Fallon Sherrock has shared a picture of herself, champagne bottle in hand, celebrating her £501,000-winning triumph over Luke Littler.
Sherrock, 32, beat reigning world champion Littler in one leg of darts in the globally broadcast Netflix competition Beat Luke Littler on Friday.
The streaming giant billed it as an event giving ‘amateurs a chance at life-changing money’.
Players could not be members of the PDC Tour, meaning Sherrock – who became the first female player to beat a male opponent at the PDC World Championship on her way to the last 32 in December 2019 – was allowed to compete.
The announcement that she would be allowed to take part earlier this month drew some criticism, which Sherrock, who has an MBE for services to darts, reflected on after her win.
‘I mean, it’s been tough,’ she said after her victory in Manchester. ‘Obviously I do see the backlash and I do see all the negative comments. But at the end of the day, I fit the criteria for this.
Fallon Sherrock has shared a picture of herself, champagne bottle in hand, celebrating her £501,000-winning triumph over Luke Littler (source: fsherrock/Instagram)
Sherrock also recently shared pictures of her Halloween outfit (source: fsherrock/Instagram)
The 32-year-old has been showing off her spooky costumes ideas ahead of Saturday (source: fsherrock/Instagram)
‘I’ve never had a tour card, and I wouldn’t class myself as a pro really, because all I do is just play darts for the enjoyment of it.’
More than 3,000 people auditioned in London and Manchester to take on The Nuke, with hopefuls travelling from far and wide, queuing from the early hours of the morning.
‘I don’t need the money,’ Sherrock told Daily Mail Sport at the London auditions. ‘But I have always said I would like more opportunities to promote the women’s game, and this is the perfect opportunity to do it. Why wouldn’t you?
‘I do speak to Luke. I know him, I know his mum, his dad, Faith, and they are lovely, genuine people.’
The PDC president, Barry Hearn, who was involved in the audition process, defended the contest. Asked whether Sherrock’s inclusion was unfair, Hearn said: ‘No, not at all. She’s not a PDC tour card holder. She’s entitled to enter. Why should she be denied?’
He added: ‘Do you want just a series of 20 matches where someone can’t even throw a dart? No, of course we want excellence competing against excellence, and that’s what it was all about.’
After Littler had defeated 14 amateurs, some as young as 14, he was always going to have a tough task against Sherrock, who has won 21 times on the PDC Women’s Series.
She had been closest to the bull to start first and hit a 180, only the third maximum of the night, before taking out double 20 to clinch the prize.
Luke Littler was defeated on Netflix on Friday night as Fallon Sherrock claimed £501,000
Sherrock needed just 14 darts to beat the two-time world champion and take home the prize
Sherrock, whose son Rory was among the crowd, said: ‘It’s insane, I can’t put into words what it means, especially having Rory here – it’s his first time at anything and he has seen me win.
‘It’s a great moment and I will memorise this forever. Give me an opportunity and I will take it every time. I’m really proud of myself, I rise to the occasion.’
Littler, who is a two-time PDC world champion, was humble in defeat, especially considering Lineker had earlier in the night claimed that he had ‘put his reputation on the line’.
The 19-year-old said: ‘Brilliant, that’s what one person had to do – win the bull and go out in 15 (darts) and that’s what she did, world class.’
