Fallon Sherrock says her confidence is “so high” at the moment as she bids to secure a PDC Tour Card at Qualifying School this year.
Sherrock is currently ranked 90th in the Professional Darts Corporation’s Order of Merit, with only the top 64 securing Tour Card’s automatically.
Those in possession of a Card can participate in all Players Championships and UK Open Qualifiers.
Back in 2020, Sherrock competed for a Tour Card at Qualifying School but was unable to secure one.
But this year, the 27-year-old has the chance to try again and secure her spot on the professional circuit over the course of seven days in her home town of Milton Keynes.
Q-School will feature more than 650 players vying for just 32 Tour Cards, yet Sherrock is confident she has what it takes to claim one of these prizes.
It’s now been more than two years since she burst onto the global scene at the 2020 World Championships. During that competition, Sherrock became the first woman to ever win a World Championship match when she defeated Ted Evetts and followed this up with another victory in round two against Mensur Suljovic.
After being dubbed the ‘Queen of the Palace’, Sherrock became a fan favourite around the UK and has regularly produced her best darts at live, televised events.
In 2021, she became the first female player to reach the last 16 of a major at the Grand Slam of Darts and reached the final of the Nordic Darts Masters –– where she surrendered a 7-3 lead to Michael van Gerwen.
However, speaking to Sky Sports, Sherrock revealed these performances have given her more belief.
"My confidence is so high at the moment and I actually believe in myself now," she said.
"Before I thought that I could play but whether I did was another issue. I wasn't sure which game was going to come up on the stage.
Now I believe that I can do it. The difference now is that I actually have belief in myself.
"In the next 12 months, I want to try and qualify for as much as I can, get more TV experience and show everyone what else I can do.”
Despite not having a Tour Card yet, Sherrock is allegedly in contention to secure a spot in the Premier League darts this year.
The top four players in the world qualify automatically for the competition but the other six spots are decided by the PDC and Sky Sports.
Darts pundits, such as Wayne Mardle and John Part have argued the Queen of the Palace is undeserving of a place, yet PDC chairman Eddie Hearn emphasised that Sherrock has the potential to inspire a new generation of female darts players.
“If you’re going to get growth at a younger level across females in darts, she’s the kind of person that’s going to inspire that.”
Sherrock will find out soon whether she has been awarded a spot in the tournament and with Q School to come, this could prove to be another historic year for the darts trailblazer.