Greaves becomes first woman to win a match on darts' European Tour

Beau Greaves has become the first woman to win a match on the PDC European Tour since the competition began 15 years ago. The 22-year-old defeated Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney 6-4 at the Czech Open in Prague.

Gurney, who had beaten Greaves in a deciding set at the PDC World Championship in December, raced into a 3-1 lead in their latest meeting. Greaves fought back, however, winning three consecutive legs with finishes of 14, 13 and 11 darts to move ahead 4-3. Gurney levelled at 4-4, but the Doncaster player held her nerve to seal victory.

The win comes a week after Greaves made her European Tour debut in Hungary, where she narrowly lost 6-5 to Rob Cross.

Speaking after the match, Greaves said she had felt nervous early on and took time to settle, but was pleased to have done enough to win. She praised the atmosphere created by the crowd on what she described as a very intimate stage.

Greaves will face world number two Luke Humphries in the second round on Saturday. She said she had played him on big stages before and knew what to expect, but acknowledged she would need to significantly raise her level to compete with one of the sport's best players.

A history of milestones

The result adds to a growing list of achievements for Greaves. In April, she became the first woman to win a PDC ranking title, beating Michael Smith. In February, she became the first woman to hit a nine-dart finish on the PDC ProTour, achieved in a match against Mensur Suljovic. In July, she won the Women's World Matchplay for a third time, defeating Fallon Sherrock in the final.