Beau Greaves interview: "I'm not ready for the big leagues...yet", says grounded darts ace
It's hard work being a professional darts player in this day and age.
The rewards are plentiful – as good as they have ever been – but the graft and practice has to be put in to stay relevant and remain a part of the PDC tour.
Beau Greaves of Doncaster is quickly learning how to get to grips with that.
Still aged 21, she recently grabbed headlines by qualifying for a prestigious PDC tour card for 2026 and 2027 – before seeing off fellow wonderkid Luke Littler in two separate events that garnered even more headlines and media attention.
It's a mightily busy time for Greaves with a World Youth final against Gian van Veen later this month and then a second stab at the PDC World Championships at the end of the year.
This week she was contesting the Grand Slam of Darts, losing in the round-robin to Gary Anderson but beating Niko Springer 5-3 as she was eliminated before the knockout rounds.
“I don’t need people to tell me I’m not ready for the big leagues," she said after being eliminated.
"I know I’m not ready for the big leagues. That’s just down to me and my family to get through, no one else. I think I am good enough.”
Plenty of people want to fast-track her, with talk of Greaves potentially landing a lucrative Premier League spot next year.
All of this speculation and focus could easily derail any other player her age but Greaves is different; level-headed and calm. The perfect temperament for a sportperson who needs to be cool in the heat of battle in front of thousands of fans.
She is exceptionally polite – "thanks love" is her go-to parting line after each question – and she's happy to expand on a variety of topics.
"When I first started playing for my local team, I was so shy," says the former Ridgewood School pupil. "I never spoke or did anything. When I played Superleague (county competition) it took me about eight years to be able to call a game for them.
"I don't know how to explain it because I've always just been a shy girl but darts has helped me come out of my shell a lot, definitely.
"I think it's been great for me in that way because when I was younger people thought I was a mute because I didn't talk!"
It was at Balby Bridge Social Club where, aged just 15, Greaves hit a nine-darter – darts' equivalent of a 147 break in snooker or a hole in one in golf. The venue has played an important part in her life and even now she still plays for the team. She makes a delightfully modest admission that it's "wicked that they still want me in the team" – as if a three-time world champion would suddenly have to earn her place.
She adds: "I've come a long way and they've always supported me. They don't treat me any differently. I absolutely love it playing there.
"I practice at home but I play Superleague for the ladies team there. I think it's been 11 years I've played there now. So I still play whenever I'm at home and it's nice because it just keeps you a bit grounded and takes you back to what it was like years ago. It's nothing crazy, just working men's clubs and having a laugh with people I've known years. I think I'll always play for them."
It's a more than valid argument to suggest that Greaves was the original darting teenage star long before Littler arrived on the national stage. Admittedly, Littler's breakthrough at the PDC World Championships at the end of 2023 immediately caught worldwide attention and to his credit he has only got better and better with seven majors hoovered up.
But Greaves was winning her first world title in the WDF at just 18 and duly completed a treble at the world-famous Lakeside last December. Now, she's set to become a firm part of the PDC furniture
In-keeping with her down-to-earth nature, there'll be no fancy change-up in her entrance tune. Status Quo's Rockin' All Over The World will stay for now. "I'll be keeping that one!" she says with a big Yorkshire smile etched across her face.