Fallon Sherrock has spoken out and hit back at criticism after she won a mammoth £501,000 by beating Luke Littler live on Netflix.
The 32-year-old was crowned champion of Netflix’s Beat Luke Littler on Friday night (30 October) after she overcame the double world champion in a one-off leg of 501 to claim the prize.
Only Littler has won more in a single prize pot, when his second World Championship title won him £1million in January.
Darts champion Luke Littler (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Sherrock had first made history by becoming the first woman to win at the World Championship when she made the third round seven years ago.
She has said she was delighted to ‘overcome the hate’ after the win and her involvement sparked criticism because she never held a PDC Tour Card.
It is a two-year professional licence that gives darts players the right to compete in all Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) ProTour events.
In the show, contestants entered the competition before being whittled down to 20 who were then selected to play at random to take on Littler.
“I mean it’s been tough,” Sherrock said. “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.
Fallon Sherrock said criticism had been ‘tough’ (Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)
“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, who was the 15th competitor to take on Littler, was joined in the line-up by WDF number one Mitchell Lawrie, Mark Pooke, who played Phil Taylor in a professional event almost 20 years ago, andteenager Jayden Walker/
There were also everyday players such as a bin man, an Australian jockey and a Nando’s manager.
PDC chief Barry Hearn, who was involved in the audition process, defended the line-up.
Asked whether Sherrock’s inclusion 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.”
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