless, Heta managed to keep his nerves under control when it mattered most. In the deciding leg, he found the right moments and eventually finished the match with a decisive 102 checkout. "At the end of the day, I got the win and I muscled out that 102 at the end there, so I'm absolutely stoked to be fair."
Already faced each other six times in 2026
The match in Antwerp was also far from an unfamiliar meeting for Heta and Greaves. The two players have faced each other remarkably often this year. Their clash at the Flanders Darts Trophy was already the sixth meeting between the pair in 2026.
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Five of those matches took place at Players Championship events. A European Tour meeting has now been added to that list. The fact that Heta and Greaves met again in the first round was therefore met with some surprise from the Australian.
"Man, these draws are rigged, I'm telling you. I meet her in the early rounds a lot. I don't know, the algorithms are meeting us all the time. But you know the class of Beau Greaves. Everyone knows the class of Beau Greaves."
According to Heta, that was ultimately the most important message he kept giving himself throughout the match. He did not want to get carried away by Greaves' comeback and tried to focus on the chances he would still get.
Greaves loses out early again after a good display, this time to Damon Heta.
"When you're up here, it's different levels, and you need to just try and stick to your own game, and that's what I just kept telling myself. I said, Just get your chance; take the chance."
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"Obviously, I missed a lot of them, but eventually I took the one that mattered in the end of the day. I'm really stoked with myself to get the win."
After the serious discussion about his match, there was also room for a notably light-hearted moment. A spectator pointed out to Heta that someone in the crowd would like to grow the same distinctive moustache as the Australian. Heta, naturally, had some fitting advice.
"He probably needs to grow up a little. Yeah, let it hang down a little, mate. Yeah, let it hang down. You'll be fine."
Heta ultimately left the stage with a victory, a huge sense of relief and a smile. It was far from convincing against Greaves, but in a tournament such as the Flanders Darts Trophy, only one thing ultimately matters: progressing to the next round. Heta got his chances, missed several of them, but ultimately took exactly the one opportunity that really mattered.
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Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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