Gurney beats Greaves in deciding set at PDC Worlds

Daryl Gurney, the 22nd seed, lost in a deciding set at Alexandra Palace in the first round, just short of becoming the second woman player to win a match at the PDC World Championship.

The Doncaster-born 21-year-old was hoping to emulate Fallon Sherrock, who won two matches at the 2020 tournament and made history.

The first four sets were played against the throw, with Gurney twice winning the set before being pegged back with the final leg.

In the second set, Greaves needed just 37 darts to win three straight sets, with a 128 checkout on the bullseye sealing a 12-dart throwback and a 10-darter to bring the match level at one set.

Gurney made it one more leg of victory by scoring a stunning 144 checkout in the decider shortly after Greaves had only a few inches to extend the game’s lead to a close second.

She is the best female darts player on earth, according to Gurney, a two-time major champion and Northern Ireland World Cup winner in June.

He stated on stage that if a darts player could win the World Championship or any major, they should be that person. What a player.

Greaves’ participation in the World Championships, which came to an end in 2025, was high on the adage.

She won the Women’s Series title, helped by her 86-game winning streak at the end of the campaign, made it to the World Youth Championship final, and received a PDC tour card for the following year as a result of her performances on the Development Tour.

Gurney, 39, continued, “She’s going to be a force to be reckoned with next year.” She will be successful in PDC competitions.

In her only previous appearance at the World Championship in December 2022, Greaves fell to William O’Connor with a 3:0 loss. In each of the following two years, she turned down invitations and instead chose to compete in the WDF Women’s World Championship, which she won both times.

Nathan Aspinall, the former World Matchplay champion, rallied to win 3-1 and seal victory with a 170 checkout after dropping the first set in his match against Lourence Ilagan of the Philippines.

Leonard Gates, who defeated Mickey Mansell 3-2 earlier in the day, will face English 15th seed Aspinall in round two.

Josh Rock of Northern Ireland opened his campaign with a 3-1 victory over Gemma Hayter of England.

Rock, 24, is the tournament’s 11th seed, has qualified for the semi-finals of the World Matchplay, World Series Finals, and UK Open this year, and has won the World Cup alongside Gurney, making him one of the favorites to win the world title.

Hayter pulled a set back after falling 2-0 behind after Rock’s poor finishing in the third set, which included only one of his 11 doubles attempts.

As the match progressed, her level increased, and she ended up in the final set with a set of 81 to win. In round two, Rock will face Australian Joe Comito.

As a nine-day first-round match-up came to an end, Kevin Doets, Ryan Meikle, and Keane Barry were the other winners.

From 12: 30 GMT:

From 19: 00 GMT: