Deta Hedman did not simply win a world championship on Sunday. She completed a story that had been unfolding for nearly 50 years.
At 66, the Jamaican-born darts pioneer known as the “Caribbean Queen” defeated top seed Lerena Rietbergen 4–1 to claim the 2025 WDF Women’s World Championship at the iconic Lakeside venue. It was the first world title of her career—and one of the most emotionally charged moments the sport has witnessed in decades.
“When that dart went in, I just thought, ‘Thank God, finally I’ve done it,’” Hedman told the BBC afterward. Overcome with emotion, she admitted she was “blubbering like a child,” the relief of a lifetime of near-misses pouring out in a single moment.
A Long Road to the Top
Hedman’s victory came at her 15th Lakeside appearance. She had previously reached three world finals and lost them all, a painful record that only deepened the significance of Sunday’s breakthrough.
After Rietbergen took the opening set, it briefly appeared history might repeat itself. Instead, Hedman steadied herself, dictated the pace, and closed out the match with the calm authority of a veteran who refused to let the moment slip again.
“I didn’t think it was ever going to come,” she said. “It will sink in in a few days’ time.”
Records That Redefined the Sport
The title cements Hedman’s place among the most consequential figures in darts history. Her achievements extend far beyond a single championship:
- She is the first Black world champion in WDF history, across both men’s and women’s competitions.
- She was the first Black woman to compete in the PDC World Championship.
- At 66, she is the oldest woman to win a WDF world title.
- She remains the first woman to defeat a man in a televised major darts event, a feat she achieved at the 2005 UK Open.
For decades, Hedman competed in arenas that were not built with players like her in mind, often carrying the dual burden of being both a trailblazer and an outsider. Her persistence reshaped expectations and widened the sport’s boundaries.
From Jamaica to Lakeside
Born in Jamaica, Hedman moved to England at age 13 and built a career that spanned eras, rule changes, and generational shifts in the game. In June, she learned she would be appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to darts and charity—an honor that now sits alongside a world title many once feared would forever elude her.
Reflecting on the timing of her triumph, Hedman struck a philosophical note. “Things are written,” she said. “If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. It’s funny how everything has just fallen into place.”
More Than a Trophy
Hedman’s win resonates beyond darts. It is a reminder that excellence does not expire, and that barriers—no matter how entrenched—can be worn down by endurance, skill, and belief.
In a sport where she spent much of her life proving she belonged, Deta Hedman finally walked off the Lakeside stage as a world champion.
Not as a symbol. Not as a footnote. But as the rightful holder of the sport’s biggest prize.
