Beau Greaves came close to becoming only the second player to win a match at the PDC World Championship, losing in a deciding set in the first round to 22nd seed Daryl Gurney at Alexandra Palace.
The 21-year-old from Doncaster aimed to follow the example of Fallon Sherrock, who made history by winning two matches in the 2020 tournament.
The first four sets were all against the shot, and Gurney twice won the deciders to reach the front before being pinned.
Greaves needed a total of just 37 darts to win three consecutive matches in the second set, with 128 shots on target sealing a 12-dart shot break, followed by 10 darts to level the match at one set in total.
In the decider, Gurney posted an impressive 144 to get within a stretch of victory and closed it out shortly after Greaves narrowly missed a 148 to extend the match.
“For me, she is the best darts player on the planet,” said Gurney, a two-time major champion and World Cup winner with Northern Ireland in June.
He said on stage: “If there is going to be a darts player who can win the World Championship or any major, that is the player you should look at. What a player.”
“Everyone said she was the favorite going into the game, but I showed my class and composure and managed to cross the finish line.”
