PREVIEW PDC World Youth Championship final: Gian van Veen chases history as Beau Greaves aims to become first female champion

Not only will the winner of the Players Championship Finals receive a trophy on Sunday night — a new World Youth Champion will also be crowned. This year’s PDC World Youth Championship decider will see Gian van Veen and Beau Greaves face off around 22:00 on Sunday evening.

It has now become a tradition for the final of the PDC World Youth Championship to be played on the same night as the Players Championship Finals. And for several reasons, this year’s showdown is a special one.

Van Veen has already secured his place in the history books. The 23-year-old from Poederoijen is the first player ever to reach the World Youth Championship final three years in a row. In 2023 he was beaten 6-4 by a then-16-year-old Luke Littler, who at the time was still relatively unknown to the wider public.

In 2024, Van Veen finally got his hands on the title. After a remarkable all-Dutch final against Jurjen van der Velde, ‘GVV The Giant’ became the first player from the Netherlands to win the PDC youth world crown. Should he overcome Greaves on Sunday, he would become only the second player — after Dimitri Van den Bergh in 2017 and 2018 — to successfully defend the title.

Greaves, meanwhile, has made history of her own. The 21-year-old has become the first woman ever to reach the final of this event, doing so in sensational fashion by beating Littler 6-5 in the semi-finals. It wasn’t even a case of Littler performing poorly — the world number one averaged 107.40 — but Greaves responded with a superb 105.02 and sealed the match with an 11-darter in the deciding leg.

This would not be Greaves’ first title outside the Women’s Series. ‘Beau ’n’ Arrow’ has already collected two Challenge Tour titles and three Development Tour titles in 2025. Through her success on the youth circuit she also earned herself a PDC Tour Card, which will allow her to compete week in, week out against the world’s best in 2026 and 2027.

Both finalists are guaranteed £6,000 in prize money, with the winner taking home £12,000. By reaching the final, Van Veen and Greaves have also secured qualification for the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts.

This is the fifteenth edition of the PDC’s youth world title. Arron Monk became the inaugural champion in 2011 at Alexandra Palace, beating Michael van Gerwen 6-4. The following year, the final moved to London’s O2, where James Hubbard again denied Van Gerwen to claim the trophy.

In 2013 and 2014 the final was staged on Premier League Darts Finals Night. Michael Smith defeated Ricky Evans 6-1 in 2013, before Keegan Brown took the 2014 title with a 6-4 win over Rowby-John Rodriguez.

Butlin’s Resort in Minehead hosted the final for the first time in 2015, when Max Hopp beat Nathan Aspinall 6-5. Corey Cadby became the only non-European champion so far in 2016, defeating Berry van Peer 6-2.

Dimitri Van den Bergh won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, beating Josh Payne (6-3) and Martin Schindler (6-3). Luke Humphries claimed the 2019 crown with a dominant 6-0 victory over Adam Gawlas — the only whitewash in a final to date.

Bradley Brooks lifted the trophy in 2020 after edging Joe Davis 6-5, followed by Ted Evetts’ 6-4 win over Nathan Rafferty in 2021. Josh Rock defeated Rafferty 6-1 in 2022, before Luke Littler became the youngest champion ever in 2023. Van Veen was the runner-up that year, but he struck back in 2024 with a 6-5 victory over fellow Dutchman Jurjen van der Velde.