LUKE LITTLER admitted he thought he would only be competing against “pub players” during his Netflix special.

The reigning world darts champion prepared to face 20 amateur players for ‘Beat Luke Litter’ in Manchester last month, with a £501,000 prize pot up for grabs.

The event was streamed live on Netflix, with Littler eventually defeated by well-known star Fallon Sherrock in the 15th round.

The 19-year-old has since revealed that he was surprised to recognise so many people – including Sherrock – on the line-up.

Littler said he knew “just over half” of the competitors and had even played against some of them beforehand.

He explained: “Before I saw the line-up, I thought it was just pub players.

“Whereas obviously when the line-up came out, I probably knew just over half of them.

“Mitchell, Zach Griffiths – I played with him on the Development Tour – obviously Fallon, Katie Sheldon and a lot more.

“I mean Fallon, she’s never had a Tour card, so she went for the qualifiers and she made it through. But then she wasn’t guaranteed to play – she went in on a vote.”

He added: “It was a very good night overall. I think from my side it was very good. From Netflix’s side, it was very good.

“I think the whole thing was probably a learning curve. For me, constantly playing back-to-back, especially in the heat, I was going off and on stage. I’m up for another one and I’m sure Netflix will be as well.

“There aren’t many people who could say they’ve got their own show, and I’ve had my own show on Netflix, which is just still bonkers to me.”

Littler beat 14 players on the night before losing to Sherrock, who became the first female player to beat a male opponent at the PDC World Darts Championship in December 2019.

Many viewers were critical of the decision to allow Sherrock to play, given she has won 21 times on the PDC Women’s Series.

However, PDC president Barry Hearn hit back at the critics and said: “Do you want just a series of 20 matches where someone can’t even throw a dart? No, of course we want excellence competing against excellence, and that’s what it was all about.”

After winning the £501,000 prize on the night, the Queen of the Palace admitted: “This prize money is life-changing. It’s definitely going to change my life.

“I feel like people think I have more money than I have, and I really haven’t.”