Noa-Lynn van Leuven to become first ever trans player at PDC World Darts Championship and snubs Women’s Championship
NOA-LYNN VAN LEUVEN is to become the first-ever trans player to compete at the PDC World Darts Championship.
She is set to compete in the PDC Championship after turning down Lakeside for a place at Ally Pally.
Van Leuven – who transitioned in 2021 – finished second on the Order of Merit behind Beau Greaves in the PDC Women’s Series in 2024.
She claimed four Women’s Series titles throughout the year to clinch a World Championship debut.
The Dutch player produced a record-breaking 109.64 average to clinch the Event 21 title last Saturday.
And the WDF confirmed that the 28-year-old had accepted her invitation to compete in the PDC World Championship.
It means she will therefore not be playing in the Women’s World Championship at Lakeside.
Van Leuven becomes the first transgender player in the history of the PDC World Championship and will also feature in November’s Grand Slam of Darts.
Despite her success, some rivals including Britain’s Deta Hedman called for trans competitors to be banned from playing in ranked women’s tournaments.
In response, Van Leuven said: “I thought the world should know, this is discrimination. We have been thrown back 40 years with the sport of darts.
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“[Other players] secretly tell me that they don’t understand the commotion but there are a lot of conservative, toxic bi***es on the women’s tour.
“People send the most terrible messages, then go on preparing their pasta. They have no idea the impact it has on my life.
“I didn’t dare go out on the street for several weeks and had panic attacks. It did take a while for that fear to go away.”