The 21-year-old female darts champ who beat Luke Littler: Record-breaker Beau Greaves pipped teen to final after saying she'd never stand a chance

Beau Greaves stunned darts fans yesterday as she pipped Luke Littler to the PDC World Youth Championship final.

Littler, 18, had come into the tournament in Wigan with his pockets £120,000 heavier, fresh after beating World No.1 Luke Humphries in the World Grand Prix final on Sunday.

He was widely seen as the favourite for the youth tournament - which is made up of 16-to-24-year-old men and women - given his dominance at the sport's top table over recent years.

But it was the woman who once said she didn't think she'd be good enough to even share the same oche as Littler that sent him packing his bags last night.

Greaves, 21, the reigning three-time WDF Women's World Champion, rescued victory from the jaws of defeat against 'The Nuke' - who had breezed his way through the tournament's early rounds.

After taking an early 2-1 lead, the WDF women's World No.1 could only watch as Littler began working his magic on the dartboard, sailing to a comfortable 4-2 position after taking three consecutive sets.

But in a mightily gritty and sharp performance, Greaves pulled it back to 4-4 and 5-5 before triumphantly throwing an 11-dart leg to seal victory which will see her face defending Dutch champion Gian van Veen in the final next month.

Most astonishingly, her win - which has since been lauded by Littler - comes just a year after the record-breaking star argued that it was 'silly' to suggest she could ever compete with the top male darts players.

Greaves, who grew up in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, said last July: 'Men's and ladies darts should be separate. I don't think any lady will ever go to Ally Pally and win that. If you think that, you're being silly. 

'I just don't think we will ever be good enough to play against the likes of Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen or Luke Littler.'

She added: 'When I go to the Grand Slam I don't look forward to it because I know I have got to play men. I don't fancy my chances at all - I am just realistic.' 

The 21-year-old has previously declined to compete in World Championships over her self-confessed fears that she doesn't belong on the stage, but yesterday's result may prove to change her mind.

Littler himself posted online after his defeat last night to laud her as 'some talent', adding: 'I had two 10-dart legs, missed double 12 for a nine and still couldn't win.

'Fair play to Beau. All the best in Minehead.'

She was also heavily complimented by Humphries earlier this year, who said she 'belongs in this environment' after he narrowly beat her in the UK Open earlier this year.

Greaves had been leading the match 7-5 but lost five consecutive sets to Humphries, who ultimately lost in the quarter-finals to James Wade.

But in a post-match interview, Humphries said: 'She belongs in big-time darts. She belongs in this environment. 

'She really did test me there and if we were in a Premier League game she would have beaten me.'

The 21-year-old, who walks on stage to Status Quo's Rockin' All Over the World, is only the second woman to have won three consecutive World Championships, alongside Trina Gulliver.

She also became the youngest woman to compete in the World Darts Championship when she fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of then-No.37 William O'Connor at Ally Pally in December 2022, when she was 18.

To date, Greaves has won eight majors, including two World Masters, one Australian Open and two Dutch Opens.

She is believed to have been given her nickname 'Beau 'n' arrow' by her father's friend while they were in a local pub when she was younger.

Her ascent to the top table of the darts comes amid a flurry of top British players in the sport.

In the men's PDC world rankings, some 38 of 64 are players from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. While in the women's WDF rankings, nine of the top 32 players are from Britain.