Fallon Sherrock

Sherrock aims to be a States smash hit like Raducanu

Sherrock aims to be a States smash hit like Raducanu

By Phil Lanning

FALLON SHERROCK is aiming to be a New York smash hit like Emma Raducanu on her World Series debut.

The Queen of the Palace hits the Big Apple in the US Masters tonight (Friday) when she takes on Leonard Gates at Madison Square Garden.

Sherrock, 27, admits that she has learnt to deal with the hype and would love to make her name in the States like tennis ace Raducanu. 

She said: “I definitely feel for Emma. It’s horrible. I get why people put pressure on, ignore everyone and just deal with the pressure you put on yourself. I just chill out and play. 

“I do feel sorry, the online abuse is ridiculous. I don’t understand why social media platforms don’t do anything about it. 

“Can I be the next Emma in New York? I hope so, I’ll try. 

“I do think it’s getting closer. I think the only issue right now is there’s not enough women able to do it. I think there’s about three women. 

“Hopefully the Women’s Series is going to build up the women’s game so they can get to that stage and get a big win. 

“It’s closing in but I still think there’s a massive gap of who can do it. Right now only about three people who can do it.

“I’ve been close, maybe if I play a bit more, I’ll get there. My issue still is the floor games. I can’t take my stage game to the floor. On stage I never think I’m going to lose, it’s like a weird confidence boost. The more I play on stages, it will eventually get there.”

Sherrock also admits she doesn’t read social media after getting so much stick over the hype following her wins over men at the Ally Pally in late 2019. She added: “Most of the time it’s not the professional people who are saying it. The people on TV just see women playing men. The actual professional game of it, they see women as good players now. Which is where we’ve wanted to get to but now we get everything and the kitchen sink thrown at us.

“I’ve learnt to cope and deal with it. At the start I got caught up with it, reading everything, it got really bad. Now I just don’t read anything. People have their opinion yes it’s massive hype and stuff. I did do it, it’s not like I didn’t do it.

“With today’s society, it’s just how the world is. You just have to accept that people will criticise you, people are going to love you. You might as well ignore everything and do what you’ve got to do.”

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Fallon admits that Menzies is her oche rock

By Phil Lanning

EXCLUSIVE

FALLON SHERROCK has revealed that Scottish ace Cameron Menzies is her rock and pushing her to more glory.

The oche queen is undoubtedly the most talked about player in the world since becoming the first woman to beat a man at the Worlds in late 2019.

But Sherrock, 27, has now found a soul mate in fellow oche star boyfriend Menzies who won a PDC Tour Card last week. 

She revealed: “Cameron proper pushes me. He will be like, go practice, go practice, even when I am tired.

“He will even ring me, have you had a practice today? Mate, give me a break! 

“Then even we I am here, we all practice 2-3 hours, stuff like that. But then I am trying to help him as well by trying to get him ready for Q School, so he can get his Tour Card as well. 

“We do help each other, we need each other in that aspect. We do get distracted a lot. I will sit there and get bored and he will say: No, you need to do it.

“He is so supportive. It is quite nice to have someone who is willing to help. I haven’t had the support since everything happened. I have not had someone there, it is nice. I can chill out.”

Menzies, managed by Scottish promoter Tommy Gilmour, has admitted on social media that Sherrock is “unplayable” in practice.

She added: “Sometimes I leave him on well high, I am like: bang, bang, bang, bang. He will come back at me and nearly miss a nine-darter. 

“I am like: Go away. When the blokes are hitting it against me, he has done it to me. I don’t feel nervous. Well, I am used to it, I know what to expect, I know what to do to put the pressure on. I know I have to finish this because they are going out.”

Sherrock also admitted that she will fight back to be at the Worlds this year.

She added: Yeah, I am not going to say no. I will be back next year. 100 per cent.

“I definitely felt the love of the crowd. I could feel that. The game was very good in itself. It was nip and tuck, you didn’t know which way it was going to go. Yes, today wasn’t my day. But who is to say that next time won’t be mine? I have got to take each game as it comes. Each game is different on each day.”

Images by Taylor Lanning.

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Fallon beaten but vows: I’ll be back

By Phil Lanning

FALLON SHERROCK vowed ‘I’ll be back’ after another epic clash at the Ally Pally.

The Queen of the Palace could not repeat her World Championship exploits of two years ago, crashing out to Steve Beaton 3-2 on Sunday night. 

In the end The Bronzed Adonis just had too much strength in depth and silenced the baying crowd desperate to see another glass ceiling smashed. 

That thrilling defeat leaves the PDC and Sky Sports bosses with a major dilemma having been keen to include her in next year’s Premier League. 

But Sherrock, 27, promised to return for the 2023 worlds, saying: “I’ll be back next year, 100 per cent.

“If I had thrown my darts steadier, it might have been a different result. But I’ll take pride from this. Sometimes I don’t make it but I’ll never give up and will always fight.

“People are talking about me and giving me all this hype, and I’m really proud of that. Any opportunity that comes my way I’ll never turn it down.

“I believe 100 per cent on my day and on my game I can live with these people in the PDC.

“If I get more opportunities and chances I can prove myself. I want to play them.

“My game is stronger than it was two years ago. Just because I bombed out of this tournament early doesn’t mean I can’t come back next year or fail to progress in other tournaments.

“I believe given the opportunity and if I can qualify I’ll eventually get to those highs.

“That’s something that what I want to achieve and I won’t stop until I get there.”

There was a real buzz in the air all night in anticipation of the Pink Princess returning after a two-year absence.

Fallon had asked for the crowd to respect Beaton and not boo her legendary rival. 

But instead the fans jeered the hugly-popular ex-Lakeside champ as he walked on to his famous Bee Gees Stayin’ Alive theme. 

However, Beaton’s experience proved invaluable and the 57-year-old now plays Belgian seed Kim Huybrechts, 36, on Wednesday evening.

He admitted: “I’m exhausted. That was one of the hardest games I’ve ever had to deal with. Fair play, she didn’t let me go at all.

“These are the games you want to play in. I didn’t want to lose.”

Images by Taylor Lanning.

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Fallon wants to make Ally Pally “explode”

By Phil Lanning

FALLON SHERROCK has vowed to make the most of her second chance  and wants Ally Pally to “explode” tonight.

Sherrock, 27, was the name on everybody’s lips in 2019 after beating Ted Evetts on the Ally Pally stage. 

Then, in March 2020, the Covid pandemic began and Sherrock was forced inside, shielding at home with her young son Rory, and playing online darts instead.

Sherrock, who faces Steve Beaton, said: “I thought with Covid, this could only happen to me.

“I was upset with it. I thought it would never happen. Then I turned my mindset around.

“I’ve been properly working hard again. It has made me hungrier.

“When I am up there and hear them, I want to hit it and make them explode.”

Sherrock hit headlines around the world after beating Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljovic in late 2019. But since then she has reached the final of the Nordic Masters and pushed Peter Wright all the way in the Grand Slam quarter-finals last month.

But the pandemic ended her hopes of truly capitalising on her success and this is a second chance at the Ally Pally. 

However, she is keen for the fans not to boo her rival Beaton, adding: 

“I don’t like the booing. Obviously I don’t think anyone deserves to be booed for doing something that they love doing or is their job. 

“It’s the same in social media. You don’t want hate. If you are doing something you love, you don’t deserved to be booed either. So I don’t like the booing. 

“But I can’t really do anything about it. If I sit there and go like that to quieten them, they will just boo me. I mean I would never do that anyway. 

“You would be silly to do that as they have their favourites – and you don’t want to make them your enemies. When they are cheering and stuff like that, it goes give me a adrenalin boost and confidence. I want to send the crowd mental.

“I want to hit a 180 and make them go wahey! That is my ambition all the time. When I am up there and hear them, I want to hit it and make them explode.”

Images by Taylor Lanning.

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Taylor: Sherrock will make rivals “nervous”

By Phil Lanning

EXCLUSIVE

PHIL TAYLOR says that whoever faces Fallon Sherrock in the World Championship will be “nervous”.

The 16-times World Champion has been impressed by the oche queen especially the 170 finish to beat Gabriel Clemens in the Grand Slam last month.

Sherrock takes on ex-Lakeside champ Steve Beaton on Sunday in a much-anticipated opening clash at the Ally Pally.

Taylor, 61, believes she will get a place in the Premier League and hopes she can claim a major title.

He added: “I would love to see it happen before I die – I’d love it. If not Fallon, then another lady, but she’s one hell of a player. Very humble, nice lady, but a proper darts player.

“I played her in one of those online challenge matches last year and she took me to the wire. Trust me, I would never let anyone beat me, and I would have beaten her 10-0 if I could.

“But whoever plays Fallon at the world championship is going to be nervous, and I don’t envy them – especially in front of a crowd.

“Her finishing is one of the best I’ve seen, and that 170 she hit to qualify for the knockout stage at the Grand Slam had me out of my seat.

“I watching on TV with my grandson Matthew, who loves his darts, and when she left 170 I said to him, ‘She could do this – I don’t think she’ll get it, but she’ll have a go.’ When she hit the bullseye, it was like, ‘Wow, how about that!’

“You don’t put it past Michael or Gerwyn Price to produce a finish like that, but only the top players can do it under such pressure.

“She had to win that leg or she would have been out. Takes some nerve, that. She can play.

“Premier League? Yeah, maybe. She would be a big draw. I know Barry Hearn has stepped back a bit from running the PDC, but he’s still a clever man. I know that because he used to tell me every day!

“Barry likes picking people who will sell tickets – it’s like boxing.”

*Phil Taylor interview in association with Target Darts.

Images by Taylor Lanning.

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Fallon can earn Premier place says Hearn

By Phil Lanning

FALLON SHERROCK can make history in the Premier League – if she proves her worth at the World Championship.

PDC chairman Eddie Hearn has responded to calls for the Queen of the Palace to be handed a place in the prestigious PL.

He believes that Sherrock deserves to become the first-ever full-time woman in the league if she produces another headline-grabbing display at the Ally Pally against Steve Beaton on December 19.

Hearn said: “I feel like one of the fears was previously: could she produce consistently over the Premier League? I think she is starting to convince us that she can. 

“If she can do that plus bring, whether it is the ticket sales or endorsements or pure publicity, she has got to be in with a great run of getting in. 

“You know everyone will be tuned in to see what Fallon Sherrock will do at the World Championship.

“When you look at the Premier League, obviously that is a decision that will be taken by the board and after the Worlds. 

“There are a lot of people in the running. I have to sit there with a commercial hat on and say if she is performing at those levels I’d like to see her in it. 

“Whether I am allowed to say that or not at this point, that is how I feel about it. 

“You have to understand that the Premier League is a showcase event for the PDC. It is a real dream for players to get into. You shouldn’t take the position away from a player that may have deserved it. 

“At the same time if she is producing performances you still cannot ignore the commercial value that she brings to the tournament, the profile, the exposure.”

Hearn also reassured fans that the darts will go ahead whatever happens with the potential of more Covid restrictions.

He added: “I don’t anticipate any changes in the rules over that period. But we will always adhere to the government regulations and rules. 

“If we have to adapt in the circumstances whether that be with distancing or implementing masks in the venue, or reducing the crowds, we have the expertise to do all of that. 

“It would be a real shame because we missed it last year and it is back in full this year: fancy dress is on the agenda. It would be a major blow but the tournament would go ahead in any circumstances as we have proved through the pandemic.”

Images by Taylor Lanning.

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Sherrock admits pandemic was a “kick in the gut”

By Phil Lanning

FALLON Sherrock admits that it was a “kick in the gut” to see her limelight ripped apart by the pandemic.

The mum-of-one was on a crest of a winning and publicity wave after her World Championship exploits at the Ally Pally in late 2019 and then drawing with Glen Durrant on her Premier League debut.

But the Covid-19 lockdown then halted all play and her much-awaited World Series participation starting in New York was cancelled.

With only one major Women’s Series in over a year, Sherrock concedes she has had some low moments.

She revealed: “It was a real kick in the gut if that makes sense because I had all these things to look forward to and my game was on point but then all of a sudden it all got taken away.

“At the end of the day, there was nothing you could do. There’s a global pandemic going on, which nobody knew was going to happen. It was disappointing, but the only thing I can do now is to regroup and start again. I might be a year behind but I will catch up and eventually I will get there again.”

Sherrock, 26, also revealed she frequently looks back over old footage of those famous Worlds wins over Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljovic and aims to follow Lisa Ashton into getting a PDC Tour card.

She added: “I do watch them back quite often because sometimes when I feel quite low. I kind of watch them back and think ‘do you know what? This is where I want to be, this is what I want to do’ to gear myself back up.

“I’ve watched a bit during lockdown because we’ve all had our down bits, so yeah, I’ve watched it a few times. It’s always great memories.

“My aim is if the women’s series happens again, then I will go on that and qualify again. I missed out by two legs last time.

“I’ll go back to Q-School next year because I feel it was a good learning curve for me.

“I want to try and perfect my game a bit better because I feel that it needs a lot of improvement to what it was a couple of years back. But I’m going to take little steps and see how it goes.”

Images by Taylor Lanning.