Darts sensation Fallon Sherrock is one step closer to earning her place on the 2022/23 PDC Pro Tour after she defeated Wes Newton 5-2 on Tuesday to reach the final stage of Q School.
Prospective Tour players from across Europe are currently battling to win their PDC Pro Cards in Milton Keynes, and the four-day deciding phase is set to get underway on Wednesday.
The 'Queen of the Palace' is in the running to become only the second woman to receive a PDC Tour Card after Lisa Ashton was first to accomplish the feat in 2020.
A total of 32 Pro Cards will be presented to players in England and Germany, with another qualifying school event running in tandem to its Milton Keynes counterpart in Niedernhausen.
Sherrock is hoping to be the deserving recipient of one of those, and her chances took a major turn for the better after beating three-time World Championship quarter-finalist Newton.
That result came after the 27-year-old notched victories over Robert Whybrew (5-0) and Kevin Lane (5-1), completing a near-flawless day's work at the Marshall Arena.
Her triumph over 'The Warrier' Newton was enough to ensure she reached the final stage with a First Stage Order of Merit.
It's a marked improvement compared to the earlier rounds at Q School, where Sherrock suffered an agonising 5-4 loss to Jason Hogg on Sunday before falling 5-2 to former BDO world youth champion Joshua Richardson on Monday.
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The more consistent run of results on Tuesday could be a sign that Sherrock's nerves have settled in Milton Keynes, which fellow Q School attendee John Part recently highlighted as a key factor on Tour.
“I think it would be hard to pick her with the current format," said Part when recently asked about the prospect of Sherrock joining the PDC Pro Tour.
“Certainly, she is capable of playing. But if I was Fallon or representing her, I probably wouldn’t want her to. I know from experience it is a gristmill.
“It’s not favourable to somebody’s confidence.
“Yes, it is challenging and a great experience in a lot of ways, but it can really bash you as well.
“It can be unforgiving. It happened to newcomers like Kim Huybrechts, Michael Smith and Mark Webster.”
It may help Sherrock's plight that she's at least playing in familiar territory, with the Milton Keynes native close to collecting her Pro Card in her hometown.
The World Darts Federation (WDF) star first hit headlines in 2019 when she became the first female participant to win a match at the PDC World Darts Championship.
She reached the third round of the tournament that year but failed to advance past the opening portion of the most recent edition after she lost 3-2 to Steve Beaton.
