For more than two hours, Luke Littler looked unbeatable. Then Fallon Sherrock stepped up. The darts pioneer beat the reigning world champion in a single leg on Friday night, October 30, to win £501,000 on “Beat Luke Littler,” Netflix’s first live entertainment event in the UK.

Here is how the night unfolded, based on reporting from BBC Sport, ESPN and The Independent.

How the show worked

The concept was simple and brutal. A shortlist of up to 20 amateur challengers, produced by regional qualifying heats in September, each got one shot at Littler over a single leg of 501 at Manchester Central. Beat him once, and the £501,000 jackpot was yours.

Players could not be members of the PDC Tour, the BBC explained. That allowed Sherrock, who plays on the PDC Women’s Series, to take part. According to the BBC, she earned her spot through a public vote against Germany’s Jarod Becker, collecting 75% of the votes.

ESPN noted that the prize is the second most valuable ever won in darts, behind only the £1 million for winning the World Championship.

Littler’s 14-leg streak

Littler, the world number one, worked his way through challenger after challenger, some as young as 14. ESPN reported that his opponents included an Australian jockey and a refuse collector, and the Guardian noted that former Irish youth player Pearse Mackle came closest before Sherrock arrived.

By the time Sherrock walked out as the 15th challenger, Littler had won 14 straight legs. But the BBC observed that, after more than two hours on stage, he was tiring and his standard was dropping.

The winning leg

Sherrock got the first advantage by landing closer to the bullseye in the bull-up, earning the right to throw first. From there she took control.

According to The Independent, she hit five treble 20s in a row, including a 180, only the third maximum of the night per the BBC. That left her on 43 while Littler was still back on 142. She set up double 20 and hit it at the second attempt to clinch the leg and the money. Reports put the finish at 14 or 15 darts.

Because the show ended the moment someone beat Littler, the five remaining amateurs never got their turn.

‘Happy to overcome all the hate’

Sherrock told the BBC she was “happy to overcome all the hate” after the win. The Guardian described her as “lost for words.”

The result adds a new chapter to a remarkable career. In December 2019, Sherrock became the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace, beating Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljovic on the way to the third round. The BBC points out that run earned her £25,000. Friday’s single leg earned her twenty times that.

A big night for TV, too

The event was also a test for Netflix, which went head to head with the BBC’s “Celebrity Traitors” final on one of the biggest TV nights of the year in Britain. Whatever the ratings show, the streamer got a storyline nobody could have scripted better: the sport’s biggest star finally beaten, by one of its most famous trailblazers.

Why single-leg darts is so unpredictable

In a normal match, a world-class player has time to recover from a slow start. In a single leg of 501, there is no second chance. Win the bull-up, throw first and score heavily, and even the best player in the world can be left needing a big finish that never comes. That is exactly what happened on Friday night.

Final thoughts

Single-leg darts is about as unforgiving as sport gets, and Littler was close to perfect for most of the night. But it only takes one leg. Sherrock found it, and with a 180 and a double top, she walked away with one of the biggest paydays in darts history.

Image: Harrows Bristle Board Bullseye by Christian Gidlöf via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain Mark 1.0