Daryl Gurney secured his place against Callan Rydz after a decisive final set against Beau Greaves.
Beau Greaves narrowly missed becoming only the second woman to win a match at the PDC World Championship, succumbing to a deciding set defeat against 22nd seed Daryl Gurney in the first round at Alexandra Palace.
The 21-year-old from Doncaster had hoped to emulate Fallon Sherrock’s historic achievement of winning two matches at the 2020 tournament.
The initial four sets saw each player losing their throw, with Gurney twice clinching deciding legs to gain the advantage, only to be subsequently pegged back.
Greaves demonstrated her prowess by winning three consecutive legs in just 37 darts during the second set, including a remarkable 128 checkout on the bullseye for a 12-dart break, followed by a 10-darter to level the match.
In the final set, Gurney executed a stunning 144 checkout to move within a leg of victory, eventually securing the 3-2 win after Greaves narrowly missed a 148 attempt to extend the match.
“In my opinion, she is the best female darts player in the world,” stated Gurney, a two-time major champion and World Cup winner with Northern Ireland in June.
Speaking on stage, he added: “If there’s a darts player who can win the World Championship or any major titles, she is the one to watch. What a player.”
“Everyone considered her the favorite going into the game, but I demonstrated my skill and composure to get over the finish line.”
Expectations were high for Greaves at the World Championship, following an outstanding 2025.
She dominated the Women’s Series, aided by an 86-match winning streak at the end of the campaign, reached the final of the World Youth Championship, and secured a PDC tour card for next year due to her Development Tour performances.
Gurney, 39, added: “Next year, she will be a force to be reckoned with. She’s going to win some PDC tournaments.”
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Greaves previously lost 3-0 to William O’Connor in her only prior World Championship appearance in December 2022. She declined invitations in the subsequent two years, opting instead to compete in the WDF Women’s World Championship, which she won on both occasions.
O’Connor, who opened Friday’s evening session, delivered one of the strongest performances of this year’s first round, averaging 102.36 in a 3-0 victory over Poland’s Krzysztof Kciuk, and is now set to face three-time champion Michael van Gerwen in round two.
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Former World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall overcame a first-set loss against Lourence Ilagan of the Philippines to win 3-1, sealing his victory with a 170 checkout.
In round two, English 15th seed Aspinall will compete against American Leonard Gates, who earlier defeated Mickey Mansell 3-2.
Elsewhere, Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock commenced his campaign with a 3-1 first-round victory over England’s Gemma Hayter.
Rock, 24, the tournament’s 11th seed, is considered among the favorites for the world title, following semi-final appearances at the World Matchplay, World Series Finals, and UK Open this year, as well as winning the World Cup alongside Gurney.
Poor finishing from Rock in the third set, where he only managed to hit one of his 11 attempts at doubles, allowed Hayter to claim a set back after trailing 2-0.
Hayter’s level improved as the match progressed, taking the fourth set to a deciding leg, before Rock successfully checked out 81 to secure victory and advance to face Australian Joe Comito in round two.
Kevin Doets, Ryan Meikle, and Keane Barry also secured wins as the nine-day stint of first-round matches concluded.
The second round will begin on Saturday, with fourth seed Stephen Bunting and 2023 winner Michael Smith among those vying for a place in the last 32.
Josh Rock averaged 90.18 to Gemma Hayter’s 80.73 in his first-round victory
Kevin Doets 3-1 Matt Dennant
Ryan Meikle 3-0 Jesus Salate
Mickey Mansell 2-3 Leonard Gates
Josh Rock 3-1 Gemma Hayter
William O’Connor 3-0 Krzysztof Kciuk
Daryl Gurney 3-2 Beau Greaves
Nathan Aspinall 3-1 Lourence Ilagan
Keane Barry 3-0 Tim Pusey
From 12:30 GMT:
Ryan Searle v Brendan Dolan
Andreas Harrysson v Motomu Sakai
Dirk van Duijvenbode v James Hurrell
Dave Chisnall v Ricardo Pietreczko
From 19:00 GMT:
Michael Smith v Niels Zonneveld
Chris Dobey v Andrew Gilding
Stephen Bunting v Nitin Kumar
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