When Fallon Sherrock landed that double eighteen to edge out the up-and-coming Ted Evetts in the first round, a star was born. Women's darts received that necessary shot in the arm, Fallon's work was seemingly done. Not a bit of it, on December 21, 2019, she followed up her impressive victory with a superb one. She was too sharp for World #12 and 9th seeded, Serbian born Austrian Mensur Suljovic. Finishing on the bull's eye and extending the winning margin to two sets from her one set first-round victory. Sherrock seems to be getting better with the increasing limelight she finds herself in.
Bedlington's Chris Dobey up next for Fallon Sherrock in a 10k match
In her post-Suljovic match press conference, Sherrock seems pleasantly surprised at the fact that the minimum she will walk away from the Alexandra Palace this year is £25,000. However, should she find a way beyond the #22 seeded Chris Dobey on December 27, then it will be a minimum of £35,000 for Fallon Sherrock. Naturally, much of the focus has been on what Fallon has achieved so far, however, the 25-year old seems to be taking it one game at a time. If anything, she is getting stronger with each dart. Her bullseye checkout against Suljovic was the first time she found that target all tournament. She is eating pressure for supper currently.
Chris Dobey needs to put wobbly 2nd round showing behind him
According to the Metro, Chris Dobey backed Fallon Sherrock to beat Mensur Suljovic and ordinarily appears to be a supporter of the amiable starlet. However, early on when this match was on the horizon, he seemed to be looking forward to it: ‘For me, If I was to play Fallon it would give me something to test myself against and I think if I can go out there and beat Fallon with the crowd against us, it would give me a big lift that I could beat anybody on any stage against the crowd.'
However, Dobey needs to improve on his focus, against the tricky Dutch player Ron Meulenkamp, he let a 2-0 set lead slip.
He dug deep to close out the match after winning four straight legs. Although, you can't help sensing that if he gives Sherrock a similar scent of victory then the darting lioness will ruthlessly pounce. Bookies make Dobey the hot favourite for this match at odds of around 1/5. Twitter was littered with responders to Fallon's post-match tweet against Suljovic with boasting replies showing betting slips with Fallon to win on them.
No doubt, she will have her backers again.
Dobey needs to up his game, of course, he can readily do this and in some circles, the 29-year-old is seen as a future world champion. Another future world champion Daryl Gurney is a potential 4th round opponent for Sherrock or Dobey.
Fallon Sherrock has already impressed Billie-Jean King
Tennis legend Billie-Jean King has been quick to hail Sherrock as a 'game-changer' for her achievement in being the first female to defeat a male in a competitive Darts match.
The BDO Women's darts championships starts on January 4, 2020, Fallon Sherrock will need to adjust from being a rank outsider in the Men's competition to having to carry the burden of expectation at the Indigo at The O2 for the women's event. It will be interesting to see how she copes. However, her work is not yet done at the Alexandrea Palace and many will want this fairy-tale storyline to continue.
