She spent the weekend working a double shift as a sous chef in a busy kitchen preparing pastries and desserts, so today will be a huge change for Noa-Lynn van Leuven when she takes to the podium at the World Championships at Ally Pally.
The Dutch competitor, 28, will make history as the first transgender darts player in the competition, and will join Britain’s Fallon Sherrock in one of the two women’s qualifying spots at this year’s championship.
When she takes on Kevin Doets, it will mark a major milestone for the player, who was a teenager when she began the transition, or “big glow-up,” as she calls it, that she credits with saving her life after had battled suicidal thoughts. and depression.
In October, she made history by becoming the first trans woman to win a PDC Tour event, securing her place at Ally Pally. She describes it as ‘the ultimate middle finger’ to her critics.
Her path to the competition was indeed not easy, after two Dutch teammates Aileen de Graaf and Anca Zijlstra recently refused to play with her, while England’s Deta Hedman withdrew from 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 started considering a move at the age of 16 and officially began the process as a teenager. It was reported that her transition was complete in 2021 – a year before she started competing in the PDC Women’s Series.
Noa-Lynn van Leuven will make history today as the first transgender player to participate in the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace
The sous chef has dismissed the criticism, claiming there are a lot of ‘conservative, toxic bi****s’ on the circuit
Noa-Lynn van Leuven became the first trans woman to play in a televised tournament when she took part in the Betfred Womens World Matchplay Darts in July 2023
She started playing darts as a child and decided to take it seriously at the age of twelve. But as she struggled with her identity, she previously told the Guardian that she stopped playing when she started transitioning.
“I think if I hadn’t had the transition, I wouldn’t be here anymore,” Van Leuven previously explained.
‘The last two years before my transition were terrible for me, I was depressed and had no joy in life.
“I had nothing to live for, I wasn’t in a good space. Then I realized that I am trans, I have to do something with that, otherwise I will not make anything of my life.
‘Now I’m happy again and I have so much to live for. I really like darts, I like to play it, I like meeting new people and traveling and all of that is possible thanks to darts.’
In 2022 she made her debut during the PDC Women’s Series. Since then she has won the Belgium and Denmark Opens, the Malta Masters, the Malta Open, the PDC Challenge Tour and the PDC Women’s Series four times.
She has also achieved titles in the 2024 WDF Europe Cup, winning the women’s pairs, women’s team and women’s overall titles.
Noa-Lynn traveled to London this weekend with a companion often seen on her Instagram account, who goes by the name Polygonfox.
Noa-Lynn traveled to London this weekend with a companion often seen on her Instagram account, who goes by Polygonfox.
Noa-Lynn said she was depressed and had ‘no fun’ in life before her transition, and that playing darts saved her life
Before she left for the capital, she worked a double shift at the restaurant where she is a junior sous chef in her hometown of Beverwijk.
“I don’t mind working in the kitchen, and I think it’s one of my hobbies,” she said. I’ve been working in the kitchen for about twelve years now, and in between that I’ve been out of the kitchen for a year and a half, and I really miss cooking.
‘So I’m not sure if I’ll ever start playing darts full-time. If it gets too busy I might say I’ll just focus on the darts, but for now I’m enjoying my time in the kitchen.’
In the run-up to the event, she has faced criticism that being at the oche gives her an advantage.
She said: ‘Sometimes I am accused of having an advantage over others because of my height. But look at Beau. We are the same height. Or look at Phil Taylor. He’s beaten everyone and he’s a little boy.
‘Others see a perceived advantage in the movements of my hips. I would have a different attitude than CIS women.
Then there are people who come up with a handball study, which shows that there are differences between men and women in the throw, especially in the backswing, and also in the lunge movement.
The player, who has made history twice this year, also works part-time as a sous chef and wants to continue both careers
Aileen de Graaf (left) recently refused to play alongside van Leuven, while Deta Hedman (right) did not want to play against her
‘So the last time I played darts I didn’t do a backswing or a lunge. They’re damn darts. What are we talking about?’
Although she has received support from defending champion and world champion Luke Humphries, that has not been the case with everyone. Ahead of her World Cup debut, she told Welt am Sonntag: “It feels like everyone is against me. I know that’s not the case, but sometimes it just feels that way. At least they want to see me lose.”
PDC CEO Matt Porter emphasized last month that the current policy towards transgender players is ‘fair’.
Prior to the WDF (World Darts Federation) Championship – an event at which Van Leuven won gold – a members meeting took place when it was announced that trans women would no longer be allowed to play at WDF events.
The event took place at the end of November this year and it is unclear when this ruling will come into effect.
Van Leuven was furious about the decision and defiantly defended himself through NU: ‘I thought the world should know. This is discrimination. We have been thrown back 40 years with the sport of darts.
‘They (other players) secretly tell me that they don’t understand the commotion. But there are a lot of conservative, toxic b****es on the women’s tour.
‘They see me as a threat. I’m throwing well now (on the women’s tour) because I feel more comfortable.
‘It’s a matter of putting in the money and hours. Not many women do that, but I do. I have proven that I can also convince men.
‘People send the most horrible messages and then continue preparing their pasta. They have no idea the impact it has on my life.
‘I didn’t dare go out on the street for a few weeks and started having panic attacks. It took a while before that fear went away.’