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Beau Greaves secured a thrilling last-leg decider to beat the reigning world champion 6-5 in the semifinal round of the PDC world youth championship held in Wigan.

Encounter Overview

Greaves, who has secured a PDC Tour card for the upcoming seasons, went ahead early at 2-1 in the critical match. Littler responded with the next three games, following a prior win in the World Grand Prix final where he defeated rival Luke Humphries 6-1 in Leicester.

Doncaster’s Greaves, a double PDC Women’s World Matchplay champion, staged a recovery to level the match at 4-4 and again at 5-5, forcing a decisive final leg. Greaves sealed the win with an 80 checkout as the world No. 2 experienced an uncommon loss despite a match average of 107.4, while his opponent averaged 105.

Van Veen’s Path

Reigning titleholder Van Veen advanced from the opposite half of the knockout draw, beating Sebastian Bialecki 6-4. The final is scheduled for November 23 at the Minehead venue, which will also host the 2025 Players Championship Finals.

Player’s Packed Calendar

Rather than resting after what he called a “grueling” double-start event in the prior location, the young star was competing again at the Robin Park Leisure Centre on Monday afternoon as part of the 128-strong field.

The teenage prodigy, who has claimed victory in the British Open and World Matchplay this campaign, had no trouble advancing from the initial round-robin stage, where players were divided into multiple groups and the leading pair moved on to the knockout rounds.

Road to the Semifinals

He overcame Tom Garfield 6-2 with an scoring rate of 102, then beat the Irish contender 6-1 to reach the last 16. Charlie Manby, sitting fourth on the development circuit, was ahead 5-3 before Littler won the final three legs to advance.

His last-eight match against another opponent was more straightforward, as Littler built on a fast start to secure a decisive win. However, a expected repeat of the prior year’s final with Van Veen was prevented by Greaves’ exceptional performance, making her the first woman to reach the world youth championship final.

Her Path to Victory

Greaves won her round-robin pool with a perfect record from three matches, then whitewashed Coby Jones-Swanson in her first elimination game. The young star defeated the Dutch player 6-2 in the round of 16, but had to overcome a 4-2 deficit against Tyler Thorpe, winning four straight legs to move forward.

During the last eight, she overcame a brief rally from Germany’s Liam Maendl-Lawrance to win 6-2 and set up the blockbuster clash against the world champion. Both players could meet again at the upcoming Grand Slam event, which Greaves has qualified for by leading the women’s series rankings this year.

Post-Match Reaction

The darts star took to social media to congratulate Greaves on her win and wish her well for the final. Writing on his Instagram story, Littler said: “I threw two 10-darters, was close to a nine-darter and still fell short. Fair play to Greaves. All the best in Minehead. Some talent.”