Former Lakeside world champion Mark Webster has criticised the decision to include Fallon Sherrock in Netflix's "Beat Luke Littler" show, insisting the 32-year-old Englishwoman should never have been selected in the first place. Sherrock won an astonishing £501,000 on Friday night by beating Luke Littler in Manchester, but the Sky Sports analyst believes organisers made the wrong choice by allowing an experienced professional to take part in a show centred mainly on amateurs.
Sherrock produced a sensational finish in a 501 leg to defeat the two-time world champion and claim the second-highest individual prize in darts history. Only Littler has ever earned more from a single win, when he received £1 million for winning the World Darts Championship earlier this year. Yet during the Netflix show, Sherrock was introduced to viewers as a hairdresser from Milton Keynes. Although she was eligible under the official rules because she does not hold a PDC Tour Card, her presence drew criticism.
Webster, however, was keen to defend Sherrock herself. "The backlash Fallon got is nothing she's done wrong," he told Sky Sports. "Ultimately, I don't think she should have been selected to play, but then you can't blame Fallon for going to try and win half a million pounds in fair play." The Welshman added: "It was a good leg. But look, I don't think the backlash will bother her. She's got a few quid, hasn't she? So she'll just crack on. People forget about these things. She just needs to get herself ready for the rest of the year now." He also expects the huge prize to have a positive impact on the rest of her career: "She'll be quite chilled. I'm not saying she has financial burdens, but that's going to really help going forward - doing things for her."
Sherrock's participation was not Webster's only concern. He also believes the show's format could have been better, with several contestants having the chance to beat Littler in a single 501 leg but not everyone in the announced line-up actually getting to play. Fourteen-year-old Jayden Walker, whom some darts fans already compare to Littler, did take to the stage but failed to repeat the feat of taking a leg off Littler, which he had previously done in an exhibition match. The evening was even more disappointing for Mitchell Lawrie. The 15-year-old Scot, who tops the WDF world rankings, had been heavily promoted beforehand as one of Littler's biggest challengers but did not even get the chance to throw a dart.
"I don't think she should have been able to play. I didn't like the way it was made as an amateur beats Luke Littler, and a lot of them weren't amateurs. Fallon's a professional player," Webster said. "I think Mitchell Lawrie was due to play as well, but he didn't get on. I do think they should have played out the remaining legs and then they could have chipped away at Fallon's money if they'd won. So one more win, they split Fallon's money, just for a bit of jeopardy." Despite his criticisms, Webster praised the production: "I thought it was a brilliant show. The production was fantastic. The concept of it was good. I just think the selection process is kind of a bit of a grey area."