Fallon Sherrock MBE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname | "Queen of the Palace" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 2 July 1994 Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home town | Milton Keynes, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Darts information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing darts since | 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Darts | 23g Dynasty Signature | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Laterality | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Walk-on music | "Last Friday Night" by Katy Perry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Organisation (see split in darts) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BDO | 2012–2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PDC | 2019– | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WDF | 2012– | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current world ranking | (PDC) NR (24 November 2024) [1] (WDF W) 19 2 (8 December 2024) [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WDF major events – best performances | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Ch'ship | Runner Up: 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Masters | Runner Up: 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Trophy | Winner (1): 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finder Masters | Winner (1): 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PDC premier events – best performances | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Ch'ship | Last 32: 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UK Open | Last 160: 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grand Slam | Quarter Final: 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Premier League | Challenger: 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Series Finals | Last 16: 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other tournament wins | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other achievements | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2023: First ever woman to hit a 9 darter at a PDC event, and first ever woman to hit a televised 9 darter. |
Fallon Suzanne Michelle Sherrock [3] MBE (born 2 July 1994 [4] ) is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Born in Milton Keynes, [5] Sherrock reached the final of the 2015 BDO Women's World Darts Championship, where she was runner-up to Lisa Ashton.
In 2019, Sherrock became the first female player to win a match, and subsequently, two consecutive matches, at the PDC World Championships, first by beating Ted Evetts 3–2 in the first round, and then Mensur Suljović 3–1 in the second round, before eventually losing 2–4 to Chris Dobey in the third round. [6] The event saw her earn the nickname "Queen of the Palace" from the name of the venue, the Alexandra Palace. [7]
During the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts, Sherrock became the first woman to reach the last 16 of a mixed gender major darts tournament, after she beat Gabriel Clemens 5–3 in her final group stage match. She then went on to beat Mensur Suljović 10–5 in the last 16, to reach the quarter-finals and become the first woman in darts history to do so. She was beaten in the quarter-finals by Peter Wright 13–16. In 2022, Sherrock won the inaugural Women's World Matchplay. [8]
Sherrock was born in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. [9] [10] She began playing darts at the county youth level at the age of 17; [11] her mother Sue and her father Steve had played the game on a recreational basis. [10] [11] She played for the Bedford Darts Organisation, and represented the England Youth team in the girls' singles division at the 2011 WDF Europe Cup Youth tournament. [10]
Sherrock was the Girls World Masters winner in 2012, [12] along with the Women's Jersey Open, [13] before following it up with success in the Women's British Classic in 2013. [14] After finishing her A-level examinations, she opted against studying forensic science at university to focus on playing darts. [9]
She appeared at the BDO World Championship for the first time in January 2014, where she made the Quarter Final. [12] She beat Rilana Erades in round one by 2 sets to 0, [15] and was just eliminated in the quarter-finals by reigning champion Anastasia Dobromyslova. [12]
Sherrock improved on her debut performance by reaching the final of the 2015 BDO Ladies World Championship after she beat Dobromyslova 2–1 in the semi-finals at Lakeside, setting a world championship record by hitting five 180s in the semi-final. [16] Sherrock lost 3–1 to Lisa Ashton in the final, but still impressed and hit six 180s in what was her first World Championship final. [17]
On 17 December 2019, Sherrock became the first woman to beat a man at the PDC World Championships, beating Ted Evetts 3–2 in the first round at the 2020 World Championship. [18] She followed this up with a 3–1 win over 11th seed Mensur Suljović in the second round, before losing to 22nd seed Chris Dobey 4–2 in the third round.
On 31 December 2019, Sherrock withdrew from the 2020 BDO Women's World Championship due to 'unexpected changes' to the event. [19]
Sherrock was also invited to participate in German channel ProSieben's pro-am doubles event Die Promi-Darts-WM (Celebrity Darts World Cup) just after the World Championships alongside Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Max Hopp and just-crowned world champion Peter Wright at the Maritim Hotel in Bonn. [20] Sherrock partnered with former Italy striker and World Cup winner Luca Toni and went 1-3 during the event. [21]
Sherrock competed for a tour card at the 2020 PDC Q School, but was unable to secure one. On 1 February 2020, Sherrock won the Rileys Wolverhampton qualifier for the 2020 UK Open, meaning she would make her debut there. She lost to Kyle McKinstry from Northern Ireland 6–1 in the first round.
She took part in the 2020 Premier League Darts as a 'challenger', [22] appearing at the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on 13 February 2020, where she drew 6–6 against Glen Durrant. [23] She failed to qualify for the 2021 PDC World Championship, losing out to Deta Hedman on legs difference. [24]
Sherrock has faced hateful comments online after her PDC matches of 2019, but said she learned how to use the feeling to perform better; "If I'm feeling a bit slouchy, I'll look at some of the comments and I'll be like: 'OK, now I need to prove you wrong.'' [25]
In September 2021, Sherrock reached the final of the 2021 Nordic Darts Masters. In the first round she defeated Niels Heinsøe 6–1. She then had a walkover in her quarter-final match against Gerwyn Price, who withdrew due to an elbow injury. In the semi-finals she beat world n°5 Dimitri Van den Bergh 11–10, after initially trailing 9–3. She eventually lost to Michael van Gerwen 11–7 in the final (although having led 6–3). Sherrock is the only woman in the history of the PDC to have reached the final of a TV tournament. [26] Just a week off her run to the Nordic Masters final, Sherrock competed in the first 2021 Women's Series events. Though she lost to tour card holder Lisa Ashton in the last 16 of the first event, she won the next two events with 5–2 and 5–3 victories over Corrine Hammond and Deta Hedman respectively. [27] The second day saw Sherrock losing to Lisa Ashton in the finals of both events 4 and 5, before whitewashing the 4-time World Champion in the final of the sixth event. This let Sherrock maintain her place at the top of the ranking table and secure her debut at the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts. [28]
In October 2021, Sherrock qualified for the 2022 World Championship, after ensuring a top-two finish in the PDC Women's Series. [29] She lost 3–2 to Steve Beaton in the first round. [30]
From June to August 2022, Sherrock competed in the invitational World Series of Darts. At the US Darts Masters she lost 6–2 to Leonard Gates in the first round. At the Nordic Darts Masters, she beat Darius Labanauskas 6–1 before losing 10–6 to Michael Smith. At the Dutch Darts Masters, she lost 6–1 to Maik Kuivenhoven in the first round. At the Queensland Darts Masters, she lost 6–3 to Gordon Mathers in the first round. At the New South Wales Darts Masters, she reached the quarter-finals, losing 6–0 to Gerwyn Price. At the New Zealand Darts Masters, she lost 6–5 to Kayden Milne in the first round. She was also invited to the World Series of Darts Finals, losing 6–4 to Peter Wright in the first round.
In July 2022, Sherrock won the inaugural Women's World Matchplay, beating Katie Sheldon and Lorraine Winstanley to reach the final, where she defeated Aileen de Graaf 6–3. [31] The win meant that Sherrock qualified for the 2022 Grand Slam of Darts. [32] At the Grand Slam, Sherrock was eliminated in the group stage after losses to Peter Wright, Nathan Aspinall and Alan Soutar.
Sherrock appeared to have missed out on qualification for the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship after finishing third in the PDC Women's Series. However, the PDC subsequently announced that Sherrock had qualified for the event by virtue of winning the 2022 Women's World Matchplay, a decision which attracted criticism from some darts fans due to the mid-season rule change. [33] At the World Championship, Sherrock was drawn to face Ricky Evans in the first round. After winning the opening set, she went on to lose 3–1. [34]
In January 2023 Sherrock entered Q-School. On the last day of the first stage of Q-School Sherrock qualified for stage two by defeating Terry Winfield, Aaron Wood, Lee Davies, Colin Osborne and Steven Beasley. However, a 6–3 final day loss to Robert Collins meant she failed to win a tour card.
Later in 2023, during her 5–3 victory over Marco Verhofstad, Sherrock became the first woman to hit a nine dart finish at a PDC event. [35]
On 29 July 2023, Sherrock produced a 107 average during the quarter finals of the 2023 PDC Women's Series. The previous record for the highest 3 dart average was 101, which Sherrock previously held.
On 25 August 2023, Sherrock made history again, as she hit a televised nine-dart finish against Adam Lipscombe, during the Modus Super Series, thus becoming the first ever woman to hit a televised 9 darter. [36]
In December 2023, Sherrock played at the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, but lost to Jermaine Wattimena 3–1 in sets. [37]
Sherrock entered PDC UK Q-School for the fifth time in her career. [38] She managed to qualify for the final stage during the second day by defeating David Davies, Ryan Hogarth, Adrian Gray, Paul Redfern, and Brett Claydon after previously losing on the opening day to Kai Fan Leung. [39] [40] [41] During the final stage, Sherrock lost her opening round to Harry Gregory on the first day; [42] [43] she gained a point before losing to eventual winner Robert Grundy on the second day; [44] [45] on day three, she lost in the opening round again to Justin Hood; [46] [47] and on the final day, she was eliminated during the opening round by Ashley Coleman 6–3 to end her run. [48] [49] [50]
On 21 July Sherrock lost to Beau Greaves in the final of the 2024 Women's World Matchplay at Blackpool's Winter Gardens. [51]
Fallon Sherrock finished third on the 2024 PDC Women's Series Order of Merit, winning events 1, [52] [53] [54] 4 [55] [56] and 23 to secure a place at the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship. She missed out on a spot at the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts to the second place player in the Women's Series Order of Merit, Noa-Lynn van Leuven. [57] [58]
At the 2025 World Championship Sherrock will play Ryan Meikle in the first round. If she beats Meikle she will play the 4th seed Luke Littler in the second round. [59] [60]
Legend |
---|
World Championship (0–1) |
World Masters (0–1) |
World Trophy (1–0) |
Finder Darts Masters (1–1) |
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score [N 1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 2014 | Winmau World Masters | Anastasia Dobromyslova | 1–4 (l) |
Runner-up | 2. | 2015 | World Darts Championship | Lisa Ashton | 1–3 (s) |
Winner | 3. | 2015 | Finder Darts Masters | Anastasia Dobromyslova | 2–1 (s) |
Winner | 4. | 2018 | BDO World Trophy | Lorraine Winstanley | 6–3 (l) |
Runner-up | 5. | 2018 | Finder Darts Masters | Lisa Ashton | 1–2 (s) |
Legend |
---|
World Series of Darts (0–1) |
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 2021 | Nordic Darts Masters | Michael van Gerwen | 7–11 (l) |
Performance Table Legend | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | Won the tournament | F | Finalist | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR Prel. | Lost in # round Round-robin Preliminary round | DQ | Disqualified |
DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | NYF | Not yet founded |
Tournament | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PDC Ranked televised events | |||||||||||||
PDC World Championship | Non-PDC | DNQ | 3R | DNQ | 1R | 1R | 1R | ||||||
UK Open | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | ||||||||||
Grand Slam of Darts | DNQ | QF | RR | RR | DNQ | ||||||||
PDC Non-ranked televised events | |||||||||||||
Premier League Darts | DNP | C | DNP | ||||||||||
World Series of Darts Finals | Not held | DNQ | 1R | 2R | 1R | DNQ | |||||||
PDC Televised women's events | |||||||||||||
Women's World Matchplay | Not held | W | QF | F | |||||||||
BDO Ranked televised events (Women) | |||||||||||||
BDO World Championship | DNQ | QF | F | 1R | QF | QF | QF | DNP | NH | ||||
BDO World Trophy | NH | SF | SF | 1R | 1R | W | 1R | Not held | |||||
Winmau World Masters | SF | F | SF | 2R | 5R | 4R | 3R | Not held | DNP | ||||
Finder Darts Masters | DNP | RR | W | RR | DNP | F | Not held |
Sherrock has a son, born in 2014. [61] Her twin sister Felicia also plays darts and the pair represented England Youth at the WDF Europe Cup Youth in 2011. [10] In 2017, Sherrock had treatment for a kidney problem. This caused her face to swell up, for which she received online abuse. [62] The condition made her teetotal and she is required to drink water regularly to keep her kidneys cleansed. [11] Sherrock is currently in a relationship with PDC pro tour player Cameron Menzies.
Sherrock was appointed Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to darts. [63] [64]
Date | Opponent | Tournament | Method | Prize |
---|---|---|---|---|
18 March 2023 [a] | Marco Verhofstad | Challenge Tour 9 | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | N/A |
25 August 2023 [b] | Adam Lipscombe | MODUS Super Series | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 |
A nine-dart finish, also known as a nine-darter, is a perfect leg or single game in the sport of darts. The object of the game is to score a set number of points, most commonly 501; in order to win, a player must reach the target total exactly and hit a double scoring area with their last dart. When the target is 501, the minimum number of darts needed to reach it is nine. For example, one way to achieve a nine-dart finish is to score 60 on each of the first seven throws, then a 57 on the eighth, and lastly a 24 on the ninth. It is regarded as an extremely difficult feat to achieve—even for the sport's top players—and is considered the highest single-game achievement in the sport, similar to a maximum 147 break in snooker or a 300-point game in bowling.
Anastasia Petrovna Dobromyslova-Martin is a professional darts player. She is a three-time Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation (BDO).
Chris Mason is an English former professional darts player. He used the nickname Mace the Ace.
Mensur Suljović is a Serbian-Austrian professional darts player. He plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, having previously played in the British Darts Organisation (BDO).
Lisa Ashton is an English professional darts player who currently plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. She is a four-time BDO World Darts Women's Champion and has won over 100 titles in women's darts. In 2020, she became the first woman to win a PDC Tour Card at the PDC Q-School.
Deta Hedman is an English darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events.
Lorraine Winstanley is an English darts player who plays in both World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
Glen Durrant, nicknamed "Duzza", is an English former professional darts player who played in British Darts Organisation (BDO) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
Aileen de Graaf is a Dutch darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
The 2015 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 38th World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 30th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green. 2014 BDO champion Stephen Bunting did not defend his title, as he switched to the rival PDC organisation at the start of the season. Scott Mitchell beat Martin Adams 7–6 in the final for his first world title.
Corrine Hammond is an Australian darts player who plays in events of the World Darts Federation (WDF).
Cameron Menzies is a Scottish darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He reached the semi-finals at the 2017 World Masters and the 2022 WDF Lakeside World Championship. Menzies also won his maiden PDC title in 2024 and reached the quarter-finals at the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts.
Mikuru Suzuki is a Japanese darts player. She was a two-time back-to-back British Darts Organisation (BDO) women's world champion. She plays in both World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
The 2020 PDC World Darts Championship was the 27th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at Alexandra Palace in London from 13 December 2019 to 1 January 2020.
Beau Greaves is an English darts player, who plays in both World Darts Federation (WDF) events, where she is currently the Women's World No. 1, and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where she is ranked No. 1 on the Women's Series Order of Merit.
The 2022 PDC World Darts Championship was the 29th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the now-defunct British Darts Organisation. It took place at the Alexandra Palace in London from 15 December 2021 to 3 January 2022.
Katie Sheldon is an Irish professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Her biggest achievement to date was qualifying for inaugural 2022 Women's World Matchplay.
Priscilla Steenbergen is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Her biggest achievement to date was playing in the quarter-finals at the 2022 WDF World Darts Championship. She was a silver and bronze medalist of the WDF Europe Cup.
Noa-Lynn van Leuven is a Dutch darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
The 2025 PDC World Darts Championship is a professional darts event taking place at Alexandra Palace in London, England, from 15 December 2024 to 3 January 2025. It is the 32nd World Darts Championship to be organised by the Professional Darts Corporation.