Can the outstanding Beau Greaves upset Daryl Gurney at the World Darts Championship? Laura Turner says ‘Beau ‘n’ Arrow’ could beat “anyone at the time.”
One of the notable ties from the first round was: Three-time women’s world champion Greaves takes on World Cup winner Gurney.
The 21-year-old from Doncaster recently gave Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson a run for their money at the Grand Slam of Darts and will provide a test for the Northern Irishman.
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Speaking about Love The Darts, Abigail Davies and Chris Murphy discuss whether Beau Greaves should be in the conversation in the Premier League.
Turner, who played in the recent PDC Women’s Series, admits it was a tough draw for both players, but believes Greaves can prove why she is one of the most talked about Planet Darts players.
“Gurney has been in between, but he’s been off the pace over the last few years. But he’s been a lot better this year. Coming back from winning the World Cup, he’s performed better at these major tournaments. I think he’s going to be really, really difficult for Beau to get through,” the Sky Sports analyst said.
“But Greaves can beat anyone on the day. I think this is another match that could be really close. One of them could run away with it. I think it’s who has the best game on the day.
“You can essentially look at it as an individual match rather than one long race to 10 or 11 legs. So it’s a race to three and you go sets by set. But what I love about World Championships in a set play scenario is that no one is completely out of it. We’ve seen real comebacks because we can be 32 points away from winning and then suddenly lose a set and then suddenly have another three. I think set plays will help quite a few people, not just her.”
Could Greaves follow in Sherrock’s footsteps?
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Polly James and Chris Murphy assess what impact Greaves could have on the PDC circuit. Listen to the full discussion on the latest Love The Darts podcast.
Greaves has made serious waves since making her debut in the 2023 PDC women’s competition, with Wayne Mardle calling her “world class”. Turner hopes to follow in the footsteps of history maker Fallon Sherrock, who became the first female player to win the Alexandra Palace tournament in 2019.
“We know she has the ability to take down anyone,” Turner said. “You only have to look at the most recent World Championships, the Youth World Championships, where she beat Luke Littler 6-5 in the semi-finals – the world number one!
“She’s had a deep run at the UK Open as well, beating ProTour players and running Luke Humphries close in the longer format, so she’s definitely got a game, but you can’t discount Gurney either – he’s a proven major champion.
“This is something that could go either way. Obviously, I hope Beau can follow in Fallon’s footsteps, because I know she has the potential to go really far, and I truly believe that.
“I’m looking forward to her doing the ProTour next year, but this won’t be an easy first round for either of them.
“We’ve seen her on the Development Tour, on the Challenger Tour, on the court, winning titles, qualifying for Grand Slams and completely dominating most players in the Women’s Series, where she’s also riding an 86-game streak.
“She’s been doing this gradually since suffering from dartitis a few years ago. Now that’s a distant memory and she’s just been building herself up. I think there’s a lot to admire in the way she’s done it. There’s a lot of young players who feel they have to race to get to the top level of the game because they’ve seen the same thing Luke Littler does. Beau’s done it gradually and he’s done it on his own terms, and I think that’s a really good thing. I can’t wait until next year!”
Sherrock has a chance to catch Chizzy cold.
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When Fallon Sherrock defeated Ted Evetts at the 2019 World Championships to become the first woman to defeat a man…
‘Queen of the Palace’ Sherrock is set to face 2021 World Championships semi-finalist Dave Cheesenall in a contest where Turner predicts things will go his way.
“If you were to ask me before we look at the draw which seed could be in question, Dave Chisnall would probably be the seed I would put up there,” she said.
“We always knew he was good on the Euro Tour and very good on floor, but I would say his stage game has not been good over the last 12-18 months. But this year too he is slipping a bit sideways in floor tournaments as well. He looked frustrated!
“I think there’s a bit of pressure on Dave Chisnall to pull off a deep comeback in a TV tournament. We haven’t seen that for a while and now he’s got Fallon and he’s going to have the whole crowd against him. We’ve seen it before at Palace. We know the standard Fallon can play at, but this is also a really big mental battle for Dave Chisnall.
“Fallon and Palace seem to be going together. She’s been seeded but it’s a really good chance. When someone is cold, trying to get in early, maybe a little lacking in confidence. If she can get off to a solid start, she could get past him.”
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Sherrock defeated Mensur Suljovic by knockout in the second round of the 2019 World Darts Championship.
Does Ashton have the game to surprise ‘Bully Boy’?
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Highlights from the Women’s World Matchplay final as Lisa Ashton stunned Fallon Sherrock
Former world champion Michael Smith is set to face Women’s World Matchplay winner Lisa Ashton and Turner believes another upset could occur. “Michael is another player where you never know what version of Michael is going to show up that day.
“For me it just depends on which version of Michael Smith comes through, because we saw Lisa do great things on the Ally Pally stage.
“I think Match Play from mid-2025 has really changed things for Lisa. She gained confidence there and showed it in parts at the Grand Slams and won games as well.”
Tough test for Hayter; Noa-Lynn meets a legend
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Fallon Sherrock beat Noa-Lynn van Leuven in dramatic fashion in the Women’s World Matchplay semi-finals.
Gemma Hayter plays Josh Rock, while Noa-Lynn van Leuven is paired with two-time world champion Peter Wright.
“I mean, I just want to say what a great match that is for Gemma. Out of the five women in it, for me she’s the toughest draw, because Rock is a huge favorite going into this event and I understand why. This is a test of epic proportions for Gemma,” Turner admitted.
“Noa-Lynn won the Women’s Series title, but she also won the Challenger Tour title. Peter Wright – we know he has a big game and we know he can perform on that big stage, but we haven’t seen much from him in 2025.
“She’s got a big game. She’s capable of producing big numbers. It’s whether she can do that back-to-back against someone like Peter Wright because he’s an absolute legend. It’s all about staying focused, taking your chances and holding it together to get over the line.”
This year’s tournament will have an expanded field of 128 players and every seeded player will play twice before Christmas.
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