Fallon Sherrock stuns Luke Littler to scoop £501,000 top prize in Netflix showpiece
Fallon Sherrock became darts’ richest-ever winner outside of PDC competition as she stunned Luke Littler in the inaugural Netflix game show on Friday.
Sherrock stepped up as the 15th challenger in the one-leg shootout at Manchester Central, landing a 15-darter to scoop a staggering £501,000 in prize money.
The unique event saw reigning world champion Littler put his reputation on the line against a selection of non-tour-card-holding players, ranging from talented teenagers to experienced televised competitors.
The world number one had swept through his opening 14 matches, surviving just one match dart in the process, but lost the bullseye throw against Sherrock and struggled to find his scoring range.
Sherrock, who famously reached the third round of the 2019/20 PDC World Championship, grasped her opportunity, firing in a 180 and taking out tops with her last dart as Littler waited on 142.
Her £501,000 payout is the second biggest in the sport’s history, eclipsed only by the PDC World Championship top prize of £1million.
“It’s insane. I cannot put into words how much this means,” an emotional Sherrock told Netflix.
“The first time Rory [son] had been to anything and he has seen me win.
“Sorry, I am lost for words now. It was a really great moment and I will memorize this forever.
“Give me an opportunity and I will take it every time. I am really proud of myself right now.”
The inclusion of Sherrock and other players with experience in major tournaments such as Mitchell Lawrie and Bhav Patel had initially led to a major backlash from darts fans when announced earlier this month.
However, Netflix defended the decision and seemingly introduced a public vote between eight of the contestants for the right to face Littler, from which Sherrock prevailed over Germany’s Jarod Becker.
The 24 contestants were divided into a series of ‘pots’ based on ability and experience, with some drawn at random and others picked to compete via a public vote.
Littler got off and running with a routine win over Manchester’s Kasey Smith, before dispatching South Wales’ Tony Cole and Melbourne-based jockey Zac Spain.
The 19-year-old followed up a 180 with a sensational 158 checkout for a 12-darter to defeat 14-year-old Jayden Walker, before brushing aside former Women’s World Matchplay participant Katie Sheldon.
Comfortable wins over Taylon Forrester and France’s Theodore Wallich followed, before ‘The Nuke’ survived his first match dart of the night as 21-year-old Pearse Mackle missed the bull for £501,000 and was duly sent packing.
Littler lost the bull-up for the first time tonight but takes the leg against the throw to end the hopes of 57-year-old Mark Pooke and reached the halfway stage in style with a 142 checkout to see off Hereford’s Zac Griffiths.
He then cruised past 14-year-old Makinley Cooper-Johnson of Wales and 30-year-old Will Kemp, before seeing off Women’s Series competitor Lauren Bloomfield and Challenge Tour regular David Wawrzewski.
However, it was Sherrock who stole the show to create a further slice of darting history with a lucrative leg of 15 darts on throw.
Speaking on stage to Netflix, Littler said: “Brilliant. That’s what one person had to do, win the bull and then go out in 15. That’s what she did. World class.
“I’ve enjoyed every bit of it, the advert, photoshoot, everything leading up to this has very good. Maybe Netflix we can do it again next year?”
The show featured slick production from Netflix, including an LED stageset, themed walk-ons and a presentation team which featured Gary Lineker, Richard Osman, Lee Mack and Angry Ginge, as well as the popular return of John McDonald as Master of Ceremonies.
It remains to be seen whether a second series will follow next year, or whether the show proves to be a ‘soft launch’ for potential PDC events to be streamed on Netflix in the near future.
