'Fantastic Achievement' at World Darts Championship

Fallon Sherrock becomes first woman ever to win match against a guy
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 18, 2019 11:05 AM CST

History was made at the world darts championship Tuesday as, for the first time, a woman beat a man. Only two spots in the 96-player tournament, played in London, are reserved for women. Mikuru Suzuki of Japan, winner of the women's world championship, lost her first-round match against James Richardson, in 3-2 sets. But Brit Fallon Sherrock, a women's quarterfinalist who came out on top in a qualifying event in November, fared better, per CNN. Just the fifth woman to play at the mixed world championships, the 25-year-old defeated 77th-seeded Ted Evetts in the first round, also in 3-2 sets, to earn at least $19,600—more than the $15,500 top prize in the women's championship, per the New York Times.

The crowd went wild. "I'm really happy because I've made something for women's darts; I've proved that we can play the men and we can beat them," Sherrock says, per the Times. Evetts says the win was "more than deserved," while Phil Taylor, a 16-time world champion, calls it "a fantastic achievement." Still, Sherrock tells the BBC that "there are more women that can play to my level, if not better. We just need more opportunities." After all, "there are only two women that can qualify, but maybe raising it to four would help." The lone female now faces 11th-seeded Mensur Suljovic of Austria in Saturday's second-round match. A 6-1 underdog in the previous match, she's now at 10-1 odds. (More women in sport stories.)

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