Mensur Suljovic v Fallon Sherrock: World Darts Championship 2019/20 preview – Suljovic out to end Sherrock’s dream

Mensur Suljovic aims to bring Fallon Sherrock’s fairy-tale story to an end at the 2019/20 World Darts Championship on Saturday.
All eyes will be on history-maker Sherrock as she aims to continue her trail-blazing run in the sport’s show-piece by pulling off what would be an astonishing upset against the world number eleven.
Sherrock became the first female ever to win a match in a PDC World Championship when she defeated Ted Evetts 3-2 on Tuesday, a story which received worldwide news coverage and has catapulted the 25-year-old into the limelight.
Sherrock has had a whirlwind four days since that stunning victory, appearing on TV and radio networks across the UK and in media outlets worldwide, but now returns to the stage with a new level of pressure on her shoulders.
The former women’s world finalist has already secured the biggest pay-cheque (£15,000) ever picked up by a female darts player but will not be content to stop there and will hope to feed off the vociferous support of the Ally Pally crowd in a bid to made headlines once again.
Standing in the way of Sherrock and a place in the Last 32 is unflappable Austrian Suljovic – who will look to spoil the party and press home his vast experience.
The former Champions League of Darts winner and two-time major ranking finalist has had a relatively quiet season by his standards but will be determined to end it on a high and improve on a below-par record which has seen him fail to progress beyond the Last 16 stage here in 11 attempts.
Suljovic burst onto the scene at Lakeside in 2002 before making his PDC World Championship debut six years later and going on to become the most successful German-speaking darts player of all-time.
The 47-year-old has produced his best televised form in invitational events this year, reaching two Semi-Finals plus a further two Quarter-Finals, and starts out a 1/12 favourite to deny Sherrock a sensational scalp.
This will be the first competitive meeting between the two, with world number 22 Chris Dobey awaiting the winner in the Last 32 on Friday December 27.
The match gets underway from around 9.15pm GMT and will be contested over the best of five sets, best of five legs per set.
A tie-break will be in operation, where the final set must be won by two clear legs. If the score reaches 5-5, the 11th leg will be sudden-death.
WATCH SULJOVIC vs SHERROCK STREAMED LIVE HERE (18+)