(CNN) — Darts player Fallon Sherrock entered the history books Tuesday when she became the first woman to beat a man in a world championship match.
Sherrock battled back from two sets to one down to seal a victory over Ted Evetts at the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) event at Alexandra Palace in London, sending the crowd wild.
“I’m absolutely over the moon,” said Sherrock in a post-match interview. “I can’t believe I’ve just made history.”
The PDC men’s World Championship features 96 players each year, and there are two spots for women.
“We just need more opportunities to prove ourselves,” she said of the decision to allow mixed competition.
Sherrock said she didn’t remember much about the match, but “enjoyed every minute of it.”
The 25-year-old has become one of the top female players in the world, and her star continues to rise. Sherrock became the fifth woman to compete in the world championships, and the fourth since a pathway for qualification was created for women in 2019.
She qualified by winning the UK & Ireland women’s qualifying event in November.
In 2000, Gayl King became the first woman to play at the PDC World Championship. Anastasia Dobromyslova (2009 and 2019) and England’s Lisa Ashton (2019) also played matches at Alexandra Palace.
Sherrock’s victory propels her into the second round of the championship, where she will face off against No. 11 seed Mensur Suljovic Saturday.
On Wednesday morning, Sherrock appeared on Good Morning Britain, a TV talk show on UK network ITV, explaining just what her victory meant.
“Last night I proved to myself and everyone else that us women we can play darts against the men and we can beat them,” she said.
The 22-year-old Evetts was magnanimous in defeat, writing on Twitter: “Enjoy it all, more than deserved. Well done on making history.”
Sherrock also acknowledged the role of female Japanese player Mikuru Suzuki, who narrowly missed out on becoming the first woman to win a PDC World Championship match Sunday.
“Without her I don’t think I would have believed in myself,” said Sherrock.
Suzuki, who won the British Darts Organisation’s women’s world title in January, earned her place at the tournament by winning the Rest of the World qualifier in Hildesheim, Germany in November.
Alongside the PDC World Championship is one of the sport’s major tournaments alongside the BDO World Championships.
The tournament final is scheduled for January 1.
