Fallon Sherrock has addressed the backlash aimed at her since she claimed £501,000 for beating Luke Littler on Netflix’s Beat Luke Littler, telling Sky Sports she was “just so happy to overcome all the hate and win.”

The 32-year-old hit a 180 and finished on double 20 to defeat the reigning world champion in a one-off leg of 501 at Manchester Central on Friday, October 30, 2026. She was the only one of 20 challengers to deny Littler, who had been offering the £501,000 pot to anyone who could take a single leg off him.

Sherrock has pushed back on the idea that she did not belong in the lineup, telling Sky Sports she fit the stated criteria because she has never held a tour card and does not consider herself a professional, playing darts “for the enjoyment of it.”

Fans call the format ‘an absolute con’

Within hours of the broadcast, viewers accused Netflix of mis-selling the amateur-versus-champion framing. One widely shared complaint, highlighted by GiveMeSport, read: “Beat Luke Littler on Netflix. What an absolute con & complete waste of 2 hours. Three quarters of the way through, they introduce professional darts players while amateurs are still waiting for their first throw.”

Read also: Arsenal push to extend Martin Ødegaard’s contract amid Bayern Munich interest

Sherrock holds an MBE, has reached a Grand Slam quarter-final and a World Series final, and became the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Championship. What she does not hold, and never has, is a PDC Tour Card, the one criterion that put her on the Netflix shortlist alongside amateur hopefuls and lower-ranked players.

She told SportBible the abuse had been difficult to tune out, saying she had seen “all the negative comments” aimed at her before and after the win.

Hearn: ‘Worthy winner’

PDC chairman Barry Hearn defended both the format and Sherrock’s inclusion, arguing to GiveMeSport that she was not a PDC Tour Card holder and was therefore entitled to enter.

Hearn’s own public reply to a complaining fan, “Fallon is not a PDC professional. Worthy winner of a life-changing amount of money”, drew more criticism, with GiveMeSport reporting that fans felt he was skirting the real complaint: that established players had crowded out genuine amateur hopefuls.

Read also: LeBron James took a sip of a fan’s wine mid-game

Per the same GiveMeSport write-up, the audition process was identical for every entrant, and the final 20 slots, picked from thousands of applicants, included World Darts Federation No. 1 Mitchell Lawrie and 14-year-old Jayden Walker alongside pub-level players.

Top 10 hit despite the row

Commercially, the row did not hurt. According to data compiled by What’s on Netflix, Beat Luke Littler landed at No. 1 in the United Kingdom and No. 2 in Ireland on its first full day, and charted in 15 countries overall, well ahead of earlier Netflix sports stunts such as The Netflix Cup and The Netflix Slam.

Littler told What’s on Netflix he had enjoyed “every bit of it” and floated a return “next year.” Netflix has not formally confirmed a 2027 edition.

Read also: Fabrizio Romano breaks silence on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s potential Liverpool return