Women's Draw WDF World Championship Lakeside 2025: No Beau Greaves but Hedman, De Graaf, Suzuki and O'Sullivan lead the way

It is very much the era of change in the WDF World Championship Women's tournament at the Lakeside with Beau Greaves who is three time champion not defending her title this time around with the draw confirmed for November 28 - December 7 at the iconic venue.

Greaves instead has decided to play at the PDC World Darts Championship amid a move onto the ProTour next season with a Tour Card already confirmed for the imperious Beau n Arrow who has dominated recent years in Frimley Green.

But while she won't be there, many familiar faces and potential new ones too remain in the reckoning for the title and it could yet be a golden opportunity for the greatest player never to win a World title in the darting legend Deta Hedman.

Hedman will be one of the leading lights in the field who will be aiming to win the most wide open WDF World Championship on the women's side in a number of years. But she faces a tough ride if she is to get there. Two-time Women's World Champion, Mikuru Suzuki makes her Lakeside return and has a tough opener against Kirsi Viinikainen in the tie of the first round with the winner going on to face Deta Hedman.

So if Hedman can get through that, she has to fancy her chances. Top seed though is the Dutchwoman, Lerena Rietbergen who has ascended to become the top player on the WDF circuit amid Greaves not playing and others deciding to go the Women's Series route.She faces off against Aletta Wajer or American debutant Aaja Jalbert in her bid for a maiden Lakeside title.

The new Women's World Master Lorraine Hyde will also go from being an outsider to one of the favourites. After a superb weekend in Budapest, she goes in aiming to tick off the other box on the major roll of honour. She faces either Paula Murphy or Emine Dursun in the Last 16.

While last year's surprise finalist Sophie McKinlay faces either her old youth sparring partner in Paige Pauling who will play in the Girls event again also aiming to defend her title. Or it will be Lisa Zollikofer in her first game for McKinlay if Pauling departs. Aileen de Graaf also makes her Lakeside return and faces either Joanne Hadley or Eve Watson. The former no doubt will be one of the favourites.

As will Nicole Regnaud who has gone from being a qualifier to one of the top seeds with the Kiwi known as Renegade showing talent on the Lakeside stage in the past. But she lost to Deta Hedman last year in the Quarter-Finals. She faces veteran Irina Armstrong or the returning Maria Carli in her first game aiming to establish herself as one to watch. Regnaud comes off the back of another year dominating the circuit back home in New Zealand.

Rhian O'Sullivan also will be one to keep an eye on as often the player to spar with Greaves on the WDF circuit, she faces Jitka Cisarova or Maud Jansson to open. While Tracy Feiertag takes on either Priscilla Steenbergen or Mayumi Ouchi or Nina Lech-Musialska. Feiertag is seventh seed at Lakeside.

Ouchi or Lech-Musialska will face Steenbergen with the WDF making an error calculating the final place awarded from the race table. Maud Jansson was invited and included in the daw rather than Lisa Zollikofer. Once it was discovered, they invited both. Zollikofer is qualifier one so plays Pauling. While Qualifier 2 is dictated by the play-off. Jansson, Zollikofer and the two qualifiers are all guaranteed first round prize money though despite the latter two having to play to get into the draw.