Deta Hedman’s long awaited ascent to world champion status is one of the greatest stories ever written in darts. On Sunday at the iconic Lakeside stage the 66 year old Jamaican born legend affectionately called the Caribbean Queen captured the 2025 WDF Women’s World Championship, defeating top seed Lerena Rietbergen 4 to 1 in a performance defined by steel, precision and half a century of unbroken perseverance.
For Hedman, who has played competitive darts since the early 1970s, the moment was overwhelming. As the winning dart finally found its mark she collapsed into tears.
“When it went in I just thought Thank God finally I have done it,” she told BBC Essex.
“Most people saw I started blubbering like a child. The relief. I did not think it was ever going to come.”
After three painful defeats in world finals in 2012, 2014 and 2016 and fourteen previous attempts, the greatest female player never to win a world title finally completed her story.
A Historic Victory on Darts’ Most Storied Stage
Hedman’s path to glory was anything but simple. Facing Rietbergen a prodigy 43 years her junior and the tournament’s top seed she lost the opening set as the Dutch rising star fired clinical finishes of 72 and 64. But the veteran’s response was ruthless.
Hedman surged back with five straight legs, levelled the match and then produced one of the shots of the tournament, a 112 checkout under pressure to take the third set and seize full control. From there she never loosened her grip. Although Rietbergen struck four maximums in the final her scoring rhythm faltered while Hedman’s experience proved decisive. Her doubles sharpened, her composure deepened and she closed out victory with her fourth match dart, a clean double 20, finishing with a 72.01 average.
With that single dart she became the oldest world champion in darts history male or female.
“World champion at the tender age of 66. I did not realise it would be so emotional,” Hedman said.
“I said to Lerena Stay with me do not go because I was bawling into her shoulder thinking Oh God you big baby.”
Her tears were not just joy. They were decades of resilience finally rewarded.
From Jamaica to Essex A Journey Rooted in Determination
Born in Kingston Jamaica in 1959, Hedman spent her early childhood in Castleton living with her aunt in a home without electricity or running water. Her days blended schooling with farm work until age 13, when she joined her parents in England. There in Witham Essex she discovered darts, first casually alongside her older brother and then passionately on the local pub circuit.
By 25 she was playing super league darts and by 1987 she was a rising force in the British Darts Organisation. Over the decades she built one of the most decorated résumés in women’s darts including
2 World Masters titles
3 Dutch Open championships
Multiple Finder Masters and Open tournament victories
A record haul of WDF World Cup and Europe Cup medals representing England
Groundbreaking moments in the PDC including becoming the first woman to defeat a man in a televised major at the UK Open in 2005
Her consistency made her a world number one for years yet the most coveted prize continued to escape her. Until now.
A Career of Triumphs and Unfinished Business Completed
Hedman’s list of near misses at world championships became part of her legend. In 2012 she led Anastasia Dobromyslova and threw for the title only to be broken. In 2014 she lost after being two sets ahead. In 2016 she was halted by Trina Gulliver who was chasing a historic tenth crown.
Even the 2025 draw was unforgiving. Her section contained former champions Mikuru Suzuki and Kirsi Viinikainen along with in form contenders such as Sophie McKinlay and Priscilla Steenbergen. Hedman fought through them all and when she reached Rietbergen in the final experience conquered youth.
Sports historians will no doubt record this championship as the last jewel missing from Hedman’s crown, the one she spent decades polishing.
A Remarkable Year World Champion and OBE
The year 2025 was transformative for Hedman even before her triumph at Lakeside. In June she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to darts and charity. It was a recognition of not only her sporting impact but her years of fundraising and community work.
To complete the year by lifting the world championship trophy at 66 after half a century of dedication is a narrative even she struggled to describe.
“I cannot put into words right now how I feel. Things are written and if it is meant to be it is meant to be. It is funny how everything has fallen into place.”
Legacy of a Pioneer
Deta Hedman’s impact reaches far beyond her title wins. She is a pioneer, one of the first women to break through on televised stages long dominated by men. She is a mentor, a barrier breaker and a symbol of what longevity, discipline and self belief can achieve.
Her nickname The Heart of Darts has never felt more fitting. She has represented England across BDO, PDC, WDF and WSDT competitions, inspired players across the Caribbean and Britain and competed at an elite level for more than fifty years.
Her victory at Lakeside is not simply a personal milestone. It is a landmark moment for Jamaican born athletes succeeding on the world stage, for women in precision sports and for older athletes proving that mastery does not fade with age.
Hedman now stands as living proof that persistence can outlast disappointment, that talent does not expire and that destiny arrives exactly on time.
The Champion at Last
After fifty years on the oche, thousands of matches and more heartbreak than most champions ever endure, Deta Hedman is finally a world champion. Her triumph at Lakeside was not just a victory. It was a release, a vindication and a celebration of a life devoted to the dartboard.
As applause filled the hall and tears streamed down her face the Caribbean Queen held her trophy high. At long last she had claimed the crown that the sport and history always meant for her.
A world champion. An OBE. A pioneer. A legend.
The Power of Dreams Realised Late in Life
Deta Hedman’s triumph stands as a powerful reminder that dreams do not come with deadlines. Some victories arrive early and some arrive only after life has tested every fibre of resilience a person possesses. Hedman became a world champion at 66 because she refused to surrender the belief that her moment would still come. Her story proves that age is not an anchor and setbacks are not endings. When determination remains alive within you your dream remains alive too. Her journey is a call to everyone who feels time slipping away hold your vision close, keep walking and trust that destiny will meet you exactly where you still dare to hope.