Fallon Sherrock won £501,000 by winning a leg against Luke Littler on Netflix
Fallon Sherrock won £501,000 by winning a leg against Luke Littler on Netflix

'Fallon Sherrock deserves the money, Gary Lineker didn't do a great job and Netflix must now do a Royal Rumble of Darts'

Darts
Tue November 03, 2026 · 3d ago

Netflix's 'Beat Luke Littler' divided opinion after Fallon Sherrock won the £501,000 top prize - and now leading pundit Paul Nicholson has given his honest assessment of the controversial spectacle.

Netflix received widespread criticism for giving the history-making Queen of the Palace, who has already enjoyed a history-making career from darts, the opportunity to appear on the show alongside 23 other 'amateur' contenders.

Many felt the eagerly-anticipated challenge was originally pitched to pub players who wouldn't realistically make a living from darts but instead the line-up included plenty of recognisable names within the sport, including Sherrock and teenage rising stars Mitchell Lawrie and Jayden Walker.

Although many of those were unable to take down Luke Littler in a one-leg shoot-out, Sherrock held her nerve brilliantly to produce a clinical leg in 15-darts and scoop the second biggest cheque in darts history behind The Nuke's eye-watering £1,000,000 bag in January for his second world title.

It was no surprise to see Sherrock - and Netflix - face another backlash in the wake of her success but Nicholson felt she's fully deserving of a life-changing achievement.

The Asset also provides his thoughts on a number of issues from another ground-breaking night for darts.

Did Fallon Sherrock deserve the money?

Make no mistake it, Fallon Sherrock being the player to win the money was the perfect result for Netflix due to all the publicity it generated. It also felt written in the stars when you consider that Fallon and Luke are the two players who have transcended popular culture more than anyone else in the past 10 years. So, for her to hit that 180 and then hold her nerve on tops after all the hype - both positive and negative - was almost poetic and typically Fallon.

I thought Netflix were quite clever to put her in a public vote. It was almost like saying "Right, you don't want her to be here, then vote her off." Of course they probably knew that wouldn't happen so eventually they did indeed get the match they wanted after Littler beat all those before her.

So did she deserve the money? Yes.

Sure she's got an MBE and has done incredible history-making things for darts. But if people think she lives a lavish lifestyle then they are solely mistaken. That money will change her life and the life of her son Rory. That's a great story.

How much has she won in darts? Do people think that's millions? Do they think the patches on her shirt are worth millions? No, they're worth a few grand. They're enough to keep her and her son going month by month, and she still has to work very hard in the exhibition circuit. She still plays amateur dart circuit events in places like Middlesbrough and Aylesbury.

She's not a millionaire. This is the biggest pay cheque she's ever going to get. And it's the one chance she's got to change the life for her and her son. And that's the story that should be written, because most people have got this misconception of wealth in this sport because of Luke Littler. But on this occasion, he's the one who created the opportunity for others. 

Will other darts players be envious?

A lot of us within the sport are chuffed. Because I know Fallon, I've known her for 10 years and she's a great person. She finds it hard to show her real emotions. It's one of the reasons why she's such a great player. I always say about Fallon, “glasses on, gloves off". Because when those glasses come on, her face changes.

However, she did struggle to hold back the tears with Gary Lineker at the end. It was a lovely moment and I think most of the people I've spoken to within the game, they're really, really happy for her, and so they should be.

What did you make of Netflix's darts panel?

I think it was big for darts that we had someone as big as Gary Lineker presenting it with a panel of Richard Osman, Laura Turner and Lee Mack because it shows how we've become more mainstream. I was impressed with the visual side of that presenting desk and maybe that's where darts goes from here rather than being inside a studio at the back of the Ally Pally.

However, did Gary do a great job for a darts event? When he's fronting football coverage he can obviously lean on a lot of his experience but he didn't have enough knowledge about darts. Thankfully Laura was there for darts knowledge and she was magnificent in giving the panel the credibility it needed.

I thought Richard was fantastic due to his clear passion for the sport but Lee Mack was a bit out of place and didn't add anything positive to the show. I know he's played celebrity darts in the past but if you were going to cut someone from that desk, it would be him.

Was 'Beat Luke Littler' a good spectacle?

There were a few things that were a bit unnecessary such as someone coming out of a bin, and then Jayden Walker being dressed up as a schoolboy but overall I thought the production itself was excellent. I think one of the things I particularly liked was how good the central walk-on looked.

So, when we go to the World Championship in a new room at Alexandra Palace, if they do not do a central walk-on, then they've missed an opportunity, because that really was eye-catching. Visually, it looked 10 times better than the usual kind of walk-on from the side. The whole arena and atmosphere was great and I did like aspects like the profile videos for every contestant to give it that X Factor feel because ultimately that's how it was pitched to the public. 

I didn't like that the trailer was set in a social club because darts has changed so much now. You could have done it in an academy surrounded by kids and parents and things like that. Darts has moved on and although we still play in social clubs and pubs, the future superstars aren't coming from there anymore. They come from academies and they come from schools. So, I don't think Netflix read the room brilliantly, especially as they'd selected top teenage talent to appear on the show.

What next for Netflix and darts?

I think as a concept for Netflix, it's very, very good. If they're going to do 'Beat Luke Littler' just this once and leave it, then fair enough. But I think, moving forward, it might be good for them to do a 'Beat...' series and have something like 'Beat Ronnie O'Sullivan' in a frame of snooker or even 'Beat Andy Murray' in a game of tennis, for example.

I've heard plenty of people saying the concept proves that there would be mileage in the Royal Rumble of Darts idea that we've previously spoken about. Whether the PDC ever do it, I'm not sure, but maybe it's something more up Netflix's street, especially because of their partnership with WWE. It's a match made in heaven isn't it? And they could even use star wrestlers to cross promote it.

I've even seen that Luke Littler was getting voice notes from LA Knight recently doing content, so if he's getting that level of attention then maybe it's just a matter of time. If the public want that, they have to make some noise and it’s more likely to happen. 

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