For Fallon Sherrock, Christmas came before the first Advent this year. In November, when the 28-year-old darts player threatened to miss out on participating in the World Cup, the world association PDC came around the corner with a modification and brought the “Queen of the Palace” a return to Alexandra Palace, where she died in December 2019 made darts history.
While no one officially called it wildcard, that’s what it felt like. And so the popular Englishwoman before her first appearance on Tuesday (10 p.m. / Sport1 and DAZN) against compatriot Ricky Evans is once again a popular dispute.
Debate about women’s quota
Veteran Vincent van der Voort is piqued by the short-term decision in Sherrock’s favour. “I like Fallon, she’s a great player and has done a lot of good things for the sport of darts. But if you don’t qualify, you don’t qualify,” said the 47-year-old Dutchman.
He is generally regarded as an opponent of the women’s quota, which has been two out of 96 World Cup starting places for several seasons. But this quota was not enough for Sherrock to start because her compatriots Beau Greaves and Lisa Ashton were better. When Sherrock didn’t make it that way, the PDC announced without further ado that there was a third place for the women for the first time and that this went to the winner of the World Matchplay. That was – unsurprisingly – Sherrock.
“If you get into the tournament, it should happen because of the right criteria and not because someone says: ‘You may not have qualified, but we will find a way to get you into the tournament’,” van der Voort continued. For the PDC, Sherrock, who was the first woman to defeat two men at the 2020 World Cup, is a gigantic advertising tool. When the former hairdresser plays, many people watch with interest – live and in front of the TV. The world association, which is run like a company, is reluctant to miss such an opportunity.
Sherrock underdog against Evans
Sherrock herself, who is an underdog against Turbo Launcher Evans, can’t understand the excitement. “Why shouldn’t I have earned the World Championship place? I won a major tournament in front of TV cameras. Yes, it was an all-women’s tournament, but it was still a big competition. Any other major winner can do it too start at the World Cup,” said Sherrock of “Bild am Sonntag”.
Wherever Sherrock is, sport-political debates on darts are usually not far away. A year ago, after a few impressive victories, there was a lot of discussion as to whether the best woman in the world at the time also belonged in the Premier League, a highly paid exhibition match spanning several months. The Englishwoman herself can often not do much about it. “There are some who accuse her of not having accepted it. I find that ridiculous. Of course you have to take this opportunity when it’s offered to you,” said darts expert Elmar Paulke of the German Press Agency.
Sherrock accepted, of course, and after the early elimination of Greaves (0:3 against William O’Connor) and Ashton (2:3 against Ryan Meikle), she is the last remaining woman in the spectacle in London. Paulke said: “It has such a taste because it came late. You could have said at the beginning of the year that the winner of the Women’s World Matchplay was also there. Then it would have been much more relaxed for everyone.” At that time nobody knew who would win the World Matchplay.
