For the first time ever, a woman has beaten a man at the world darts championship.

Fallon Sherrock, 25, behind the unequivocal support of a boisterous crowd, defeated Ted Evetts, the 77th-ranked male darts player, three sets to two, in the first round of the P.D.C. World Darts Championships on Tuesday.

Sherrock looked the part onstage at the Alexandra Palace in London, wearing the kind of polyester polo shirt favored by many of her male rivals. But after she won her historic match, her celebration was a bit more low key than the over-the-top fist-pumping jubilation many of them indulge in.

“I’m really happy because I’ve made something for women’s darts; I’ve proved that we can play the men and we can beat them,” Sherrock said Tuesday after the match. “I’ve loved every minute of it.”

Sherrock, 25, from Milton Keynes, England, is the fifth woman to play at the world championship. Men qualify for the event through their year-round play on the darts tour or through qualifying events. But in recent years the event has saved two spots in the 96-player field for the winners of two qualifying events for women. There are darts events for women, but they have a far lower profile than the top men’s events.