Luke Littler beat 14 challengers in a row on live television. The 15th took his money. Fallon Sherrock, the “Queen of the Palace,” defeated the world No. 1 in a single leg on Netflix’s Beat Luke Littler to win £501,000, about $667,000, the streamer says.
The live special aired on October 30 and was billed as a shot at life-changing money for everyday UK darts players. It ended with one of the most famous names in the women’s game taking the jackpot, and a debate about who counts as an amateur.
How the night played out
The rules were brutal for the challengers. Each contestant got one leg against Littler, with 20 places available from a field of 24, and a single win took the whole pot. Netflix says Littler swept the first 14 before Sherrock stopped him.
She closed out the leg on a 43 checkout while Littler still needed 142, according to match accounts. Afterwards she said: “I can’t put into words how much this means. I’m really lost for words right now. It was a great moment. Give me an opportunity and I’ll take it every time. I’m really proud of myself.”
Gary Lineker hosted. Richard Osman worked as the expert analyst and had predicted beforehand that someone would win the money, given the challenge of beating the sport’s best player “20 legs in a row.” Lee Mack, Angry Ginge and former professional Laura Turner were also part of the lineup. The show was made by Netflix and Workerbee with the PDC, the professional game’s governing body.
The “amateur” question
The cast list had already caused a stir. Netflix pitched a mixed bag of contestants aged 14 to 57: Welsh and Scottish school pupils, a Bedford refuse collector, a manager at a Nando’s, an ex-Army officer and a jockey from Australia who has ridden in over 7,500 races. It also included a dozen players with PDC or WDF rankings, or major women’s titles.
When the event was announced in July, applicants were told they must never have held a PDC Tour Card, the license for full-time play on the professional circuit. Sherrock qualified under that rule: she has never earned one, despite several attempts at Q School. Many fans had expected everyday pub players and said so online. Netflix defended the field, with a spokesperson saying the registration and audition process was identical for everyone, according to a report.
Why Sherrock was always the danger
Sherrock’s record explains why she was the one to beat him. At the 2020 PDC World Championship at London’s Alexandra Palace, she became the first woman to win a match at the event, beating Ted Evetts and then 11th seed Mensur Suljović. She won the 2022 Women’s World Matchplay, has 21 PDC Women’s Series titles and in 2023 became the first woman to hit a televised nine-dart finish. Netflix’s own profile also notes she is a hairdresser and barber.
Littler, 19, remains the dominant force in the sport. Netflix lists 28 PDC titles, 13 of them major singles titles, and he became the youngest world champion in darts history at 17.
The math behind the upset
Littler needed 20 straight single-leg wins to keep the money. He got 14, which is 70 percent of the way there. Put another way, Sherrock earned roughly £25,000 for every one of the 20 legs scheduled on the night, all in one go.
The two could meet again soon at a bigger stage: Sherrock has already secured her place at the next PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace through the Women’s Series rankings. For more on women breaking through in sport, see our story on Caitlin Clark’s first-of-its-kind brand deal, or browse the latest sports stories.
Further reading
Image: Sandro Halank, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our Editorial Desk. How we work.
