Trans darts star hits back at ‘scary’ haters at World Darts Championship

Noa-Lynn Van Leuven has described what it was like being on the receiving end of hate from “scary and s*****” people.

The professional darts player, 29, who is trans, made history in 2024 by becoming the first trans player to qualify for the World Championships.

The Dutch player has also, as her career has progressed, become the target of hate from gender-critics online and has had opponents drop out rather than face her.

In July, the World Darts Federation (WDF) banned trans women from women’s competitions meaning Van Leuven could only compete in an Open category.

The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), which runs the World Darts Championship, hasn’t made any changes to its policy as of yet.

Speaking to Oche180 ahead of her World Darts Championship return at London’s Alexandra Palace this week, Van Leuven shared what it had taken to get to this point.

“I basically only got out of bed when I was hungry. Then I’d grab a bag of chips, lie back down, and Netflix all day,” she said. Van Leuven also said after the Worlds last year she “ran into a massive concrete wall”.

But after getting help she’s back on her feet and wants to inspire others, telling Oche180: “Helping others matters more to me than thinking about myself. 

“If there’s even one person who thinks: I’m not crazy, I’m allowed to be myself, then all the misery is worth it.”

Addressing the backlash she has received for her participation in women’s darts, Van Leuven said: “I haven’t experienced reactions as intense as back then. Everything I’d been through before suddenly resurfaced. 

“At a certain point I was convinced that all people were scary and s*****. I just had nothing left to fall back on.”

As well the hate from fans, the Dutch national players Anca Zijlstra and Aileen de Graaf have said they don’t want to play with Van Leuven, who they described as “a biological man”.

Van Leuven found this “incredibly painful” but remains resilient.

“Darts is my thing,” she said. “That feeling when everything clicks, you don’t lose that. I’m not necessarily happy yet, but I’m happier than before.”

She also reminded people that her identity is not solely about being trans. “Talking about it is fine. But I’m a human being with feelings, not an object. I’m just Noa. And I’m someone who can play darts well,” she said.

As well as her detractors, Van Leuven has also found support in the darts world.

Former world champion Luke Humphries threw his support behind Van Leuven, saying he wished her “all the best”. 

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