Beau Greaves is out of the Grand Slam of Darts! Yeah, you read that right. The 22-year-old, three-time women’s world champion just got eliminated at the group stage in Wolverhampton, even though she closed out her campaign with a 5-3 win over Niels Zonneveld. What a gut punch, man. This is the kind of wild twist you only see in darts, and it’s a brutal reminder that sometimes winning just isn’t enough.
Greaves, who snagged her third Women’s World Matchplay title back in July, went into her final match against the 28-year-old Dutchman Zonneveld knowing she needed a big performance. She fought like a warrior, too. After falling behind 3-1, she refused to fold, ripping off three consecutive legs to take the lead in that best-of-five match. It was tense, with Greaves even missing two match darts in the final leg. But Zonneveld couldn’t capitalize, failing to take out 154, leaving the door open for Greaves to slam it shut with a double eight to seal the 5-3 victory. It was a comeback for the ages, a real display of grit. But honestly? It was just a little too late. That crushing defeat by Luke Littler on Saturday sealed her fate, and this win, as impressive as it was, couldn’t undo the damage.
The drama isn’t over for Zonneveld though. He’s got to face defending champion Littler next, and the stakes could not be higher. Zonneveld needs to beat the world number one by a margin of 5-2 or better to progress instead of Littler. Talk about a mountain to climb! Elsewhere in the tournament, we saw some other big names get shown the door. Rob Cross absolutely throttled fifth seed Jonny Clayton with a crushing 5-1 win, ending Clayton’s Grand Slam run after back-to-back defeats. Clayton grabbed the first leg, but Cross just went full beast mode, winning five in a row with an average of 114.32, including three maximums. Sixth seed Ross Smith also got knocked out, even after pulling off a wild 5-4 thriller against Germany’s Gabriel Clemens. They were neck and neck at 4-4, Smith took the deciding leg, but his loss to Rusty-Jake Rodriguez on Saturday meant he just couldn’t qualify. Eighth seed Josh Rock is out after losing to Kevin Doets, and 15th seed Luke Woodhouse got eliminated too.
So, while we’re hyped for Zonneveld’s absolute must-win battle against Littler, you gotta feel for Greaves. She gave it everything, put on a show in that last match, but sometimes the chips just don’t fall your way. It’s a reminder that every leg, every dart counts in this tournament.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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