Fallon Sherrock did indeed beat Luke Littler at the live 'Beat Luke Littler' event in Manchester, winning a prize of £501,000.

Sherrock qualified to take part because she does not hold a PDC Tour card and joined a field of amateur or low-level contenders vying to shock Littler.

She took her opportunity in style, pulling ahead on the scoreboard then landing a 180 and finishing on double 20.

"I can't put into words how much it means," she told Netflix after she had won in front of her watching son. Growing emotional she said: "I'm really lost for words right now. It's a great moment."

Until Sherrock's intervention Littler had looked almost entirely untroubled over a series of uncompetitive one-off legs.

Could a binman, climbing out of a bin to make his entrance for his first-ever competitive game of darts beat him? It perhaps did not need a live show broadcast on a streaming giant to reveal the answer to that one. Taylon Forrester, like other true amateurs, was summarily dismissed in his attempt to unseat the young superstar of the darting world.

The event saw 20 players of varying levels lined up to take on Littler, each over a single leg. The first of them, if any, to beat Littler would win a prize of £501,000.

Ireland's Pearse Mackle actually did get himself a dart away from winning that sum. He needed to hit the bullseye to take the leg and the prize … but threw agonisingly wide.

Littler did not play his best, but for the most part did not need to. He saw off Jayden Walker, the 14-year-old who beat world No 2 Luke Humphries when he was only 12 years old, in 12 ruthless darts, checking out from 158.

"I couldn't give him a chance," Littler told Netflix. "He's that good as a 14-year-old."

Littler only landed one 180 en route to beating the first 12 challengers. He put in another maximum when he beat David Wawrzewski as the crowd, which began the evening loud and enthused, became gradually quieter.

An Australian jockey and a Nando's manager did not threaten Littler but higher-calibre players like Sherrock, who reached the third round of the World Championship in 2020 and World Darts Federation No 1 Mitchell Lawrie, who did not make the oche, were included in the line-up.

"I've enjoyed every bit of it," Littler said afterwards. "Everything leading up to this. Maybe Netflix we can do it again next year?"