"Beau Greaves is a massive inspiration... if I can even do half of what she's done" - 17-year-old super-talent Paige Pauling makes statement on senior Lakeside debut

Seventeen-year-old Paige Pauling marked her first senior appearance at the WDF World Darts Championship by immediately leaning into the influence of Beau Greaves — and then backing it up on stage with a confident 2-0 victory over Lisa Zollikofer on Sunday night.

Fresh from a year spent balancing youth and senior commitments on the WDF circuit, the 2024 girls’ champion at Lakeside delivered a composed whitewash on her Women’s World Championship debut. Afterwards, she made no secret of who continues to set the standard she hopes to follow.

“Yeah, she’s a massive inspiration, you know?" Pauling said when asked about Beau Greaves post-match. I think for any girl playing, I think she’s just absolutely phenomenal, isn’t she really?"

"If I can even do half of what she’s done, then that would be amazing," Pauling adds. "But obviously I want to try and be the best, but, you know, she’s a very, very tough player to beat.”

The teenager settled faster than her opponent despite a scrappy opening few visits from both players. She broke throw immediately, edging through a 23-dart opener and a 25-dart follow-up for a 2-0 lead before an 18-darter — sealed with a superb 110 checkout — finally calmed the early nerves.

Pauling then tightened her scoring into set two, opening with a 14-dart hold on 68. From there she looked set to sprint to the finish, only for a run of missed match darts to allow Zollikofer to drag the set into a decider. The Swiss player missed the chance to force a third set, and Pauling eventually crossed the line at the second attempt.

For a first outing on the senior Lakeside stage, she was content — if not ecstatic. “To be fair, I don’t think it was my best performance, but I can’t really argue with anything because, you know, my first ever game playing the women’s World Championships and, you know, I think I did all right. And did well to get over the line eventually.”

This week, Pauling is attempting something that has become a defining measure of the modern female prodigy: competing for a senior title while simultaneously defending her girls’ crown. It’s the path walked so famously last year by her next opponent, Sophie McKinlay — the same player she beat to lift the 2024 youth title.

Pauling knows the repeat showdown is coming, and the dynamic is familiar. “Off the oche, me and Sophie — we’re really close. But on the stage it’s kind of just a different thing. You kind of just focus on yourself; you’re just doing what you can to win.”

She added that last year’s Lakeside experience has already paid dividends. “I know my whereabouts, know what I’m doing… every stage is pretty much the same really, but yeah, I think that obviously helps.”

Three senior WDF titles in 2025 underline the strength of Pauling’s upward curve. For a player still developing physically and technically, her step into the women’s ranks has been encouragingly methodical.

“The seniors is definitely a lot harder than playing in the youth, but I think every tournament that I’ve gone to, I’ve kind of maybe gotten one step further than I did the time before… I’ve done well to win — I’ve won, I think, three WDF women’s titles this year. So, yeah, maybe next year we can try and win some more.”

Her 2026 goals remain simple but sharply focused. “Probably do the same things as this year, qualify for the women’s again, and just get as far as I can.”

Sunday’s performance — and the poise behind it — suggests that aim is well within reach.