A single dart embedded in the red-painted double 18: it’s hardly the most unexpected freeze frame on offer during the World Darts Championship. In fact, it was one of more than 150 double 18s that were hit during the 2019-20 tournament. The identity of this one’s thrower, though, made it one of the most consequential in darts’ history.

Fallon Sherrock’s first-round victory over Ted Evetts was the first achieved by a woman at the PDC World Darts Championship, and she laid down another marker with a win over world No. 11 Mensur Suljovic.

But six years after what seemed like a signpost for the sport’s direction of travel, Sherrock’s twin triumphs remain the only victories recorded by women at the tournament. However, history is guaranteed this year as five women are set to take to the oche in what is an all-time high for the world championship.

The ‘Queen of the Palace’ is no longer the biggest draw of the women’s field. Sherrock has been usurped by Beau Greaves as the undisputed star of women’s darts. An 86-game winning streak and three women’s world titles at the age of 21 is hard to live with.

“I’ve never been that person who has [wanted to be] the ‘face’ of women’s darts. So for me that was a lot of pressure,” Sherrock told Online Darts in November. “Now Beau’s exceeding and doing everything I’m like, ‘yeah OK all eyes [on Greaves].’ I’m just going to go, enjoy myself, relax and go under the radar again.”

Sherrock’s moment of history did almost go under Greaves’ radar.

“I actually think I might’ve been playing Fortnite,” Greaves tells ESPN. “I watched the first half of the game, I think maybe the second half or I was watching it while I was on the PS5 or PS4 at the time. Yeah, I remember watching it and thinking just maybe how I want to go on and do that at some point … it would be amazing to do what Fallon did.”

The Beau Greaves factor

Greaves has already proved she has the talent required to turn heads in the coming weeks. Less than 24 hours after he’d beaten Luke Humphries in the World Grand Prix final in October, Luke Littler fell to Greaves in the semifinals of the World Youth Championship — she withstood the world champion’s 107.40 average and secured victory via a last-leg decider.

But Greaves hasn’t simply floated to the top — dartitis nearly turned her ascent into a tailspin.

“I just remember at the time I was practicing in my room and stuff and I just stuttered on one of the darts and just that one stutter became, even until now, years of just a mental block or something, just something doesn’t add up when I’m throwing, I suppose,” she says.

“I went to the doctors about it and stuff and they say it’s like a performance anxiety. So I’d probably say it just comes down to that I don’t really have a problem [when I’m] on my own throwing, but sometimes if I think about it too much in front of the big crowds and stuff and I think then it gets to me, but I’ve done really well over the past few years to kind of block it out my game. But I am well aware that it will probably never leave me fully.”

For Greaves, this year’s world championship offers a second chance. She was knocked out in the first round on debut in 2022, but her 3-0 defeat caused her to resist calls to join the ProTour and focus on women’s-only events. Three years of dominance in the women’s game has seen Greaves return to Alexandra Palace and take on a PDC Tour Card that will see her compete against the world’s best men’s players for at least the next two years.

Former women’s world No. 1-turned Target Darts’ Head of Youth Development, Lorraine Winstanley, has watched Greaves’ growth firsthand.

“I’ve known Beau a long time. We played county for Yorkshire together and watched her grow up from being about 12 … she was beating us at 12,” Winstanley tells ESPN.

“To watch her progress has just been amazing. And what impresses me most about her is at such a young age, she knows her own mind. She’s been under a lot of pressure for the last couple of years really to make the decision, play the PDC worlds, play the Lakeside [WDF World Darts Championship] and she’s done what she’s wanted to do and that impressed me massively… I just admire her for sticking to her guns and doing what she wants to do.

“I mean I’ve been saying, ‘God, you need to do it.’ But not in a pressurising way — that’s because we can see what she’s capable of.

“She’s flying the flag for the women at the moment. So if she’s doing well, it’s only going to benefit all women darts players. I love her to bits. She’s so well grounded, she’s so chilled and she takes everything in her stride and she is an amazing role model.”

Similarly to Littler, Greaves stands at the vanguard of a new generation of darts players. Among their number is two-time World Cup winner Katie Sheldon. Born 17 days before Greaves, Sheldon thinks this year’s world championship could see women’s darts take the next step in its development.

“I think Fallon winning her game or the two games a few years ago was huge, absolutely huge,” she tells ESPN. “I think it did bring more light to the women’s sport and I think now it’s a case of whether Beau can just do well or any of the ladies at the world championship can do well.

“I think sports in general are now trying to look into the women’s side of all sorts, whether it’s football, tennis, now darts as well. I think that will definitely shed more light onto what the women can do.”

Why this will be a tough year

Fortune did not favour any of the five women during the first-round draw. Sherrock will face 2021 semifinalist Dave Chisnall, Greaves takes on world No. 22 Daryl Gurney, Lisa Ashton is up against 2023 champion Michael Smith, Noa-Lynn van Leuven must get past two-time champion Peter Wright and Gemma Hayter faces the impressive Josh Rock.

Clashes between the best men’s and women’s players are something the sport’s organisers are keen to see more of.

“We’ve been investing in women’s darts for about a decade now. The Women’s Series, Women’s World Matchplay, the places in the Grand Slam and the World Championship.

“We’ve had women competing in the World Cup, women competing in the UK Open. Darts is one of those sports where women and men are able to compete on a level playing field,” PDC chief executive Matthew Porter tells ESPN.

“There obviously hasn’t been a huge history of that with successful women, but what you’ll see over the future years is more and more of that occurring. It’s not necessarily the players of today will be the beneficiaries of the investment that’s going in. It’s the players of tomorrow who are inspired to take the game up because they can see where darts is.

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PDC CEO: Men & women competing against each other is an asset for darts

PDC chief executive Matthew Porter speaks about the growth of women competing in darts.

“So when you look at Fallon Sherrock is obviously the original standard bearer for women’s darts in the PDC — whilst others had gone before her — what Fallon did by winning a match at the World Championship was transformational. And then clearly Beau Greaves is now setting the standard for others to follow too.”

While prize money is on the up, it remains close to impossible to make a good living as a full-time professional in the women’s game. Winstanley competed while running a hair and beauty business and Sheldon is spending her time between tournaments working for an electricals company in Dublin. Van Leuven did a double shift in her role as a junior sous chef before travelling to London to play in last year’s world championship.

Hayter, a qualified lab technician, is playing at Alexandra Palace 18 months after returning from an eight-year career break from professional darts. She walked away from the sport after feeling as if there was a lack of opportunity in the women’s game but returned in early 2024 after being inspired by close friend Luke Humphries’ iconic World Championship final success over Littler. In the second tournament after making her PDC Women’s Series return, Hayter beat Sherrock 5-1 with a near-100 average.

Playing against men, it’s a ‘win-win situation’

Most women begin their darts journey having to compare themselves against male rivals. Do they feel any differences when coming up against men?

“[At first] I actually found it quite difficult to come up competitively against other good women because they weren’t men,” Winstanley says. “It was a bit of a strange because that was what I was used to, and I think when you’re playing the men, you’re going in as the underdog no matter what.

“So it’s a win-win situation. If you lose, you were expected to lose because you were the underdog. Well, if you win, it is mega because it’s great. So it is a different mindset playing against the women [compared to] against the men.”

Sheldon agrees.

“I would say I probably approach all games the same whether it’s in a pub league or it’s way at a PDC Women’s Series. But I think maybe sometimes there’s not as much pressure maybe when you’re playing against the men.”

But Winstanley argues that while mixed events are currently able to offer women a bigger platform, it is vital that women’s tournaments continue to grow as “women’s darts has its own space.”

Porter, however, says the PDC is focusing on improving the standard of women’s darts to the point where there is greater competition in mixed gender events.

The prospect of a Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs-style ‘Battle of the Sexes’ in the latter stages of the world championship is likely to see darts’ TV ratings climb ever higher. For the five women competing this year, there’s a real opportunity to add to Sherrock’s two victories and bring the sport to an even wider audience.

“Again, it goes back to the numbers. If we get more support, there will be even more opportunities I’m sure,” Winstanley says. And because we’ve got those top women showcasing the women’s darts is there, the better they do, we’re all going to benefit further and further down the line.”

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