Fallon Sherrock beat reigning world champion Luke Littler in a one-leg face-off on Friday to win £501,000, the BBC reported. The match at Manchester Central was the climax of Beat Luke Littler. Netflix broadcast the event live around the world. It billed the show as giving "amateurs a chance at life-changing money".
Littler had beaten 14 challengers before Sherrock stepped up, some of them as young as 14. The 32-year-old won the bull to throw first and hit a 180, only the third maximum of the night. She then took out double 20 to claim the prize. Her win ended the event at once, so the five remaining amateurs never got their turn.
Sherrock said the win was "insane" and that she could not put it into words. Her son Rory watched from the crowd. She said it was his first time at any event, and he had seen her win. Littler, 19, called her performance "world class". He said she had done exactly what one person had to do: win the bull and finish in 15 darts.
PDC Tour members could not enter, so Sherrock was eligible. In December 2019 she became the first woman to beat a male opponent at the PDC World Championship. She reached the last 32 that year. She has won 21 times on the PDC Women's Series. According to the BBC, some social media users criticised her inclusion in an event billed as amateur. She is technically not a professional because she does not hold a PDC Tour card.
The BBC said 25,000 people applied. In the first stage, players had to get down from 501 in 24 darts or fewer. Those who managed it then faced an interview panel of Phil Taylor, Barry Hearn and Laura Turner. Netflix viewers voted in a head-to-head between Sherrock and Germany's Jarod Becker. She won 75% of the votes.
Apart from Sherrock, Ireland's Pearse Mackle came closest to beating Littler. The 21-year-old university student missed a match-winning bullseye. Fourteen-year-old Jayden Walker also threatened an upset. Littler answered with a 180 followed by a 158 checkout, the highest of the night. He had said he would donate the prize to charity if he kept it.
Former England footballer Gary Lineker hosted the show. The event follows similar formats in other sports. In January, the Australian Open ran the Million Dollar One Point Slam. There, Jordan Smith beat Jannik Sinner on his way to the A$1m prize.