Fallon Sherrock has been backed by Barry Hearn following criticism over her victory against Luke Littler, which earned a whopping £501k payday

Former PDC chairman Barry Hearn admitted Fallon Sherrock was well within her rights to compete in Netflix's 'Beat Luke Littler' competition.

The reigning world champion, 19, faced 24 amateur players in Friday's competition, with £501,000 up for grabs to whoever defeated Littler in a one-off 501 leg.

The 'Queen of the Palace' emerged victorious over the teenager to bank the second-biggest prize pot in darts history, behind only Littler's World Championship triumph earlier this year that earned him £1million.

The triumph is one of a long list of accolades that Sherrock, 32, has racked up in recent years. The darts star came to prominence seven years ago when she became the first woman to win a match at the World Championship.

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However, her victory - and participation in the show - came with considerable criticism from fans online given her status in the sport and the 21 PDC Women's Series titles she's won in her career.

The criticism Sherrock received prompted Matchroom Sport founder Hearn to come to her defence on social media. The 78-year-old took to X and wrote: "Fallon is not a Pdc professional. Worthy winner of a life changing amount of money."

Hearn doubled down on his stance as he told PA: "No, not at all. She’s not a PDC Tour Card holder. She’s entitled to enter. Why should she be denied? She’s a well-known player and she’s a very good player.

"But Mitchell Lawrie is a very well-known player and an excellent player. 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."

Sherrock admitted the backlash aimed towards her has been "tough" to endure as she backed her inclusion on the show. She told PA: "I mean it’s been tough. Because obviously I do see the backlash and I do see all the negative comments.

"But at the end of the day, I fit the criteria for this. I’ve never had a tour card, and I wouldn’t class myself as a pro really, because all I do is just play darts for the enjoyment of it.

"I think people forget where I started off as well. When I won at the Worlds, I was still just doing WDF (World Darts Federation). I’m just so happy to overcome all the hate and win."