European Champion and rising Dutch superstar Gian van Veen etched his name into the sport’s golden archives in Minehead, becoming only the second player in history to retain the PDC World Youth Championship. His 6–3 triumph over the phenomenal Beau Greaves was a moment dripping with destiny, pressure and pure tungsten theatre.
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This final was always going to rewrite the record books. Either Beau Greaves would shatter every precedent by becoming the first female champion… or Van Veen would join Dimitri Van den Bergh in the ultra-exclusive club of two-time winners. Minehead buzzed with the electricity of possibility.
GIAN VAN VEEN IN FACTS AND FIGURES: Check out GVV's full career profile on dartsdatabase.co.uk
Given Greaves’ recent heroics — including her astounding semi-final victory over world number one Luke Littler — this showdown had all the makings of a true coin toss. Two prodigies, both forged for greatness, colliding under the brightest youth spotlight the sport has to offer. The women’s game has produced talent before, but nobody — absolutely nobody — has produced the avalanche of averages, composure and big-stage brilliance that Beau Greaves now unleashes on a weekly basis. The fact she beat Littler to reach this final speaks louder than any statistic ever could.
BEAU GREAVES IN FACTS AND FIGURES: Check out Beau 'N' Arrow's full career profile on dartsdatabase.co.uk
In a race to six, the opening exchanges are pivotal — and it was Van Veen who struck first. The Dutchman capitalised ruthlessly on Greaves’ early missed doubles, establishing a 4–1 stranglehold and forcing the three-time Lakeside World Champion into a steep climb. But champions don’t crumble. Greaves fought back with steel and swagger, reducing the deficit to 4–3 and pulling the entire contest onto a knife-edge.
The eighth leg, though — that was the seismic moment. A leg that felt like it weighed a metric ton. When Van Veen coolly snatched it to move 5–3 ahead, the margin for Beau narrowed to precisely zero. Minutes later, the Dutch phenom sealed the deal, retained the crown, and cemented himself as the heir to an extraordinary darting future.
RECORD BREAKING BEAU GREAVES: Highest women's TV average ever recorded
Beau was excellent — but she knows, and the entire darting world knows, she can be even better. Both finalists had the same number of attempts at the doubles, and in that single, brutal detail lies the match’s story: Van Veen hit the key moments, Greaves didn’t.
Gian van Veen is already a PDC major champion, and now a two-time Youth Champion. Beau Greaves, meanwhile, looks destined to smash through every glass ceiling the sport has ever known. Forget gender. These are two generational talents. And tonight, in Minehead, one of them made history.
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