Fallon Sherrock has advised Luke Littler to “keep your eye on the prize” and “don’t listen” to social media criticism.
The 17-year-old Littler has continued his meteoric rise after reaching the final of the World Championship, four years after the Sherrock had boosted her own profile by progressing to the third round of the tournament.
But world No 2 Sherrock admits she has suffered from social media ‘hate’ after seizing the spotlight and has offered a few words of support to Littler.
“To be fair, it is quite nice to be on the backseat [to Luke Littler in terms of limelight] and not have all the hate for a change,” Sherrock told Sky Sports.
“The only advice I could give him is just to carry on. Don’t listen to socials, try not to be caught up with everything.
“Still do your social media, all your publicising and stuff, but keep your head on the game.
“Don’t let anything get you down. There are going to be circumstances that happen in his life, but don’t focus on that and keep your eye on the prize.”
Littler was eliminated in the opening match of the men’s World Matchplay after a 10-6 loss to Michael van Gerwen, with Sky Sports expert Wayne Mardle suggesting the teenager looked ‘unfocused.’
The best action from the final batch of matches of round one at the World Matchplay Darts as Littler was beaten by Michael van Gerwen
Sherrock reached the final of the women’s World Matchplay, losing 6-3 to reigning champion and world No 1 Beau Greaves, and has backed Littler to regain his best form.
“You’ll find you have loads of friends and then you’ll find you end up with a small circle, because of how many true friends you actually have,” said Sherrock
Sky Sports’ Wayne Mardle discusses Van Gerwen’s World Matchplay opening-round victory against Littler and believes Littler was nowhere near his best
“That’s another thing Luke will find out. He probably had loads of people he thought were good for him where he’ll find out their true colours and stuff like that.
“I think he’s doing really well at the moment. He’s got a good support base and he’s going in the right direction.
“I just hope he doesn’t let social media get to him too much.”
