Fallon Sherrock walked away with a staggering £501,000 last Friday after defeating Luke Littler in a single leg during Netflix's Beat Luke Littler event. Her participation in particular sparked debate, with the show originally appearing to be aimed primarily at amateur darts players. Barry Hearn, the former PDC chairman and current president of Matchroom Sport, has now addressed the criticism. According to the 78-year-old Briton, Sherrock did nothing wrong and thoroughly deserves her enormous prize.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Hearn reflected on the event in Manchester, where 24 selected contestants were given the opportunity to compete for a chance to face the two-time world champion. Anyone who defeated Littler in a single leg of 501 would walk away with the £501,000 jackpot.

Although Sherrock ultimately claimed the money, Hearn had been hoping another contestant might emerge victorious. In particular, he believed Scottish teenager Mitchell Lawrie stood a good chance of defeating Littler.

"Mitchell Lawrie is a great, great player. We're looking at him to be the next Luke Littler," Hearn explained. "Can you believe Luke's coming up, he's not 20 yet, is he? And we're already trying to replace him! That's the world we live in."

Lawrie, who had already impressed on the WDF circuit, was among the highest-ranked contestants in the Netflix competition. However, his name remained in the draw for so long that he ultimately never got the opportunity to play.

"It was the luck of the draw, really, for him," Hearn explained. "Mitchell Lawrie was in group four, the highest-seeded group, and once every four balls, if you like, one of them played. He just didn't come out of the hat too early. He was left in the hat, and I bet his management and him were thinking, you know, because Luke Littler looked as if he was tiring a little bit during that. He wasn't finding his best darts."

Hearn comes to Sherrock's defence

Ultimately, it was Sherrock who produced the decisive moment. With an excellent 15-darter, she defeated Littler and secured a sum of money most darts players can only dream of winning. However, her inclusion also attracted criticism, given that Sherrock has competed at the highest level of women's darts for years and famously made history at the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship.

Hearn has little sympathy for the criticism. In his view, Sherrock simply met the conditions established by the organisers. "I mean, there's a few haters out there that don't like to see people win anything, because she's won half a million quid, Fallon. But should she have been in it? That's the big question," Hearn said.

"Well, the thing is, she followed the rules. She didn't have a card. Everybody knows... not didn't have a card, has never had a card. Right? So, you know, it was as if retired people could play again."

Hearn also believes Sherrock's personal circumstances make her victory particularly special. The Englishwoman is a single mother who has previously spoken openly about her son's health problems.

"What a good story. Single mum, you know, got a kid that's ill, you know, from time to time, needs all the help she can get. My goodness me, she got it in spades. The good man looked down."

For Hearn, it is important that sport continues to produce stories like these. Earlier in the interview, he had spoken at length about the importance of personalities and emotion in sport.

"Let's have a little bit of what we're always crying out for: more personalities in sport. Let's sell tickets, let's get people engaged, let's give them something to talk about," he said. "I'm never going to try and condone bad behaviour, never. But at the same time, we've got to live in the real world, because we're real people."

"The talent that's coming into darts blows my mind"

Alongside Sherrock and Lawrie, Hearn also spoke enthusiastically about Archie Self. The 16-year-old Englishman recently made headlines by throwing a televised nine-darter during the MODUS Super Series. According to Hearn, the achievement demonstrates the extraordinary depth of young talent currently emerging in darts.

"Nine-dart finish on television. Sixteen! Sixteen years old! The talent that's coming into darts blows my mind. I mean, we're in such a good place."

Hearn is certainly not concerned that Littler's dominance could make darts less interesting. In fact, he believes it is far too early to even raise that possibility. "I had someone say the other day, 'Isn't it getting a bit boring because Luke Littler wins everything?' And you think, he's only been here for two years! He hasn't exactly dominated. He may well be, he may well be. The man's a great, great player."

Hearn also believes there are plenty of young players preparing to challenge Littler in the coming years. "Archie Self, and Archie is one of, I could probably reel off a dozen, that are just going to be knocking on the door come Q-School in January. They're going to go and get their card."

Nor does Hearn rule out one of those youngsters eventually winning the World Darts Championship. However, he emphasises the enormous difference between defeating Littler in a single leg and performing consistently throughout a lengthy World Championship campaign.

"The darts World Championship is tough because it's over such a long period of time. You know, Netflix goes to the other end, doesn't it? It's one leg of darts. Somewhere in the middle, you've got to be mentally ready, physically ready."

Hearn again pointed to Lawrie, whom he had previously watched in the WDF World Championship final. "I mean, even Mitchell Lawrie, I watched him last year in the WDF final, which is the amateur final, and he went 4-0 up and then fell off a cliff. So it does take time to gain the experience in life, and so it should."

Hearn expects darts to continue growing stronger in the coming years. With Littler attracting huge audiences and a new generation of talented youngsters emerging, he sees plenty of opportunities for the sport's future.