Transgender darts star Noa-Lynn van Leuven made history as she took to the Ally Pally stage on Tuesday in becoming the first-ever trans player to compete at the World Championship.
The 28-year-old took her time to get to the stage at the Ally Pally as she signed autographs for fans and hugged a visibly-emotional family to the side of the walk on area inside the venue.
Up against the odds versus Kevin Doets, she took the first set 3-1 as she pinned double 20, much to the delight of the afternoon crowd.
Losing the first leg on throw, it looked like it would be a routine win for Doets, who came close to knocking out then-defending world champion Michael Smith on night one last year.
But van Leuven then pinned three consecutive legs to take the set, despite being ranked 93 places higher than her countryman in the PDC order of merit.
The second set proved easier going for Doets, who won the first leg with his opponent not on a finish.
In October, she made history by becoming the first trans woman to win a PDC Tour event, which secured her place at Ally Pally, and she’s described it as being ‘the ultimate middle finger’ to her critics.
Indeed, her road to the contest has no means been easy, after two Dutch team-mates Aileen de Graaf and Anca Zijlstra have recently refused to play with her, while English player Deta Hedman pulled out of competing against her.
Hedman has called for transgender competitors to be banned from playing in ranked women’s tournaments, but Noa Lynn hit back at the controversy, saying there are ‘a lot of conservative, toxic b****es on the women’s tour.’
Born in 1996, van Leuven began considering transitioning at the age of 16 and started the process officially as a teenager, and it has been reported that her transition was completed in 2021 – a year before she began competing in the PDC Women’s Series.
More to follow.
