Fallon Sherrock hopes to end a 'frustrating' run at the World Darts Championship and create more history by upsetting Dave Chisnall in their first-round clash at the Alexandra Palace.
Sherrock was crowned 'Queen of the Palace' for her historic run to the third round of the 2020 edition, where she became the first female to win a match in the tournament.
The Englishwoman defeated Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljovic before eventually being knocked out by Chris Dobey in the last 32, although failed to qualify the following year and suffered first-round exits in each of her next four appearances.
Sherrock secured a sixth appearance after qualifying via the PDC Women's Series Order of Merit, with the 31-year-old - who remains the only woman to win on the Alexandra Palace stage - now looking to push for another historic success.
"I don't think I'm that far away [from her best]," Sherrock . "Consistency-wise I've been reaching - apart from a couple of bad games - the 90 averages again and 100 averages again.
"It's just tweaking the little bits of game and getting the consistency, so hopefully I'm running at least a high 90 (average) or 100, but it takes time and it takes practice.
"I think so [can be better]. I think all the experience I've had over the past couple of years. I think once I get my game sorted, I could be better than what I was.
"Obviously when I did everything, I didn't have that much experience. Over the last few years I've have had defeats, I've had wins, so I know how to deal more with pressure situations now."
Sherrock missed out on the chance to play eventual champion Luke Littler in last year's contest, where she squandered a 2-1 lead against Ryan Meikle before losing a final-set decider.
"It is frustrating because I don't think I've played that bad since [her 2020 run at Ally Pally]," Sherrock added. "I believe it is a little bit of luck you need as well. You just need someone to falter and hit the big scores at the right time.
"Hopefully this year, with all the practice and stuff leading up, hopefully I can get that win again. It's such a great feeling just to win at Ally Pally, especially hearing all the audience.
"Everyone wants to play Littler, don't they! I was a bit gutted when I lost to Ryan [Meikle] but at least I gave it my best go. I don't know what would've happen but I'd have loved the opportunity. Everyone would've loved it!"
Sherrock was one of five women's players in the record 128-player line-up for this year's World Championship, with Lisa Ashton and Noa-Lynn van Leuven falling in straight-sets defeats to former world champions Michael Smith and Peter Wright.
Gemma Hayter begins her debut against Josh Rock on Friday afternoon before Beau Greaves plays Daryl Gurney later that evening, with Sherrock hoping that Greaves' return means there is less attention on her own performance.
"Yes, under the radar - I've never been the person to be the face of women's darts," Sherrock admitted. "For me, that was a lot of pressure.
"Now Beau's exceeding and doing everything, I'm like 'okay, all eyes [on Greaves], I'm just going to enjoy myself, relax, and go under the radar again."
Dave Chisnall reached the semi-finals in 2021 and has made the quarter-finals on three other occasions, although he suffered a second-round exit in last year's contest after a dramatic 3-2 loss to Ricky Evans in a final-leg decider.
"It's a blessing and a curse I suppose to be involved in one of the supposedly best ever matches at Ally Pally - it's only worth remembering if you win!" Chisnall said in his Kwiff column. "The crowd were really behind Ricky [Evans] 12 months ago and I imagine they'll be cheering just as much for Fallon (Sherrock) before Thursday's game.
"Fallon was nicknamed 'Queen of the Palace' after becoming the first woman to win during the men's world at Ally Pally and is a very, very good player. It isn't lost on me how good she is, and I won't be taking her lightly.
"It's panto season, but I don't want to be playing the panto villain - I'll leave that to the likes of Gezzy [Gerwyn Price]!"
Your Site Darts' Laura Turner:
"If you'd asked me before we'd seen the draw, which seed do you think might be in a bit of trouble? Dave Chisnall is probably one I'd put up there.
"We've always known that he's been brilliant on the Euro Tour and very, very good on the floor. But his stage matches haven't been great for the last kind of 12 to 18 months, I would say. Also this year, he's kind of sliding by the wayside on the floor tournaments as well. He has looked frustrated!
"To me, I feel like there's a bit of pressure for Chisnall to perform, to have a deep run back in a TV tournament. We haven't seen it for a while. Now he's got Fallon and he's going to have the whole crowd against him.
"We've seen it before at the Palace. We know the standards that Fallon can play at, but this is also a really big mental battle for Chisnall.
"Fallon and the Palace seem to go hand in hand. She's drawn a seed, but what an opportunity. Trying to catch someone when they're cold, early doors, maybe lacking in a little bit of confidence. If she can get off to a solid start, then she could get past him."
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