Her inspirational fairytale run has ended but she leaves with marriage proposals, the crowd roaring her name, the praise of sporting legends and a vow to return next year
SO the Fallon angel of Alexandra Palace is finally the fallen angel.
But when history judges Fallon Sherrock’s magic carpet ride at the William Hill PDC World Championship, she did not just prove it was possible for girl power to prosper against mankind on the big stage.
She has given hope to every hairdresser from Bletchley, every girl next door from the shires, every woman who ever picked up a dart, that dreams do come true.
Beaten 4-2 by Chris Dobey in the third round, Sherrock was greeted by proposals of marriage on placards in the crowd – one of them from a bloke dressed as a nun.
Another even offered to do her ironing for her.
Among the fancy dress corps, there were fans who dressed up in pink tops and black-rimmed glasses in her honour.
And to the thirsty punters who serenaded her with ‘Walking in a Sherrock Wonderland’, she will always be the first lady of Muswell Hill. There are not many who have ever qualified for the title.
When the fairytale was over, Sherrock was as gracious in defeat as she had been a rhapsody of giggles when she beat Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljovic, the first wins by a woman against men at this tournament.
She said: “This is probably the best experience I’ve ever had.
“It’s changed my life and the dream is to come back here next year.
“I felt so comfortable up on that stage. For some reason, my game seems to reach another level here, but I don’t know why.
“I did see some people in the crowd dressed up as me... and I thought, ‘Oh, I’ve got some fans now.’ But come on, nobody dresses up like me!
“And I’ve never had anyone ask me to marry them, so I don’t really know where to go with that. I think I’m too young to get married anyway.”
Next stop for the Queen of the Palace is the BDO ladies world championship at the O2 arena in the new year and she will try to win a PDC Tour card at Q school next month.
She will take a treasure trove of memories into 2020 – including a brave, blustering display against Dobey.
When Sherrock, 25, unfurled three 180 maximums in the first two legs and took the opening set, the roof nearly blew off Ally Pally.
She reeled off finishes of 142, 104 and 124 like shelling peas, and for half the contest she matched Dobey arrow for arrow.
Only when the Geordie nicknamed ‘Hollywood’ went 3-2 up – the first time he had led in the entire match – could he relax as his heavier scoring drained Sherrock’s resistance.
But the lady in pink has given us a glorious glimpse of the fuchsia, and Dobey – always a reluctant grinch but a good sport – said: “Am I glad it’s all over? No, I loved it up there.
“I don’t mind playing games like that as long as I get over the line. I never normally use them but I was wearing ear plugs because I was never going to shut 3,000 people up.
“Fallon deserves all the credit. She is a history-maker and look what she has done for women’s darts.”
Tennis legend Billie Jean King, an enthusiastic supporter of Sherrock’s assorted feats, was quick off the mark to register her admiration on Twitter.
The six-times Wimbledon champion, a veritable standardbearer for women’s rights, said: “While her run at the #WorldDartsChampionship is over, @ Fsherrock has inspired millions.
“Her talent & grace under pressure will take her far. She is the 1st woman in history to win matches in the championship & I look forward to following her career for years to come. #Gamechanger”
In the last 16, Dobey now meets three-time Lakeside world champion Glen Durrant, a 4-2 winner over Daryl Gurney, in a Tyne-Tees derby tonight.
Asked what it was like to be part of a game which attracted more women to the darts, Dobey grinned: “I thought they were here because I was playing.”
Fantastic punchline, Chris. Absolutely Fallon-tastic.
She will take a treasure trove of memories into 2020 – including a brave, blustering display