Fallon Sherrock continues to forge great strides not just for herself but for the sport of darts as a whole.
Her performances over the past week at the Grand Slam have been sensational, reaching the quarter-finals of the tournament before eventually falling to former world champion Peter Wright.
In their post-match interviews on Sky Sports, Wright admitted Sherrock pushed him to bring out the best of his ability, as the Scot emerged victorious by 16 legs to 13.
The fact he also advocated for her to be involved in the Premier League is huge and may the sport’s governing bodies may be thanking him for that, given Sherrock’s popularity and the Premier League being a competition that takes in multiple venues around the country.
Deflated, pleased, tired, sad, happy, thrilled, disappointed, ecstatic, so many emotions and memories. I can hold my head high I know that now. Well done to @snakebitewright you played awesome and all the best tomorrow. Thankyou to everyone and I mean everyone, you are amazing ❤️ pic.twitter.com/HtT8OhFaOq
— Fallon Sherrock (@Fsherrock) November 20, 2021
Sherrock lost to Wright in her first group game but then responded with an emphatic 5-0 clean sweep over Mike De Decker.
The best was yet to come though as in her final game, needing to beat “the German Giant” Gabriel Clemens to become the first woman to qualify for the knockout stages, she delivered a mesmeric 170 checkout to seal the deal.
She then went on to beat PDC stalwart Mensur Suljovic in the second round, following up her win over the Austrian in the 2019 World Championships.
𝟭𝟳𝟬 𝗧𝗢 𝗪𝗜𝗡 𝗜𝗧!!!!!! 🔥
It's stunning. It's special. It's Sherrock.
A simply incredible moment from Fallon Sherrock once again… A 170 finish to beat Gabriel Clemens and progress in the @CazooUK Grand Slam of Darts!
She just delivers once again 🤯 pic.twitter.com/G1iVMkN2sY
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 16, 2021
Her performances are far from just a run of good fortune. Earlier this year Sherrock reached the final of the Nordic Darts Masters, beating 2020 Matchplay champion Dimitri van den Bergh before losing against the imperious Michael van Gerwen.
She rocketed on to the radar of sports fans two years ago with her run at the World Championships, earning the moniker “the Queen of the Palace” in the process. Sherrock became the first woman to win a match at the Worlds in beating Ted Evetts, before then seeing off Suljovic.
A 6-6 draw in the Premier League last year, against eventual winner Glen Durrant, was impressive and the greater tournament exposure Sherrock and other female players get, the better.
Her Grand Slam run and £20,000 prize money may see her earn a PDC tour card, which would entitle her to compete on the circuit for two years in major tournaments. Normally you have to go through a process called qualifying school to get one and not all entrants are successful, with Sherrock missing out on one last year.
Sherrock and Lisa Ashton, who fell at the group stages in the Grand Slam, will return to Ally Pally next month when the World Championships kick off. The PDC deserves great credit for giving women the chance to compete alongside the men, benefitting from more stage time and greater prize money.
They also host the Women’s Series as part of the Pro Tour calendar, giving valuable competitive experience to the players and offering tournament qualification spots as prizes.
The exposure this gives darts cannot be understated. Those who may only have a passing interest in the sport, or even outdated views of what it should be, will sit up and take notice of these images being beamed around the world.
Sherrock deserves great plaudits for her role in that. She is often referred to as a trail-blazer on PDC social media channels and you would not bet against more women, inspired by her performances, to follow in those footsteps.
