"She's played in 13 World Championships!" - Matthew Edgar calls out Netflix for presenting Fallon Sherrock as a hairdresser after £501,000 Luke Littler win

The first edition of Netflix's Beat Luke Littler has sparked plenty of reaction across the darts world. Fallon Sherrock walked away with the £501,000 top prize after defeating Luke Littler in a single leg, with former professional Matthew Edgar offering his own detailed assessment of the event on his Edgar TV YouTube channel. Although impressed by the production and excited about what the format could lead to, Edgar questioned both the way Sherrock was presented to viewers and the structure of the show itself.

Edgar began his assessment by praising the organisers, particularly the presentation of the arena. Having previously experienced LED backdrops at tournaments in Romania and Las Vegas, the Englishman believes they could become a more prominent feature of darts events in the future. "I absolutely loved the production," he said. "I've been a big, big fan of the LED backboard, and I feel like that's maybe the future rather than these sort of canvas backdrops."

The overall presentation impressed him just as much, with the arena looking and feeling unlike a traditional darts event. "It felt special. It looked special. If you're just tuning in for the very first time into that, you would have gone, 'Wow, this is top drawer.'"

One moment that particularly caught Edgar's attention was Pearse Mackle's opportunity to land the bullseye and claim the top prize. As Mackle prepared for his decisive dart, the visual effects added another layer of pressure. "You're hearing that noise. You've got the pressure of hitting that bullseye, and you're seeing that backdrop as well."

Edgar also enjoyed the contestants' walk-ons, although he felt some were overly theatrical. He particularly appreciated the decision to introduce each player during their walk to the stage, allowing viewers to learn more about the competitors without unnecessarily slowing down proceedings.

Despite his enthusiasm, Edgar would have liked to see more of the selection process. He believes Netflix could even build a separate series around the applicants before the live event. "When you watch things like X Factor or Britain's Got Talent, part of the fun is the people that maybe didn't get in. There was probably some amazing stories that we didn't get to hear of people who applied for this show."

Edgar suggested a miniseries of four to six episodes leading into the live event, giving viewers the opportunity to become familiar with the contestants and their stories beforehand.

He also believes the programme is unlikely to be a one-off. Although official viewing figures were not yet available to him, the amount of discussion generated on social media convinced him that the format has a future. "I don't know the viewing numbers that Netflix got. I can't wait to see what they are, but I can certainly see the numbers that are on social media right now," he explained, adding: "Absolutely, I think we're going to see something like this again."

Among the possibilities Edgar discussed was a Royal Rumble-style darts competition, with players entering in quick succession. He also believes there is considerable interest in a direct confrontation between Littler and 15-year-old Mitchell Lawrie, who ultimately did not get the opportunity to face the world champion.

"I think there's a big audience out there right now who want to see Mitchell Lawrie versus Luke Littler," he said. "I think maybe not even on Netflix, maybe just on YouTube. There's demand right now to see that showdown."

Edgar admitted that missing out on the potential clash was a personal disappointment. "That was one of the disappointing factors of last night, that we never got to see that showdown, even for one leg."

Edgar's biggest criticism, however, concerned Fallon Sherrock. His objection was not to her participation, but to the way Netflix portrayed her to viewers. Sherrock was eligible to compete because she does not hold a PDC Tour Card, but Edgar felt the programme failed to properly acknowledge her extensive experience at the highest level.

"Personally, I didn't like it," he admitted, pointing to what he considered a lack of authenticity. "She's about to play in what a seventh PDC World Championship. She's in this year's Alexandra Palace. If you include the BDO days, I think it's like 13 World Championships that she's played in."

For Edgar, the problem was the emphasis placed on Sherrock's occupation and hometown rather than her established darts career. "She's been a professional darts player for a long time, but introduced as a hairdresser. And even at the end, a hairdresser from Milton Keynes has come and done it. No, she's played in 13 World Championships."

The former professional stressed that he had no objection to Sherrock being allowed to compete or to her eventual victory. His frustration was directed entirely at how her background was presented. "Was she entitled to play? Yes. Does she fit the rules? Yes. Do I have an issue with that? No. What I have an issue with is them pretending that she's not who she is. That's the bit that does me."

Edgar also noted the contrast between the criticism directed at Sherrock on social media and the support she apparently received from viewers. He claimed that 75 per cent of the viewing audience voted for her, questioning whether the most vocal negative reactions were necessarily representative of wider public opinion.

Beyond the Sherrock controversy, Edgar questioned the order in which contestants appeared. The challengers were divided into four pots according to their ability, but he felt repeatedly switching between stronger and weaker players undermined the tension as the evening progressed.

"After a couple of hours, halfway through towards the back end of the show, I was starting to get a little bit bored," he admitted. "And the reason I was starting to get a little bit bored is cuz they built it. Pot four, pot three, pot two, pot one. These are the good players. Yes. And then you go back to pot four again."

Edgar would have preferred the standard of opposition to increase progressively throughout the evening, with the strongest challengers saved for the finale. By repeatedly returning to the lowest-ranked group, he felt the programme was asking viewers to invest in contests they had already been encouraged to regard as one-sided.

"You've already told us that these players are not good enough. You've already told us that these players are sort of like bottom of the rung, and now you're going to give us another one of them," he explained. "So it's like, 'Okay, we've got to wait another 20 minutes for a genuine challenger to come up now.'"

Despite those criticisms, Edgar's overall verdict remained overwhelmingly positive. He believes the Netflix production represented an important opportunity to introduce darts to a much wider audience.

"Never since the days of Bullseye has entertainment crossed over successfully into our sport before," he said. "So I think everyone involved in this deserves a huge round of applause, and I can only see this being the start of something special."

For Edgar, relatively minor changes to the format could make any future edition even stronger, with the former professional concluding: "Overall, I thought it was a success. Few tweaks, and could be onto a winner here."