Fallon Sherrock beat reigning world champion Luke Littler in a single leg of darts at Manchester Central on Friday night, winning £501,000 on Netflix’s ‘Beat Luke Littler’.
The 32-year-old said she was “happy to overcome all the hate”, the BBC reported. Her place in the field had drawn criticism online before the event.
Sherrock won the vote to enter the field, and she took on Littler as challenger number 15. She won the bull to throw first and finished the leg in 15 darts, according to the BBC. The show ended on the spot, so five amateurs never got their turn.
Criticism before the show
Entrants could not hold a PDC Tour Card. Sherrock has never held one, so she qualified, even though she made history at the 2019 World Championship as the first woman to beat a man there.
She told the Press Association the build-up had been tough because of the backlash and negative comments she had seen. “I fit the criteria for this,” she said, adding that she does not see herself as a professional.
PDC president Barry Hearn defended her place. He said the event was about excellence competing against excellence, not a string of mismatches.
The final field of 20 was set by a three-person panel that included Phil Taylor, Hearn and Laura Turner. For the eight most experienced players, Netflix viewers voted on who would get through. The BBC said Sherrock took 75% of the vote against Germany’s Jarod Becker.
Littler’s night
Littler, 19, had beaten 14 challengers before Sherrock, including teenagers as young as 14. The BBC said most never came close.
The closest call before Sherrock came from Ireland’s Pearse Mackle, a 21-year-old student from County Cavan. AOL reported that he had a shot at the bullseye for the prize and missed. Littler survived that leg.
After the final leg, Littler called Sherrock’s performance world class. He had said he would give the prize to charity if he kept it.
Sherrock was presented with an oversized cheque and a trophy. Sky Sports reported that she told Netflix she could not put into words what the win meant. Her son Rory was watching from the crowd.
Sky Sports described the prize as the second biggest in darts history. Only the £1m World Championship top prize is larger. The 2019 run earned her £25,000 and the nickname ‘The Queen of the Palace’. She was later awarded an MBE for services to darts.
Gary Lineker hosted the show, with Lee Mack and Richard Osman among the pundits alongside Turner.
Sherrock, whose son was seeing her win for the first time, said: “Give me an opportunity and I will take it every time.”
Sources: Sky Sports, AOL, BBC Sport
This story was compiled by the MDW Newsdesk with AI-assisted tools, using the reporting credited above.
