Who is Noa-Lynn van Leuven? Meet the transgender darts star competing at her first World Championship - as she reveals the adversity she faced along the way
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She spent the weekend working a double shift in a busy kitchen as a sous chef, so today will be a massive gear change for Noa-Lynn van Leuven when she makes history as the first transgender darts player to take part in the World Championship at Ally Pally.
![[She will make her Alexandra Palace debut on Tuesday in the afternoon session in round one]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/09/93225639-14200825-image-a-19_1734429132522.jpg)
The Dutch player, 28, will kick off her World Championship campaign on Tuesday when she takes on Kevin Doets for the chance to face Michael Smith in round two. It marks an important milestone for the player, who was a teenager when she started the transition she says saved her life, after she battled with suicidal thoughts.
![[She started her transition as a teenager as she gave up darts for a number of years]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/11/93223441-14200825-She_started_her_transition_as_a_teenager_as_she_gave_up_darts_fo-a-1_1734433352104.jpg)
However, her road to Ally Pally 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 refused to compete 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.'.
![[She will take on fellow Dutch star Kevin Doets in the first round for the chance to take on former world champion Michael Smith]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/10/93227443-14200825-image-a-48_1734432857767.jpg)
Now, she is balancing her darts career with working as a sous chef her focus is on darts, as she tries to advance in the tournament, though, in making history, attention is also on her career as a whole. She got the better of Beau Greaves in the Women's Series 21 in October to secure qualification for this winter's tournament, winning 5-3 in the final and averaging 109.64. Form like that would serve her well at the Ally Pally.
![[The 28-year-old defeated Beau Greaves in the Women's Series 21 in October to secure qualification for the Worlds]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/10/93225637-14200825-image-a-38_1734432307164.jpg)
