Fallon Sherrock stuns Luke Littler to land £501,000 Netflix prize
The amateur and former PDC Women's Series star beat the world number one in a single leg on live television to claim the night's top prize.
Fallon Sherrock beat reigning world champion Luke Littler in a single leg of darts on Friday night, claiming a £501,000 prize on Netflix's live event Beat Luke Littler.
The show was staged at Manchester Central and hosted by Gary Lineker and Richard Osman, marking Netflix's first UK live entertainment broadcast. It went head-to-head in the schedules with the BBC's Celebrity Traitors final.
Guardian Darts reported that Netflix had drawn up a contingency format in case Littler lost early, with no certainty beforehand over how far the world number one would progress against the amateur line-up.
Littler needed around two-and-a-half hours to overcome his first 14 opponents, including 14-year-olds Mackinley Cooper-Johnson and Jayden Walker. Former Irish youth player Pearse Mackle came closest to beating him before Sherrock arrived as the 15th challenger.
Entry was restricted to players without a PDC Tour card, a condition that allowed Sherrock, 32, to take part. She has won 21 times on the PDC Women's Series and, in 2019, became the first woman to beat a male opponent at the PDC World Championship, a run that took her to the last 32 and earned her £25,000 for reaching the third round.
Her place among the 24 contestants drew criticism on social media in the build-up to the broadcast, BBC Darts reported.
Having finished closest to the bullseye and taken the first throw, Sherrock produced the night's third maximum with a 180 before checking out on double 20 to seal the win and the £501,000 prize.
Her son Rory was among those watching. She said: "It's insane, I can't put it into words of 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."
Sherrock told the Press Association that the criticism she faced beforehand had been "tough" because she had seen the "backlash" and "all the negative comments", according to BBC Darts.
She added: "But at the end of the day, I fit the criteria for this. 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. I'm just so happy to overcome all the hate and win."