Sherrock happy to "overcome the hate"

FALLON SHERROCK was delighted to “overcome the hate” and win the second biggest prize in darts history by beating Luke Littler.

The 32-year-old was crowned champion of Netflix’s ‘Beat Luke Littler’ on Friday night after she overcame the double world champion in a one-off leg of 501 to claim a huge £501,000 prize.

Only Littler has won more in a single prize pot, when his second World Championship title won him £1m in January.

Sherrock once again showed she is the woman for the big occasion having ‘smashed the glass ceiling’ by becoming the first woman to win at the World Championship when she made the third round seven years ago.

Her inclusion in the line-up for the TV show, attracted criticism given her stature in the game, even if she met the criteria for applicants because she does not hold a PDC Tour Card.

She told the Press Association: “I mean it’s been tough. Because 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. 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 think people forget where I started off as well. When I won at the Worlds, I was still just doing WDF (World Darts Federation). I’m just so happy to overcome all the hate and win.”

Sherrock was the 15th competitor to take on Littler. The Nuke certainly wasn’t at his best at stages during the night. But it must have been a difficult task given the stop-start nature of the event.

PDC president Barry Hearn, who was one the judging panel of the Netflix show, defended Sherrock’s inclusion.

Whether it was unfair, he told PA: “No, not at all. She’s not a PDC Tour Card holder. She’s entitled to enter. Why should she be denied?

“She’s a well-known player and she’s a very good player. But Mitchell Lawrie is a very well-known player and an excellent player.

“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.”

The show, which was streamed globally on Netflix, was another illustration in the incredible growth of the sport, accelerated further by Littler’s rise to fame.

Hearn knows what a gift the teenager has been for him and the sport.

He added: “Luke Littler gave me the one thing I was missing, he gave me that young audience, and with it, all the benefits that follow.

“And one of those benefits is a company like Netflix seeing an opportunity, having the finance to do things that other people only dream about, and come up with innovative ideas.

“So the answer is three years ago, no, I didn’t see it coming. Now I find myself saying, ‘It’s no big surprise’.

“It’s a statement on where darts has become and what Netflix is contributing to the sports industry.”

Words: Phil Lanning.

Image: Tom Dymond/Shutterstock.