Beau Greaves continued her domination of the women\u2019s game to storm to the 2023 Betfred Women\u2019s World Matchplay title at Blackpool\u2019s Winter Gardens on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Greaves dispatched Japan\u2019s Mikuru Suzuki 6-1 in Sunday\u2019s showpiece to triumph on her Winter Gardens debut, relinquishing just four legs throughout the event in claiming the \u00a310,000 top prize.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old has shattered a host of records on the PDC Women\u2019s Series circuit during the last year, and she reaffirmed her status as the premier player in women\u2019s darts at the Empress Ballroom.<\/p>\n
Greaves and Suzuki arrived in Blackpool as the top two seeds, and they renewed their rivalry on one of the sport\u2019s most iconic stages, in a fitting finale to the second staging of the \u00a325,000 tournament.<\/p>\n
Suzuki was punished for a bizarre miscount in the opening leg of Sunday\u2019s showpiece, and Greaves capitalised to seize the early initiative, crashing in five perfect darts to break throw in leg two.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old continued her barrage of big scoring by firing in a second 180 en route to a 3-0 lead, before exploiting further misses from Suzuki in leg four to continue the procession.<\/p>\n
Greaves missed the bull for a spectacular 161 checkout before moving to the cusp of victory, although Suzuki avoided the whitewash by surviving two match darts in leg six.<\/p>\n
However, the Doncaster darter soon quashed any hopes of a miraculous fightback, defying back-to-back 140s from Suzuki to secure victory with a clinical 74 combination on tops.<\/p>\n
“I wasn’t at my best, but I got over the line, so I’m really happy,” reflected Greaves, who has now sealed her qualification for November\u2019s Grand Slam of Darts and the 2023\/24 World Darts Championship.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t think I was going to win this with the way I was playing, but after the year I’ve had and all the tournaments I’ve won, I’m so grateful to be stood here holding this trophy.<\/p>\n
“I’m so excited to be going to the Grand Slam and the World Championship, but I need to practice more! I need to get more comfortable on the big stage.<\/p>\n
“It means everything [to win this title]. I’ve got so much respect for all of the ladies that have played up here, and I’m looking forward to another great year.”<\/p>\n
Greaves kicked off her campaign with a thumping 4-0 victory over Dutch debutant Noa-Lynn van Leuven, who became the first trans woman to compete in a PDC televised event.<\/p>\n
Greaves then recovered from a sluggish start to defeat Ireland\u2019s Robyn Byrne in an entertaining semi-final, producing a brilliant three-leg burst from 3-2 down to confirm her progress.<\/p>\n
The teenage star followed up a 14-dart leveller in leg six with a crucial 101 checkout to break Byrne, before firing in an unconventional 13-dart hold via double one to complete the comeback.<\/p>\n
Two-time Lakeside Women’s Champion Suzuki fell just short in her bid for glory, despite claiming the scalps of last year\u2019s runner-up Aileen de Graaf and Lancashire veteran Lisa Ashton on her Blackpool bow.<\/p>\n
Suzuki enjoyed a dream start in her quarter-final win over De Graaf, converting 67% of her attempts at double and registering a 92.16 average \u2013 the highest in Women\u2019s World Matchplay history.<\/p>\n
The Japanese star then fended off a spirited fightback from four-time Women\u2019s World Champion Ashton to run out a 5-3 winner in a gruelling semi-final contest.<\/p>\n
Suzuki raced 3-0 ahead before Ashton reduced the arrears to 4-3, although the second seed regained her poise in the closing stages, firing in a magical maximum to seal the deal.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the afternoon, reigning champion Fallon Sherrock was beaten by Ashton in a dramatic quarter-final, despite producing a 12-dart skin-saver in leg six to force a last-leg shoot-out.<\/p>\n
Byrne also won through a deciding-leg tie against Rhian O\u2019Sullivan in the last eight, defying eight 140s from the two-time Lakeside runner-up to triumph with a terrific two-dart 95 checkout.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n 2023 Betfred Women’s World Matchplay Semi-Finals Final Prize Money Beau Greaves continued her domination of the women\u2019s game to storm to the 2023 Betfred Women\u2019s World Matchplay title at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[943,124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-results"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n<\/strong>Schedule of Play
\n<\/strong>Sunday July 23
\n<\/strong>Quarter-Finals
\n<\/strong>Beau Greaves 4-0 Noa-Lynn van Leuven
\nRobyn Byrne 4-3 Rhian O’Sullivan
\nMikuru Suzuki 4-2 Aileen de Graaf
\nLisa Ashton 4-3 Fallon Sherrock<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Beau Greaves 5-3 Robyn Byrne
\nMikuru Suzuki 5-3 Lisa Ashton<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Beau Greaves 6-1 Mikuru Suzuki<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Winner: \u00a310,000
\nRunner-Up: \u00a35,000
\nSemi-Finalists: \u00a32,500
\nQuarter-Finalists: \u00a31,250
\nTotal: \u00a325,000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"