Can Beau Greaves upset Daryl Gurney at the World Darts Championship? ‘She can beat absolutely anybody on her day’

Can the brilliant Beau Greaves upset Daryl Gurney at the World Darts Championship? Laura Turner says ‘Beau ‘n’ Arrow’ can beat “anybody on her day”.

One of the standout ties of the first round sees three-time women’s world champion Greaves take on World Cup winner Gurney.

The 21-year-old from Doncaster gave Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson a run for their money in the recent Grand Slam of Darts and will provide a test for the Northern Irishman.

Turner, who played on the recent PDC Women’s Series, admits it’s a tough draw for both players, but she believes Greaves can prove why she’s one of the most talked about players on planet darts.

“Gurney has been right up and in amongst it, but then subsequently the last few years, he’s just been off the pace. But this year he’s been much better. Winning the World Cup and then coming back, he’s been having better runs in these major tournaments. I think he’s going to be really, really tough for Beau to get past,” said the Sky Sports analyst.

“However, Greaves on her day can beat absolutely anybody. I just think this is another one that could be really close. One of them could run away with it. I think it’s who turns up with their best game on the day.

“Instead of being one long race to 10, 11 legs, you can look at it as individual matches, essentially. So it’s a race to three, and then just take it set by set. But what I love about the Worlds in the set play scenario is very much the fact that no one is ever quite out of it as well. We’ve seen some real comebacks because you can be 32 points away from a win and all of a sudden you lose that set and then you’ve got a whole other three to five legs to play. I think set play will help not just her, but quite a few people.”

Can Greaves follow in the footsteps of Sherrock?

Greaves has made serious waves since making her PDC women’s debut in 2023 with Wayne Mardle calling her “world class” and Turner is hopeful she can follow in the footsteps of history-maker Fallon Sherrock, who became the first female player to win a match at the Alexandra Palace tournament in 2019.

“We know she’s got the calibre to get past anyone,” Turner said. “You only have to look at the recent World Championship, the Youth World Championships. She’s beaten Luke Littler in the semi-finals 6-5. Luke Littler, the world number one!

“She had a deep run in the UK Open as well, beating ProTour players, running Luke Humphries close in a longer length format. So she has most definitely got the game, but you can’t write off Gurney either. He is a proven major champion.

“This is one that could go either way. Obviously, I’m hopeful that Beau can follow in the footsteps of Fallon because we know she’s got the potential to go really far, and I genuinely believe that.

“I can’t wait for her to do the ProTour next year, but this is not an easy first round for either of them.

“We saw her move into doing the Development Tour, doing the Challenger Tour, picking up titles on the floor, qualifying for the Grand Slam, absolutely obliterating most players in the Women’s Series. She’s on an 86 consecutive streak when it comes to that as well.

“She’s done it incrementally since struggling with dartitis a few years back. That’s a distant memory now and she’s just built herself up and up. I think the way she’s done it, there’s a lot to be admired. There’s a lot of players who are younger now who feel like you have to race into getting to the very top of the game because you’ve seen the likes of a Luke Littler do it. Beau’s done it gradually and she’s done it to suit her situation. And I think it’s great – I can’t wait till next year!”

Sherrock has an opportunity to catch Chizzy cold

‘Queen of the Palace’ Sherrock has been drawn to face 2021 world championship semi-finalist Dave Chisnall in a contest Turner predicts can go her way.

“If you’d asked me before we’d seen the draw which seed do you think might be in a bit of trouble? Dave Chisnall is probably one I’d put up there,” she said.

“We’ve always known that he’s been brilliant on the Euro Tour and very, very good on the floor. But his stage matches haven’t been great for the last kind of 12 to 18 months, I would say. But also this year, he’s kind of sliding by the wayside on the floor tournaments as well. He looked frustrated!

“To me, I feel like there’s a bit of pressure for Dave Chisnall to perform, to have a deep run back in a TV tournament. We haven’t seen it 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 the Palace. We know the standards that Fallon can play at, but this is also a really big mental battle for Dave Chisnall.

“Fallon and the Palace seem to go hand in hand. She’s drawn a seed but what an opportunity. Trying to catch someone when they’re cold, early doors, maybe lacking in a little bit of confidence. If she can get off to a solid start, then she could get past him.”

Does Ashton have the game to shock ‘Bully Boy’?

Former world champion Michael Smith will take on Women’s World Matchplay winner Lisa Ashton and Turner thinks another upset could be on the cards: “Michael is another one that you just don’t know perhaps what version of Michael is going to turn up on the day.

“To me, it just depends on what version of Michael Smith turns up. Because again, we’ve seen Lisa do some big things on that Ally Pally stage.

“From the midway point of 2025, I think the Matchplay has really turned things around for Lisa. I think she’s got the confidence there and she showed it in parts at the Grand Slam, she’s got the game as well.”

Tough test for Hayter; Noa-Lynn facing a legend

Gemma Hayter plays Josh Rock, while Noa-Lynn van Leuven has been paired with two-time world champion Peter Wright.

“I mean, what a match that is for Gemma. I’d say out of the five women that are in it, then for me, she’s got by far the toughest draw because Rock is a real favourite going into this event and you can understand why. This is a massive, massive test for Gemma,” admitted Turner.

“Noa-Lynn has picked up titles on the women’s series, but she’s won a Challenger Tour title as well. Peter Wright – we know he’s got a big game and we know he can perform on that big stage but we haven’t seen a great deal from him in 2025.

“She’s got a big game. She can produce big numbers. It’s just whether she can consecutively do that against someone like Peter Wright because he’s an absolute legend. It’s all about that focus and getting over the line if you get the opportunity and hold it together.”

This year’s tournament has an extended field of 128 players and all seeded players will play twice before Christmas.

Sky Sports will once again be the home of the Premier League, World Cup of Darts, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and World Darts Championship! Stream darts and more top sport with NOW