A 16-year-old Priestley student has taken on darts sensation Luke Littler in front of thousands of spectators as part of a major live Netflix show – while the event ended with a historic victory for women’s darts star Fallon Sherrock.
Kasey Smith, who studies English Literature, Psychology, Law and Criminology at Priestley College, was selected to compete against the world number one in *Beat Luke Littler*, filmed at Manchester Central.
Although Luke won their one-leg contest, Kasey came away with an experience she believes will be invaluable as she builds a career in darts.
The show attracted huge interest, with contestants given the chance to win £501,000 by beating Littler in a single leg of 501.
Littler defeated the first 14 challengers before Sherrock, 32, stepped up as the 15th contestant and pulled off the upset of the night.
The player from Milton Keynes, widely known as the “Queen of the Palace”, hit a 180 before finishing on double 20 to take out 501 in 15 darts and claim the life-changing £501,000 prize.
Sherrock made history in 2019 when she became the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Darts Championship, beating Ted Evetts before going on to defeat Mensur Suljovic.
She was eligible to compete because she has never held a PDC Tour Card, despite her achievements on the professional darts circuit.
Her victory brought the event to an end, with Littler having beaten 14 challengers in succession.
For Kasey, however, the opportunity to compete on such a major stage was about much more than the result.
She spotted the opportunity on social media and initially applied for fun. She was subsequently selected from more than 25,000 applicants, becoming the only female contestant from Manchester to make it through the auditions.
“I thought, oh, it’ll be funny to apply and see where it gets me. And then I ended up being on the show,” she said.
Kasey particularly enjoyed the walk-on, where she signed autographs and experienced the atmosphere of a major televised event for the first time.
“It was an incredible experience, and I’m glad I got picked for it because now I’m used to the crowd and the energy,” she said.
Having only started playing darts in July last year, after being encouraged to try a local academy, Kasey has quickly developed a passion for the sport and is already competing at youth county level.
However, her ambitions extend beyond personal success. She was determined to use her Netflix appearance to encourage more girls to take up a sport traditionally dominated by men.
“I didn’t care about winning. I didn’t care about losing. All I cared about was getting my name out there and promoting girls’ darts and getting more females into darts,” she explained.
Kasey is planning an ambitious year ahead, including competing in the professional PDC Women’s Series, the junior girls’ series and the Youth Girls Grand Prix.
She also hopes to support a new girls’ initiative at the Greater Manchester Darts Community Hub.
Her message to other girls considering taking up the sport is simple: “Don’t stop, because you never know – you could be the best out of them.”
While Sherrock ultimately stole the headlines by defeating Littler and securing the £501,000 prize, Kasey’s appearance gave the young Warrington-area student a valuable opportunity to showcase her talent, gain experience on a major stage and help inspire the next generation of female darts players.
