"A similar level of interest to what Luke Littler did. A story that captured the imagination" - PDC's Media Manager recalls impact of Fallon Sherrock's Ally Pally heroics

More than five years have passed, yet it still feels as fresh as yesterday: Fallon Sherrock’s groundbreaking run at the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship. The Englishwoman made history as the first woman ever to defeat a man at the event. But just months later, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the sporting world to a standstill, cutting short the wave of momentum she had created.

Sherrock captured global attention when she defeated Ted Evetts 3-2 in the opening round. Dubbed “The Queen of the Palace,” she went on to stun Mensur Suljovic in the second round before her remarkable journey ended in the third round against Chris Dobey. To this day, she remains the only woman to have beaten a man at the World Darts Championship.

"It was a story that captured the imagination," recalls Dave Allen, Media Manager of the PDC in conversation with the Weekly Dartscast. "Having a female player, not just going toe to toe with one of the men, but beating them. At that point, it was still quite new to have females competing at the World Championships, so it was remarkable the level of interest that gained."

"I think for Fallon, the great thing was that she actually held it together and went and beat Mensur Suljovic in the second match as well," Allen continues. "She deserved a huge amount of credit for what she achieved there, because she was able to put all that (extra attention) aside and go on and create even further history."

As mentioned though, Sherrock wasn't able to fully capitalise on the momentum in the weeks and months following. "The one downside was that Covid hit the following year and denied Fallon that chance to progress on a global level," Allen explains. "By the time we were able to take her around the world on the World Series in 2022, the world was a different place, and it didn't have as much impact."

"But what she did at that time was phenomenal," concludes Allen. "It was probably of a similar level of interest to what Luke Littler did when he reached that first World Championship final. It was just something that really captured the imagination of the media and of the sporting public."