Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis have expressed their immense pride in Fallon Sherrock after her stunning victory over Luke Littler in Netflix's 'Beat Luke Littler' event, which earned her a whopping £501,000. The duo, speaking to talkSPORT, also addressed Sherrock's critics, with 16-time world champion Taylor quick to defend her. Sherrock took out 501 in just 15 darts to defeat the reigning two-time world champion and world number one in Manchester last Friday.
Taylor was full of praise for Sherrock, highlighting the life-changing nature of her win. "Fallon was brilliant and it's changed the young girl's life, which I'm really, really pleased about," he said. "All this doom and gloom every time you pick the newspapers up. Now, this young girl has a young son, she can buy herself a house, rent-free for the rest of her life, no mortgages, which is brilliant. I love winners anyway." He admitted he was surprised by the outcome, adding: "I'm being honest with you now, if anything, Luke should have gotten better. I would have got better on the fifth [match]. If you're going to beat me or Ady [Adrian Lewis], you're going to have to do early doors because we get stronger. So Fallon's done really, really well there."
Taylor also recalled the atmosphere at the event, noting the dedication of the hopeful challengers. "I was at the pre-show, one of the judges with Barry and Lorna, and we could see out the window, it was raining, and the queues were massive, seriously, like a football match," he said. "They stood there in the rain all day, and so did Fallon. She had to earn a place as well, and she did it. She came in and she hit the double. She says, 'I was so lucky to qualify'. And she's come through and won. I'm dead proud."
Lewis, who watched the event from home, thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle. "I loved every aspect of it. From the stage, how it looked, the walk-ons. I love that trash man," he said. "I thought he was fantastic when he came out in a wheelie bin. But the stage set-up and everything else, if the PDC can do that, where you can walk directly straight up the middle of the stage and walk on like that instead of coming up those side steps, like scaffolding steps, it would be a lot better. I thought it was fantastic and, if anything, I think that's the way it should go, I think, eventually." He also lauded Sherrock: "I think she's done brilliantly, like you say. I don't know if Luke was starting to get a bit bored or what, I'm not sure what was going on. The first few, you could tell they were really nervous. The contestants were very nervous, and I expect every time somebody comes up at part one, I thought, I never heard of them, but I thought they're going to be half decent because of that part one. They just didn't show up, did they, unfortunately. But I think if he'd had a really tough start, he might have settled in a bit quicker and put him on the back foot."
Taylor and Lewis are set to team up for England in the MODUS Super Series International Pairs tournament from November 23-28. Taylor, who retired in 2024, admitted to feeling nervous about his comeback. "Nervous. Very nervous," he said. "I get nervous for anything now. Same as you, Ade. I get nervous now. It's difficult. I'm going to play with Ade, and I love him, so it's going to be a great day for me, do you know what I mean? It'll be my last one ever. For my memory, I've played with one of my best friends, who I love to bits anyway, so that'll be my final one. It'll be brilliant. And Ade can have that memory as well, that he obviously finished me off!" Lewis offered reassurance: "I said to him, 'Don't put yourself under too much pressure, because it's pointless for you. You might as well just go there and enjoy it. If we click, we'll have a great chance.'" Taylor confirmed he will be throwing with Gen 6 darts: "I quite like it. The grip's nice on it, so yeah, I'll be using them."
The pair also discussed the possibility of a nine-darter in a pairs event, which has never been televised. Taylor revealed he has hit one in pairs before: "Very difficult, though. I have done a nine-darter in pairs, believe it or not, with Dennis Priestley. It was only in an exhibition match. The one I was disappointed I never got was the one in the Grand Prix, the double-in, double-out. I had a shot at the bull a few times, but I missed it. I really, really wanted to do one there. That'd be the first one." Lewis, who recently hit a nine-darter himself, said: "Maybe my stars are aligned."
Away from pairs, 16-year-old Archie Self became the youngest player to produce a nine-dart leg on television on the MODUS Super Series, and Taylor was full of praise: "It's absolutely brilliant. I haven't actually seen it yet. I'm going to go on YouTube and watch it now. Somebody told me about it when I came in, so I'll go and watch it now. He must have played well, the young lad. Fair play to him. That's set the standard now. He's got to get on the practice board and practise even harder." Lewis added: "I think you've just got to stay dedicated. Make sure he enjoys it as well. Like you say, when you're on that tour and everything else, it does become a grind. It's like a rollercoaster, you know what I mean? You have your ups and downs, and it's just about stabilising your game."
